Harry Julius Emeléus

Harry Julius Emeléus ( born June 22, 1903 in Battle, East Sussex, † 2 December 1993 in Cambridge ) was a British chemist ( Inorganic Chemistry). He was the founder of a school of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Cambridge a central role in inorganic chemistry in the UK.

He was the son of an immigrant from Finland Huguenot pharmacist. Emeléus studied at Imperial College with the degree in 1923 and his doctorate in 1925. As a post-doctoral researcher, he worked for Alfred floor in Karlsruhe, where he also learned glass blowing alongside modern methods of preparative inorganic chemistry. 1929 to 1931 he was with Hugh Taylor at Princeton University. He was from 1931 Lecturer and later Reader in Inorganic Chemistry at Imperial College in London and 1945 until his retirement in 1970 Professor at the University of Cambridge.

His textbook of inorganic chemistry with JS Anderson of 1938 presented the territory under new contemporary aspects and led to its revival in the UK.

In 1944 he worked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the Manhattan Project.

He was a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1946 and 1958, CBE. 1960 to 1962 he was President of the Chemical Society from 1963 to 1965 and of the Royal Institute of Chemistry. 1955 to 1960 he was president of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. In 1962 he received the Davy Medal.

He was married to Catherine Horton since 1931 and had two sons and two daughters. 1963 to 1972 he was a Trustee of the British Museum.

Writings

• With JS Anderson: Modern Aspects of Inorganic Chemistry, London, Routledge, 1938, 4th edition by AG Sharpe, Wiley 1973
• The chemistry of fluorine and its compounds, Academic Press 1969