# Geoffrey Wilkinson

> British Nobel laureate in Chemistry

**Wikidata**: [Q274128](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q274128)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Wilkinson)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/geoffrey-wilkinson

## Summary
Geoffrey Wilkinson was a British Nobel laureate in Chemistry and a professor at Imperial College London, recognized for his foundational contributions to inorganic and organometallic chemistry. His research on the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds advanced the understanding of coordination chemistry and metal-ligand interactions, earning him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside numerous other prestigious scientific honors and a British knighthood.

## Biography
- Born: July 14, 1921
- Died: September 26, 1996
- Nationality: United Kingdom
- Education: Imperial College London
- Known for: Pioneering research in inorganic and organometallic chemistry
- Employer(s): Imperial College London
- Field(s): Inorganic chemistry, Organometallic chemistry

## Contributions
Geoffrey Wilkinson's primary contribution, catalogued as notable work Q237200, centered on the study of the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. His research advanced coordination chemistry—the study of interactions between organic and inorganic ligands with metal centers—and organometallic chemistry, which examines compounds containing at least one bond between a carbon atom of an organic compound and a metal. These investigations provided essential frameworks for understanding chemical behavior across the periodic table, with particular emphasis on transition metals and main group elements. As a non-fiction writer, he published texts that disseminated this knowledge to the broader scientific community.

## FAQs
**What awards did Geoffrey Wilkinson receive?**
Wilkinson was honored with the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, a knighthood as Knight Bachelor, Fellowship of the Royal Society, the Royal Medal, the Davy Medal, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry, the Ludwig Mond Award, the Longstaff Prize, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Granada.

**Where did Geoffrey Wilkinson work and study?**
Wilkinson was both educated at and employed by Imperial College London, a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, founded in 1907.

**What scientific organizations was Geoffrey Wilkinson affiliated with?**
He was a member of the Royal Society, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences.

**What was Geoffrey Wilkinson's area of scientific specialization?**
He specialized in inorganic chemistry and organometallic chemistry, focusing on the synthesis and behavior of inorganic compounds and those containing bonds between carbon atoms and metals.

## Why They Matter
Geoffrey Wilkinson fundamentally transformed the field of inorganic chemistry. His research bridged the gap between organic and inorganic chemistry through investigations into organometallic compounds, providing critical insights into how metal centers interact with organic and inorganic ligands. This knowledge underpins modern industrial catalysis, materials science, and the development of coordination complexes used in medicine and manufacturing. As a faculty member at Imperial College London—an institution whose academic works have garnered over 39 million citations—Wilkinson trained generations of scientists, extending his influence through his students and publications. His recognitions, including the Nobel Prize and membership in three of the world's most prestigious scientific academies, reflect the global scientific community's acknowledgment of his transformative impact.

## Notable For
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate
- Knight Bachelor (British knighthood)
- Fellow of the Royal Society
- Recipient of the Royal Medal (silver-gilt medal awarded by the Royal Society)
- Recipient of the Davy Medal (chemistry award from the Royal Society)
- Recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship
- Recipient of the American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry
- Recipient of the Ludwig Mond Award (Royal Society of Chemistry)
- Recipient of the Longstaff Prize (Royal Society of Chemistry)
- Honorary doctorate from the University of Granada
- Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences
- Faculty member at Imperial College London
- Notable work Q237200 in inorganic and organometallic chemistry

## Body

### Early Life and Personal Background
Geoffrey Wilkinson was born on July 14, 1921, in the United Kingdom. He died on September 26, 1996. He also went by the alias Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, reflecting his knighthood.

### Education
Wilkinson attended Imperial College London for his education. The institution, formally known as Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, is a public research university in London founded in 1907 by King Edward VII. Its main campus is located in South Kensington within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The university operates under the motto *Scientia imperii decus et tutamen* ("Science, ornament and protection of the empire") and is organized around four core faculties: Engineering, Medicine, Natural Sciences, and the Imperial College Business School. As a member of the Russell Group, the League of European Research Universities, and the "golden triangle" of elite English universities, Imperial College London has produced over 370,000 academic works cited more than 39 million times. As of December 2016, the institution had 17,565 students and 7,705 employees.

### Professional Career
Wilkinson held multiple professional roles: chemist, university teacher, and non-fiction writer. He was employed at Imperial College London throughout his career. In his capacity as a university teacher, he contributed to the training of future scientists and researchers in the chemical sciences.

