| Authorised form of name | Porter; George (1920 - 2002); Baron Porter of Luddenham |
| Dates | 1920 - 2002 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Stainforth, near Doncaster, Yorkshire |
| Date of birth | 06/12/1920 |
| Place of death | Canterbury |
| Date of death | 31/08/2002 |
| Research field | Chemistry |
| Activity | Education:
Thorne Grammar School (1931-1938); Leeds University (1938-1941) Ackroyd Scholar
Career:
Radar Officer, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (1941-1945); postgraduate research, Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge (1945) with R G W Norrish; Demonstrator in Physical Chemistry, University of Cambridge (1949-1952); Assistant Director of Research in Physical Chemistry (1952-1954); Assistant Director, British Rayon Research Association, Manchester (1954); Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Sheffield (1955-1963); awarded Corday-Morgan Medal by the Royal Society of Chemistry (1955); awarded Tilden Medal by the Royal Society of Chemistry (1958); Firth Professor of Chemistry and Head of Chemistry Department, University of Sheffield (1963-1966); Professor of Chemistry, Royal Institution (1963-1966); television series "Laws of Disorder" (1965 - 1966); Vice-President of Faraday Society (1965 - 1967); Director and Fullerian Professor of Chemistry, Royal Institution, London (1966 - 1985); Honorary Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge (1967); awarded Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Ronald Norrish and Manfred Eigen (1967); Vice-President of Chemical Society (1968-1970); Council of Open University (1969 - 1975); awarded Liversidge Medal by Royal Society of Chemistry (1970); President of Royal Society of Chemistry (1970 - 1972); trustee of British Museum (1972 - 1974); President, National Association for Gifted Children (1975 - 1980); Council of Royal Society of Arts (1976 - 1980); Romanes Lecture at Oxford University (1978); awarded Faraday Medal by Royal Society of Chemistry (1980); awarded Longstaff Medal by Royal Society of Chemistry (1981); President of British Association for the Advancement of Science (1985 - 1986); Chancellor of Leicester University (1986 - 1995); awarded Kalinga Prize by UNESCO (1977); Professor at Imperial College (1987 2002); Emeritus Professor of the Royal Institution (1988 - 2002); Chairman of the Centre for Photomolecular Sciences, Imperial College, London (1990 - 2002); Gresham Professor of Astronomy, Gresham College (1990 - 1994); President, National Energy Foundation (1990 - 2000); Master, Salters' Company (1993 - 1994)
Medals and prizes:
Nobel Prize (Chemistry) 1967
Honours:
Kt 1972; OM 1989; Baron 1990
Memberships:
Millennium FRSC (2000) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 24/03/1960 |
| Age at election | 39 |
| Royal Society activity | Royal Society roles:
Council: 1966-1967, 1985-1990; PRS 1985-1990
Medals and prizes:
Copley Medal 1992; Davy Medal 1971; Rumford Medal 1978; Michael Faraday Award 1991
Lectures:
Bakerian 1977; Humphry Davy and Claude Bernard 1985 |
| Relationships | Son of John Smith Porter and Alice Ann Porter; married (1949) Stella Jean Brooke; two sons |
| Sources | Sources:
Obituaries in The Times (02/09/2002), Daily Telegraph (02/09/2002) and The Independent (04/09/2002)
Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 2004 vol 50 pp 257-283, plate, by Graham R Fleming and David Phillips
AssocMaterial:
NCUACS 100/5/01. Papers deposited at the Royal Institution, London (covering the period 1938-1999)
References:
'Address of the President, Sir Michael Atiyah, OM, Given at the Anniversary Meeting on 30 November 1992' in NR 1993 vol 47 pp 109-118
'Address of the President, Sir Michael Atiyah, Given at the Anniversary Meeting on 29 November 1991' in NR 1992 vol 46 pp 155-169
Sir Aaron Klug OM FRS, 'Address at the Service of Thanksgiving for the life of George Porter OM FRS' in NR 2003 vol 57 pp 261-264
J S Rowlinson, 'A national treasure house. <i>'The common purposes of life': science and society at the Royal Institution of Great Britain</i> ed Frank A J L James ' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 105-106
R Cole, 'The importancve of picking Porter: the Royal Institution, George Porter and the two cultures' in Notes and Records, vol 69, Issue 2, 20 June 2015, pp 191 -216 |
| Virtual International Authority File | http://viaf.org/viaf/94485112 |
| Royal Society code | NA3240 |
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| IM/003078 | Metcalf, Donald | 5 November 1986 |
| HWT/25/10/5 | Correspondence and papers regarding visit of Royal Society delegation to China | April - June 1974 |
| IM/005190 | Esso Energy Awards, 1986 | 1986 |
| IM/003630 | Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham | 1989 |
| RR/72/221 | Referee's report by Edmund John Bowen, on a paper 'Flash photolysis and spectroscopy. A new method for the study of free radical reactions' by George Porter | 1949 |
| IM/004839 | Sachs, Leo | 5 November 1986 |
| IM/004840 | Wellcome Foundation Prize 1986 | 5 November 1986 |
| IM/003631 | Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham | 1990 |
| IM/GA/AR/7331 | Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham | nd |
| IM/GA/WRS/8979 | Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham | nd |
| IM/004223 | Smallpiece Trust | 12 September 1985 |
| IM/GA/SGRS/8349 | Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham | 1984 |
| WF/646 | Grant application from The Royal Institution of Great Britain to the Wolfson Foundation | 1 February 1977 |
| GHP | Papers of George Porter PRS, Baron Porter of Luddenham, chemist | 1950s-2000s |
| EC/1960/19 | Porter, George, Baron Porter of Luddenham: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |
| RR/75/308 | Referee's report by Dudley Maurice Newitt, on a paper 'Photochemical studies with the gaseous flash discharge. II. Ultra violet characteristics of the flash discharge' by Margaret I Christie and George Porter | 20 December 1951 |
| RR/79/120 | Referee's report by Edmund John Bowen, on a paper 'The photolysis of acetaldehyde, diacetyl and acetone at high intensity' by M A Khan, Ronald George Wreyford Norrish and George Porter | 8 June 1953 |
| RR/75/187 | Referee's report by Dudley Maurice Newitt, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of the hydrogen-oxygen explosion initiated by the flash photolysis of nitrogen-dioxide' by Ronald George Wreyford Norrish and George Porter | 27 August 1951 |
| RR/75/307 | Referee's report by Dudley Maurice Newitt, on a paper 'Photochemical studies with the gaseous flash discharge. I. Uranyl oxalate actinometry at high intensities' by Margaret I Christie and George Porter | 20 December 1951 |
| RR/77/169 | Referee's report by Meredith Gwynne Evans, on a paper 'Studies of the explosive combustion of hydrocarbons by kinetic spectroscopy. I. Free radical absorption spectra in acetylene combustion' by Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, George Porter and Brian Arthur Thrush | 23 September 1952 |
| P/0156 | Portrait of Porter, George; Baron Porter of Luddenham | 1990 |