Richard Norman (chemist)


Sir Richard Oswald Chandler Norman, was a British chemist.

Biography

Norman was born in Norbury, London. His father Oswald managed a bank in the area. Norman received his primary education at St Paul's School, London. He matriculated in chemistry from Balliol College, Oxford, and pursued a Ph.D at Merton College, Oxford. His doctoral thesis investigated using continuous flow mixing techniques to study rapid free radical reactions. He joined the faculty at Merton College in 1958, lecturing, tutoring and building up a research team.
In 1965 Norman moved to the University of York to create a new chemistry department, where he gained a reputation for the study of organic reactions. In 1987 he returned to Oxford as Rector of Exeter College, Oxford, where he remained until his death.
He married Jennifer Margaret Tope in 1982. They had no children. He died in Oxford in 1993; his body was cremated at Oxford.

Textbooks and Monographs