Hubert Britton
Hubert Britton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hubert Thomas Stanley Britton 22 April 1892 |
| Died | 30 December 1960 (aged 68) |
| Education | St. George's Grammar School |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol King's College London |
| Known for | Britton–Robinson buffer |
| Children | 1 son, 1 daughter |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Workplaces | King's College London Imperial College London Norwood Technical College University of Exeter |
Hubert Thomas Stanley Britton FIC (22 April 1892 – 30 December 1960)[1] was a British chemist and professor of chemistry and director of the Washington Singer Laboratories, University of Exeter. He is known for his 1931 invention of the Britton–Robinson buffer.[2]
Early life and education
He was born in Kingswood, Bristol on 22 April 1892, the son of Thomas Ernest and Clara Britton.[3] His father was a shoemaker. Britton was educated at St George Grammar School and the Merchant Venturers College, Bristol, before receiving a scholarship for the University of Bristol in 1911. He graduated from Bristol in 1914.[1]
Career
Britton worked briefly as a schoolmaster before becoming a chemist at the Air Ministry's Aeronautical Inspection Department, where he served during World War I and remained until 1920.[1][3] In 1920, he became an assistant lecturer at King's College London, where he also later earned a DSc in 1926. He left King's for Imperial College London in 1925 to take up a senior award of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, though this position was terminated in 1927.[2][3] Following this, he lectured for a year at Norwood Technical College.[1]
In 1928, he was a lecturer in chemistry at the University College of the South West in Exeter and earned a second doctorate there in 1934.[3] He succeeded William Henry Lewis as the college's head of the chemistry department following the latter's retirement in 1935,[4] remaining in this post until his own retirement in 1957.[2][5]
Personal life and death
In 1957, he retired and moved to Three Bridges, Sussex, where his wife died in June 1959, and where he died on 30 December 1960.[3][2] They had a son and a daughter.[2]
His son, Hubert Greenslade Britton, earned a degree in chemistry from Exeter, qualified in medicine, and completed a PhD in chemistry.[6]
Publications
- Britton, Hubert T. S. (1929). Tripp, E. Howard (ed.). Hydrogen Ions: Their Determination and Importance in Pure and Industrial Chemistry. Monographs on Applied Chemistry. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd. (3 volumes)
- ————————— (1932). Chemistry, Life, and Civilisation: A Popular Account of Modern Advances in Chemistry. London: Chapman and Hall Ltd.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Bishop, E. (1961). "Obituary". The Analyst. 86 (1020): 146. doi:10.1039/an9618600146. ISSN 0003-2654.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gregg, S. J. (18 February 1961). "Obituary: Prof H. T. S. Britton" (PDF). Nature. 189 (4764): 592–530. doi:10.1038/189529a0.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Britton Papers". Jisc. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
- ↑ Britton, H. T. S. (1 January 1956). "Schools of Chemistry in Great Britain and Ireland - The University of Exeter". Journal of the Royal Institute of Chemistry. 80 (November): 617–623. doi:10.1039/JI9568000607. ISSN 0368-3958.
- ↑ "Chemistry in the University of Exeter: Prof. H. T. S. Britton". Nature. 179 (4564): 807–807. 1957. doi:10.1038/179807a0. ISSN 1476-4687.
- ↑ Mathias, Chris; Britton, Thomas (6 September 2018). "Hubert Greenslade Britton". BMJ. 362 k3772. doi:10.1136/bmj.k3772. ISSN 0959-8138.
- 1892 births
- 1960 deaths
- 20th-century British chemists
- People educated at St George Grammar School, Bristol
- Alumni of Imperial College London
- Alumni of the University of Bristol
- People from Kingswood, South Gloucestershire
- Chemists of the University of Exeter
- Alumni of King's College London
- Chemists of King's College London