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Robert Williams (English chemist)

January 01, 1970

Robert Joseph Paton Williams MBE FRS[5] (25 February 1926 – 21 March 2015[6]) was an English chemist, an Emeritus Fellow at Wadham College, Oxford[7] and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford.[8][9][10][11]

Bob Williams
MBE FRS
Born(1926-02-25)25 February 1926
Wallasey, Cheshire, England
Died21 March 2015(2015-03-21) (aged 89)
Oxford, England
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
Known forIrving–Williams series
Spouse
Jelly Büchli
​
(m. 1952)​
AwardsRoyal Medal
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsUniversity of Oxford
ThesisAn investigation of the complex compounds of some metals (1950)
Doctoral advisorHarry Irving[2]
Doctoral students

Education and early life edit

Robert Joseph Paton Williams was born on 25 February 1926 in Wallasey to Ernest Ivor Williams, a customs and excise officer at Liverpool, and Alice Williams (née Roberts), a milliner; he was the second of four children.

Williams failed to gain a scholarship to Wallasey Grammar School, having missed six months’ schooling with diphtheria, but his parents paid for him to attend. He went on to gain a place and be awarded a Postmastership[12] to read chemistry at Merton College, Oxford in 1944. For his final undergraduate research year he worked with analytical chemist Harry Irving. This enabled him to establish an order of the relative stabilities of metal–organic complexes along the latter half of the transition series manganese through zinc.[13] From these findings he saw a parallel with the selective uptake of metal ions by organisms.[14]

Williams’s plan was to continue working with Irving for his DPhil, but he first visited the lab of Arne Tiselius at Uppsala University. He was impressed by what he saw there, and returned to Sweden after he gained his DPhil in 1950. During the longer stay he worked on protein purification and devised a method called gradient elution analysis.[5]

Career and research edit

Williams then spent another period back at Merton, having won a junior research fellowship, Then, “out of the blue, in 1954, Cyril Hinshelwood, then Oxford Professor of Chemistry, asked to see Bob.” He was told that three colleges—Christ Church, Pembroke and Wadham—needed a tutor in chemistry. “Each one will invite you to dine. Come back again in two weeks to give me your decision.”[5] Williams joined Wadham College, Oxford in 1955 and remained there for the rest of his life. His doctoral students include Peter Day,[3] Carole Perry[4] and Michael Thor Pope.[15]

William's work in pure inorganic chemistry led to a two-volume textbook of inorganic chemistry, written with Courtenay Phillips,[16][17] He became increasingly interested in enzyme catalysis, and in particular the role of metal ions, as for example the role of copper in proteins.[18] He and Bert Vallee proposed of the concept of the entatic state whereby atoms and groups in enzyme active sites are maintained by binding to the apoenzyme in positions and states appropriate to catalyse reactions.[19]

In the first paper ever published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology Williams argued that spatial separation of the H+ and OH– ions produced in the conversion of ATP to ADP would be necessary for the catalysis.[20] In the same year Peter Mitchell proposed a similar idea in the form of the chemiosmotic hypothesis.[21] In a special issue of the Journal of Theoretical Biology in celebration of 50 years of its existence Williams described the correspondence between Mitchell and himself.[22]

Williams contributed to understanding of the distribution of the chemical elements in living organisms and in collaborationwith João J. R. Fraústo da Silva he wrote three books in this area,[23][24][25] as well as a book with Rosalind Rickaby[26] on geological aspects of life.

Williams retired in 1991 and devoted much of his retirement to the writing of the books mentioned.

Awards and honours edit

Williams was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to the community in North Oxford.[27]

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1972[5] and was a Foreign Member of the Swedish, Portuguese, Czechoslovakian and Belgian science academies. He was a medallist of the Biochemical Society (twice), the Royal Society (twice), the Royal Society of Chemistry (three times), the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (twice) and the International Union of Biochemistry. He delivered the Bakerian Lecture in 1981 and won the Royal Medal in 1995.[28]

Personal life edit

While he was in Uppsala Williams met Jelly Klara Büchli, a Dutch student from Groningen. They married in 1952 and then lived in Oxford. Jelly read English language and literature at St Hilda's College, Oxford between 1952 and 1955, but the birth of their first son, Timothy Ivor, interrupted her final exams. A second son, John M, was born in 1957. In 1981 Jelly published A Dutch Reader.[29]

Bob Williams died in the John Radcliffe Hospital on 21 March 2015.

