People Australia

Life Summary [details]

Birth

3 August, 1915
Paddington, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Death

8 December, 1995 (aged 80)
Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Cultural Heritage

Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.

• English

Education

• Woollahra Public School (Sydney)
• Sydney Technical High School
• University of Sydney
• Oxford University

Occupation

• academic
• autobiographer/memoirist
• biochemist
• organic chemist

Awards

• Levey scholarship (University of Sydney)
• Walter Burfitt scholarship (University of Sydney)
• John Coutts scholarship (University of Sydney)
• Matthew Flinders Medal (Australian Academy of Science)
• Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
• Companion of the Order of Australia
• ANZAAS medal

Key Events

• Independent Inquiry into the CSIRO, 1977

Legacies

• A. J. Birch Medal (Royal Australian Chemical Institute)
• Arthur Birch lecture (Research School of Chemistry, ANU)
• Birch Building (ANU)

Key Organisations

• Australian Academy of Science
• Royal Society of London (UK)
• Royal Institute of Chemistry (UK)
• Royal Australian Chemical Institute (national)
• USSR Academy of Science
• Australian Marine Sciences and Technologies Advisory Committee
• Royal Society of Chemistry
• Royal Society of New South Wales
• Indian National Science Academy

Workplaces

• ICI Ltd
• Cambridge University (UK)
• University of Sydney (organic chemistry)
• University of Manchester (UK)
• Australian National University (organic chemistry)