Scientists from London are known all over the world for their interesting scientific activity and inventions. Usually, a person pays attention to a separate field of science and continues to study this direction throughout their life. However, Cyril Norman Hinshelwood belonged to those scientists who were distinguished by the diversity of their interests and recognition in various fields of scientific activity. The scientist played a major role in the development of chemistry and physics. He even managed to win the Nobel Prize in chemistry. What else do we know about his professional and personal life? Learn more at ilondon.
Interesting facts from the biography and passion for science
In general, according to the scientist’s biography, his life was quite interesting and unusual. Cyril Norman Hinshelwood was born in London on June 19, 1897. The first important events took place in his childhood. For example, it was the move to Canada. The boy’s father started a small business in this country. The parents also made that decision because of their son’s poor health. Thus, the boy went to kindergarten and first school there. The fact that Hinshelwood became interested in science is quite interesting because members of his family were creative. Although his father was an accountant, the family wasn’t fond of exact sciences. One of the most life-changing events in the scientist’s fate was the death of his father. It happened a few years after moving to Canada. Therefore, in 1905, the boy and his mother returned to London again. There, the future scientist studied at Westminster City School. In that institution, he not only acquired the necessary knowledge and skills but also met people who played an important role in his further professional activities. A little later, he entered Balliol College in Oxford and even received a scholarship. However, his further plans were destroyed by the First World War. In fact, such global events can completely change the life of every person. Usually, such transformations are extremely painful, but for the scientist, the war made it possible to decide on the future field of activity. During that period, Cyril Norman Hinshelwood worked as a chemist in a factory that produced explosives. That’s how his interest in chemical kinetics appeared in his life. He returned to this branch of science from time to time throughout his professional career and made more than one successful study.
The scientist’s personal life and personality are filled with even more interesting facts. Cyril Norman Hinshelwood was never married. His personality combined many incompatible things. He had an extremely restrained and purposeful character. The scientist seemed cold to many, but during the lectures, his students repeatedly heard apt jokes. Moreover, he liked justice and hated bureaucracy. Since his childhood, Hinshelwood was distinguished by curiosity and intelligence. Despite his passion for the exact sciences, he was fond of music (although he couldn’t play by himself) and painting (he was good at it). The chemist also paid great attention to the study of languages. At his university, there was even a joke that Hinshelwood studied a new language every vacation. In total, he was fluent in seven languages, including a dialect of Chinese and Latin.
The most significant scientific achievements
The Nobel Prize became one of the most significant awards for Hinshelwood. He was jointly awarded with the Soviet scientist Nikolay Semenov for researching the mechanism of chemical reactions in 1956. For a long time, scientists worked on a theory of chain reactions and succeeded. In general, Cyril Norman Hinshelwood paid attention to the dynamics of chemical reactions, the decomposition of gaseous organic compounds, bacterial growth using the methods of chemical kinetics, and many other studies.