### Field of Specialization
Wilkinson's field of work was inorganic chemistry, defined as the study of the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds. This discipline examines compounds that typically lack carbon-hydrogen bonds, encompassing several subfields:
- **Coordination chemistry**: The study of interactions between organic and inorganic ligands with metal centers, forming coordination complexes with applications in catalysis, medicine, and materials science.
- **Organometallic chemistry**: The study of compounds containing at least one bond between a carbon atom of an organic compound and a metal, bridging organic and inorganic chemistry.

Inorganic chemistry serves as a foundation for developing catalysts, electronic materials, ceramics, glasses, and advanced materials for energy storage and conversion.

### Scientific Society Memberships
Wilkinson was elected to membership in three major scientific organizations:
- **Royal Society**: An English learned society for science, founded November 1, 1660, headquartered in London, with an employee count ranging between 167 and 291. Wilkinson also received the Fellowship of the Royal Society distinction.
- **American Academy of Arts and Sciences**: A United States honorary society and policy research center founded May 4, 1780, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- **National Academy of Sciences**: The science branch of the United States National Academies, founded March 3, 1863, headquartered in Washington, D.C.

### Awards and Honors
Wilkinson's career was marked by an extensive collection of awards:
- **Nobel Prize in Chemistry**: One of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Alfred Nobel, first awarded in 1901, with Sweden as the country of origin.
- **Knight Bachelor**: A title granted to men knighted by the British monarch outside of organized orders of chivalry, with origins tracing to approximately 1300.
- **Fellow of the Royal Society**: Elected fellowship to the Royal Society in London, encompassing Honorary, Foreign, and Royal Fellows.
- **Royal Medal**: A silver-gilt medal awarded by the Royal Society, with three medals given each year, established in 1826.
- **Davy Medal**: A chemistry award given by the Royal Society, established in 1877.
- **Guggenheim Fellowship**: A grant in the arts awarded annually in the United States since 1925.
- **American Chemical Society Award in Inorganic Chemistry**: A scholarly award recognizing contributions to inorganic chemistry.
- **Ludwig Mond Award**: An award granted by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
- **Longstaff Prize**: An award granted by the Royal Society of Chemistry, established in 1881.
- **Honorary doctorate of the University of Granada**: An honorary academic degree.

### Notable Work
Wilkinson's notable work, identified as Q237200, represents a significant landmark in chemical research. His investigations focused on the synthesis and behavior of inorganic and organometallic compounds, advancing fundamental understanding in areas critical to catalysis, materials development, and coordination chemistry.

### Identifiers and Documentation
Wilkinson is documented across numerous academic and authority databases, reflecting his global scholarly presence:
- **ORCID**: 000000008173396X
- **VIAF**: 108514271
- **GND**: 107846152
- **Library of Congress**: n79114273
- **BNF**: 122764610
- **SUDOC**: 031576621
- **CiNii**: DA04074257, DA00749930
- **NDL**: 00460957
- **ISNI**: 0000000121138111
- **Freebase**: /m/04m0h_
- **Britannica**: biography/Geoffrey-Wilkinson

His Wikipedia entry spans 51 sitelinks across multiple language editions, and he is catalogued under Wikidata description as a "British Nobel laureate in Chemistry."

## References

1. Integrated Authority File
2. BnF authorities
3. Guggenheim Fellows database
4. [The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1973. nobelprize.org](https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1973/summary/)
5. [Table showing prize amounts. Nobel Foundation. 2019](https://www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2019/04/prize-amounts-2020.pdf)
6. [Source](https://www.acs.org/funding/awards/acs-award-in-inorganic-chemistry/past-recipients.html)
7. [Award winners : Davy Medal](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1dsunM9ukGLgaW3HdG9cvJ_QKd7pWjGI0qi_fCb1ROD4/pubhtml?gid=1021770356&single=true)
8. [Source](http://archivo.ugr.es/pages/trabajosdocumentos/honoriscausa)
9. [Source](https://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/prizes/find-a-prize/longstaff-prize/previous-winners/)
10. [Source](https://news.mit.edu/2015/chemistry-professor-emeritus-alan-davison-dies-1117)
11. [Source](https://cm.utexas.edu/news/entry/rich-jones-retirement)
12. International Standard Name Identifier
13. Virtual International Authority File
14. CiNii Research
15. Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978)
16. Encyclopædia Britannica Online
17. SNAC
18. Brockhaus Enzyklopädie
19. Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana
20. Croatian Encyclopedia
21. Munzinger Personen
22. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
23. E-Theses Online Service
24. Autoritats UB
25. Library of Congress Control Number
26. Regional Database of the Central Bohemian Research Library in Kladno
27. Catalogo of the National Library of India