Person Lonsdale; Dame; Kathleen Yardley (1903 - 1971); crystallographer and pacifist Lonsdale Kathleen Yardley Dame crystallographer and pacifist Kathleen Yardley 1903 - 1971 British Female Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland 28/01/1903 19030128 London, England 01/04/1971 19710401

121 Station Road, West Drayton, Middlesex (1943)

Crystallography X-ray crystallography Crystallography Chemistry Physics Education: Downshall elementary school, Seven Kings (1908-1914); County High School for Girls, Ilford (1914-1919); Bedford College for Women. BSc (1922, maths and physics and was first in the University of London lists) Career: Offered a research post in 1922 by W H Bragg (FRS 1907) to study the crystal structure of organic compounds by X-ray analysis; worked first at University College, London, then from 1923 at the Royal Institution, London. Working with W.T.Astbury began to apply space group theories to the study of X-ray diffraction patterns from crystals. Their important paper 'Tabulated data for the examination of the 230 space-groups by homogenous X-rays' was published by the Royal Society in 'Philosophical Transactions' in 1924. Went to Leeds (1927-1930), where she carried out important analyses of hexamethylbenzene and hexachlorobenzene crystals. International crystallographersd recognised the need for more comprehensive tables for crystal structure determination, and Lonsdale was a member of the editorial groupconcerned with the prpduction of new tables. She worked from home in the early 1930s follwing the birth of her first child, providing the structure factor formulae for each space group. The resulting 'International Tables', published in 1935, proved to be only the beginning of a project to shich she devoted much time and effort during the rest of her career, becoming Chaiman of the new Commission of Tables in 1948 and the principal editor in the production of the new volumes of 'International Tables' which first appeared in 1951. She returned to the Royal Institution in 1931 and remained there for the next fifteen years, concentrating on diamagnetic anisotropy, where her work on the magnetic anisotropy of benzil led to her studies of disorder in crystals caused by thermal motions, one of her principal research interests during the rest of her career. She was the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (1945); Reader in Crystallography, University College, London (1946), becoming Professor of Chemistry (1949). She established her own research school there and introduced two new courses in crystallography, one for undergraduates and the other for graduates. Among other wide interests, she studied methonium compounds, urinary calculi and synthetic diamonds, though her work on the 'International Tables' diverted much of her time from research. She developed divergent-beam X-ray photography of crystals and studied X-ray reflection by single crystals. She and her husband became members of the Society of Friends in 1935, which led to her refusal to register for civil defence duties, although she was willing to work as a volunteer. On her refusal to pay a fine for non-registration she was imprisoned in Holloway gaol for one month in 1943. This led to her taking an active interest in penal reform; she was made a member of the Board of Visitors, Aylesbury Prison for Women and Borstal Institution for Girls in 1949 and later served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Visitors of a borstal in Essex. She was also concerned with world peace and ethics in science, becoming Vice-President of the Atomic Scientists Association and President of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. She attended several Pugwash Conferences on World Affairs and expressed her hope for peace in numerous articles, including a Penguin special 'Is Peace Possible?' and in lectures. She was Vice-President of the International Union of Crystallography (1960-19660, and President (1966); General Secretary of the British Association (1959-1964), President of the Physics Sections (1967) and President of the British Association (1967-1968), the first woman to hold the post. She received honorary degrees (DSc or LLD) from several universities including those of Wales, Leicester, Manchester, Oxford, Bath and Leeds. Honours: DBE 1956 Parents: Harry Frederick Yardley (d. 1923), local postmaster, and Jessie Cameron. Spouse: (1927) Thomas Jackson Lonsdale. Children: Two daughters, one son. Played a fundamental role in establishing the science of crysallography. Demonstrated for the first time that the benzene ring was hexagonal and planar and calculating its precise dimensions (1929). The first to use Fourier spectral methods while solving the structure of hexachlorobenzene (1931). One of the first two women to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. First woman president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and of the International Union of Crystallography. Strongly believed in absolute pacifism. Royal Society roles: VP 1960-1961 Medals and prizes: Davy Medal 1957 Fellow 22/03/1945 42 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Neil Kensington Adam Geoffrey Ingram Taylor Ralph Howard Fowler Richard Whiddington Cecil Henry Desch Charles Sykes Nevill Francis Mott William Wilson Edmund Clifton Stoner William Thomas Astbury William Henry Bragg Sources: DSB Obituaries: Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1975 vol 21 pp 447-484, plate, by Dorothy M C Hodgkin References: Joan Mason, 'The Admission of the First Women to the Royal Society of London' in NR 1992 vol 46 pp 279-300, plate Joan Mason, 'The Women Fellows' Jubilee' in NR 1995 vol 49 pp 125-140 R Singh and F Riess, 'The nobel laureate Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman FRS and his contacts with the British Scientific community in a social and political context' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 47-64 D Blow and S Wallwork, 'Prehistory of the British Crystallographic Association' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 177-186 M Baldwin, 'Where are your intelligent mothers to come from? Marriage and Family in the scientific career of Dame Kathleen Lonsdale FRS (1903-1971)' in NR 2009 Vol 63 pp 81-94 Lonsdale K, GA WS 1835.jpg ©Godfrey Argent Studio International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1975.0014 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Lonsdale%2C+Kathleen+Yardley RCN R75085 RCN R75137 RCN R75084 RCN R75065 RCN 19593 RCN R75037 RCN R75032 RCN R75042 RCN R75122 RCN R75079 RCN R75049 RCN R75149 RCN R75077 RCN R75024 RCN R75254 RCN R75075 RCN R75107 RCN R75062 RCN R75086 RCN R75145 RCN R75161 RCN R75115 RCN R75121 RCN 19344 RCN 19594 RCN R75039 RCN R75034 RCN R75038 RCN R75046 RCN R75033 RCN R75045 RCN R75055 RCN R75155 RCN R75153 RCN R75124 RCN R75036 RCN R75117 RCN R75180 RCN 16751 RCN 10633 RCN 26195 RCN 19595 RCN R75087 RCN R75118 RCN R75181 RCN 19596 RCN 8783 RCN 19597 RCN R75163 RCN R75089 RCN R75056 RCN R75035 RCN R75041 RCN R75067 RCN R75116 RCN R75148 RCN R75083 RCN R75082 RCN R75119 RCN R75143 RCN R75081 RCN R75048 RCN R75108 RCN 17394 RCN R75126 RCN R75120 RCN R75109 RCN R75078 RCN R75027 RCN R75088 RCN R75080 RCN R75076 RCN R75113 https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH5290 28 Jan 1903 - 1 Apr 1971 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 11/12/2024 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA7993 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 24/03/2026 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes dc49dc7a-8762-4e68-bb6e-b12084d6f46e