References edit

  1. ^ B. L. Vallee & R. J. P. Williams (1968). "Metalloenzymes: the entatic nature of their active sites". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 59 (2): 498–505. Bibcode:1968PNAS...59..498V. doi:10.1073/pnas.59.2.498. PMC 224700. PMID 5238980.
  2. ^ Irving, H. M. N. H.; Williams, R. J. P. (1953). "The stability of transition-metal complexes". J. Chem. Soc.: 3192–3210. doi:10.1039/JR9530003192.
  3. ^ a b Day, Peter (1965). Light induced charge transfer in solids (DPhil thesis). University of Oxford. OCLC 944386301.
  4. ^ a b Perry, Carole Celia (1985). Silicification in biological systems. ox.ac.uk (DPhil thesis). University of Oxford. OCLC 863542406. EThOS uk.bl.ethos.354861.  
  5. ^ a b c d Hill, H. A. O.; Thomson, A. J. (2016). "Robert Joseph Paton Williams MBE. 25 February 1926 – 21 March 2015". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 62. London: Royal Society: 541–570. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2016.0020.
  6. ^ "Obituaries". University of Oxford Gazette. 145 (5093): 499. 23 April 2015.
  7. ^ . Wadham College, University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 3 May 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  8. ^ Thomson, Andrew J (2015). "Professor Robert JP Williams FRS (25/2/1926–21/3/2015)". Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. 20 (4): 617–618. doi:10.1007/s00775-015-1262-6. ISSN 0949-8257. PMID 25913871. S2CID 39414172.
  9. ^ Mann, Stephen; Thomson, Andrew J. (2015). "Robert J. P. Williams (1926–2015)". Angewandte Chemie. 127 (27): 7856. Bibcode:2015AngCh.127.7856M. doi:10.1002/ange.201504131. ISSN 0044-8249.
  10. ^ Anon (2015). . University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016.
  11. ^ Robert Williams on the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group website
  12. ^ Postmastership is the term used at Merton College for what other colleges call a scholarship.
  13. ^ Irving, H; Williams, R J P (6 November 1948). "Order of Stability of Metal Complexes". Nature. 162 (4123): 746–747. Bibcode:1948Natur.162..746I. doi:10.1038/162746a0. S2CID 6943144.
  14. ^ Thomson, Andrew J (2016). "The science of RJP Williams". Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry. 21 (1): 1–3. doi:10.1007/s00775-015-1328-5. PMID 26759252. S2CID 18533741.
  15. ^ Pope, M T; Weakley, T J; Williams, R J P (1959). "Distribution of molecular weights in some polyesters and polypeptides". J. Chem. Soc.: 3442–3446. doi:10.1039/jr9590003442.
  16. ^ C. S. G. Phillips; R. J. P. Williams (1965). Inorganic Chemistry: Principles and non-metals (volume 1). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0198551188.
  17. ^ C. S. G. Phillips; R. J. P. Williams (1965). Inorganic Chemistry: Metals (volume 2). Oxford University Press.
  18. ^ Gray, H B; Malmström, B G; Williams, R J P (2000). "Copper coordination in blue proteins". J. Biol. Inorg. Chem. 5 (5): 551–559. doi:10.1007/s007750000146. PMID 11085645. S2CID 1815405.
  19. ^ Vallee, B. L.; Williams, R. J. P. (1968). "Metalloenzymes: entatic nature of their active sites". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 59 (2): 498–505. Bibcode:1968PNAS...59..498V. doi:10.1073/pnas.59.2.498. PMC 224700. PMID 5238980.
  20. ^ Williams, R J P (1961). "Possible functions of chains of catalysts". J. Theor. Biol. 1 (1): 1–17. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(61)90023-6. PMID 13785509.
  21. ^ Mitchell P (July 1961). "Coupling of phosphorylation to electron and hydrogen transfer by a chemi-osmotic type of mechanism". Nature. 191 (4784): 144–148. Bibcode:1961Natur.191..144M. doi:10.1038/191144a0. PMID 13771349. S2CID 1784050.
  22. ^ Williams, R J P (2011). "Chemical advances in evolution by and changes in use of space during time". J. Theor. Biol. 268 (1): 146–159. doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.09.021. PMID 20869970.
  23. ^ Fraústo da Silva, J J R; Williams, R J P (1991). The Biological Chemistry of the Elements: the Inorganic Chemistry of Life. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-850848-4.
  24. ^ Williams, R J P; Fraústo da Silva, J J R (1996). The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 9780198558422.
  25. ^ Williams, R J P; Fraústo da Silva, J J R (2005). The Chemistry of Evolution: The Development of our Ecosystem. Elsevier Science. ISBN 9780444521552.
  26. ^ Williams, R J P; Rickaby, R E M (2012). Evolution's Destiny: Co-evolving Chemistry of the Environment and Life. Cambridge: RSC Publishing.
  27. ^ "No. 59282". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2009. p. 23.
  28. ^ Hasani, Ilire; Hoffmann, Robert (21 March 2015). "Academy of Europe: Williams Robert". Academy of Europe. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  29. ^ Williams, Jelly K (1981). A Dutch Reader. Nelson Thornes. ISBN 9780859503495.

January 01, 1970
robert, williams, english, chemist, robert, joseph, paton, williams, february, 1926, march, 2015, english, chemist, emeritus, fellow, wadham, college, oxford, emeritus, professor, university, oxford, williamsmbe, frsborn, 1926, february, 1926wallasey, cheshire. Robert Joseph Paton Williams MBE FRS 5 25 February 1926 21 March 2015 6 was an English chemist an Emeritus Fellow at Wadham College Oxford 7 and an Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford 8 9 10 11 Bob WilliamsMBE FRSBorn 1926 02 25 25 February 1926Wallasey Cheshire EnglandDied21 March 2015 2015 03 21 aged 89 Oxford EnglandAlma materUniversity of OxfordKnown forIrving Williams seriesSpouseJelly Buchli m 1952 wbr AwardsRoyal MedalScientific careerFieldsChemistry Metalloenzymes 1 InstitutionsUniversity of OxfordThesisAn investigation of the complex compounds of some metals 1950 Doctoral advisorHarry Irving 2 Doctoral studentsPeter Day 3 Carole Perry 4 Michael Thor Pope Tony Orchard Chris Dobson Rachel E Klevit Stephen Mann Contents 1 Education and early life 2 Career and research 2 1 Awards and honours 3 Personal life 4 ReferencesEducation and early life editRobert Joseph Paton Williams was born on 25 February 1926 in Wallasey to Ernest Ivor Williams a customs and excise officer at Liverpool and Alice Williams nee Roberts a milliner he was the second of four children Williams failed to gain a scholarship to Wallasey Grammar School having missed six months schooling with diphtheria but his parents paid for him to attend He went on to gain a place and be awarded a Postmastership 12 to read chemistry at Merton College Oxford in 1944 For his final undergraduate research year he worked with analytical chemist Harry Irving This enabled him to establish an order of the relative stabilities of metal organic complexes along the latter half of the transition series manganese through zinc 13 From these findings he saw a parallel with the selective uptake of metal ions by organisms 14 Williams s plan was to continue working with Irving for his DPhil but he first visited the lab of Arne Tiselius at Uppsala University He was impressed by what he saw there and returned to Sweden after he gained his DPhil in 1950 During the longer stay he worked on protein purification and devised a method called gradient elution analysis 5 Career and research editWilliams then spent another period back at Merton having won a junior research fellowship Then out of the blue in 1954 Cyril Hinshelwood then Oxford Professor of Chemistry asked to see Bob He was told that three colleges Christ Church Pembroke and Wadham needed a tutor in chemistry Each one will invite you to dine Come back again in two weeks to give me your decision 5 Williams joined Wadham College Oxford in 1955 and remained there for the rest of his life His doctoral students include Peter Day 3 Carole Perry 4 and Michael Thor Pope 15 William s work in pure inorganic chemistry led to a two volume textbook of inorganic chemistry written with Courtenay Phillips 16 17 He became increasingly interested in enzyme catalysis and in particular the role of metal ions as for example the role of copper in proteins 18 He and Bert Vallee proposed of the concept of the entatic state whereby atoms and groups in enzyme active sites are maintained by binding to the apoenzyme in positions and states appropriate to catalyse reactions 19 In the first paper ever published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology Williams argued that spatial separation of the H and OH ions produced in the conversion of ATP to ADP would be necessary for the catalysis 20 In the same year Peter Mitchell proposed a similar idea in the form of the chemiosmotic hypothesis 21 In a special issue of the Journal of Theoretical Biology in celebration of 50 years of its existence Williams described the correspondence between Mitchell and himself 22 Williams contributed to understanding of the distribution of the chemical elements in living organisms and in collaborationwith Joao J R Frausto da Silva he wrote three books in this area 23 24 25 as well as a book with Rosalind Rickaby 26 on geological aspects of life Williams retired in 1991 and devoted much of his retirement to the writing of the books mentioned Awards and honours edit Williams was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE in the 2010 New Year Honours for services to the community in North Oxford 27 He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society FRS in 1972 5 and was a Foreign Member of the Swedish Portuguese Czechoslovakian and Belgian science academies He was a medallist of the Biochemical Society twice the Royal Society twice the Royal Society of Chemistry three times the Federation of European Biochemical Societies twice and the International Union of Biochemistry He delivered the Bakerian Lecture in 1981 and won the Royal Medal in 1995 28 Personal life editWhile he was in Uppsala Williams met Jelly Klara Buchli a Dutch student from Groningen They married in 1952 and then lived in Oxford Jelly read English language and literature at St Hilda s College Oxford between 1952 and 1955 but the birth of their first son Timothy Ivor interrupted her final exams A second son John M was born in 1957 In 1981 Jelly published A Dutch Reader 29 Bob Williams died in the John Radcliffe Hospital on 21 March 2015 References edit B L Vallee amp R J P Williams 1968 Metalloenzymes the entatic nature of their active sites Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 59 2 498 505 Bibcode 1968PNAS 59 498V doi 10 1073 pnas 59 2 498 PMC 224700 PMID 5238980 Irving H M N H Williams R J P 1953 The stability of transition metal complexes J Chem Soc 3192 3210 doi 10 1039 JR9530003192 a b Day Peter 1965 Light induced charge transfer in solids DPhil thesis University of Oxford OCLC 944386301 a b Perry Carole Celia 1985 Silicification in biological systems ox ac uk DPhil thesis University of Oxford OCLC 863542406 EThOS uk bl ethos 354861 nbsp a b c d Hill H A O Thomson A J 2016 Robert Joseph Paton Williams MBE 25 February 1926 21 March 2015 Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 62 London Royal Society 541 570 doi 10 1098 rsbm 2016 0020 Obituaries University of Oxford Gazette 145 5093 499 23 April 2015 Bob Williams Wadham College University of Oxford Archived from the original on 3 May 2015 Retrieved 23 March 2015 Thomson Andrew J 2015 Professor Robert JP Williams FRS 25 2 1926 21 3 2015 Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry 20 4 617 618 doi 10 1007 s00775 015 1262 6 ISSN 0949 8257 PMID 25913871 S2CID 39414172 Mann Stephen Thomson Andrew J 2015 Robert J P Williams 1926 2015 Angewandte Chemie 127 27 7856 Bibcode 2015AngCh 127 7856M doi 10 1002 ange 201504131 ISSN 0044 8249 Anon 2015 R J P Williams 1926 2015 University of Oxford Archived from the original on 9 February 2016 Robert Williams on the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group website Postmastership is the term used at Merton College for what other colleges call a scholarship Irving H Williams R J P 6 November 1948 Order of Stability of Metal Complexes Nature 162 4123 746 747 Bibcode 1948Natur 162 746I doi 10 1038 162746a0 S2CID 6943144 Thomson Andrew J 2016 The science of RJP Williams Journal of Biological Inorganic Chemistry 21 1 1 3 doi 10 1007 s00775 015 1328 5 PMID 26759252 S2CID 18533741 Pope M T Weakley T J Williams R J P 1959 Distribution of molecular weights in some polyesters and polypeptides J Chem Soc 3442 3446 doi 10 1039 jr9590003442 C S G Phillips R J P Williams 1965 Inorganic Chemistry Principles and non metals volume 1 Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0198551188 C S G Phillips R J P Williams 1965 Inorganic Chemistry Metals volume 2 Oxford University Press Gray H B Malmstrom B G Williams R J P 2000 Copper coordination in blue proteins J Biol Inorg Chem 5 5 551 559 doi 10 1007 s007750000146 PMID 11085645 S2CID 1815405 Vallee B L Williams R J P 1968 Metalloenzymes entatic nature of their active sites Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 59 2 498 505 Bibcode 1968PNAS 59 498V doi 10 1073 pnas 59 2 498 PMC 224700 PMID 5238980 Williams R J P 1961 Possible functions of chains of catalysts J Theor Biol 1 1 1 17 doi 10 1016 0022 5193 61 90023 6 PMID 13785509 Mitchell P July 1961 Coupling of phosphorylation to electron and hydrogen transfer by a chemi osmotic type of mechanism Nature 191 4784 144 148 Bibcode 1961Natur 191 144M doi 10 1038 191144a0 PMID 13771349 S2CID 1784050 Williams R J P 2011 Chemical advances in evolution by and changes in use of space during time J Theor Biol 268 1 146 159 doi 10 1016 j jtbi 2010 09 021 PMID 20869970 Frausto da Silva J J R Williams R J P 1991 The Biological Chemistry of the Elements the Inorganic Chemistry of Life Oxford Clarendon Press ISBN 0 19 850848 4 Williams R J P Frausto da Silva J J R 1996 The Natural Selection of the Chemical Elements Oxford Clarendon Press ISBN 9780198558422 Williams R J P Frausto da Silva J J R 2005 The Chemistry of Evolution The Development of our Ecosystem Elsevier Science ISBN 9780444521552 Williams R J P Rickaby R E M 2012 Evolution s Destiny Co evolving Chemistry of the Environment and Life Cambridge RSC Publishing No 59282 The London Gazette Supplement 31 December 2009 p 23 Hasani Ilire Hoffmann Robert 21 March 2015 Academy of Europe Williams Robert Academy of Europe Retrieved 10 September 2022 Williams Jelly K 1981 A Dutch Reader Nelson Thornes ISBN 9780859503495 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert Williams English chemist amp oldid 1179843685, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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