Misplaced Pages

Sir Rex Edward Richards FRS FRSC FBA (28 October 1922 – 15 July 2019) was a British scientist and academic. He served as vice-chancellor of University of Oxford and as a director of the Leverhulme Trust.

Education

Richards was educated at Colyton Grammar School, and became the first pupil from the school to attend the University of Oxford when he went up to St John's College, Oxford in January 1942. He was awarded a first class Bachelor of Arts degree in 1945 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1948.

Career

After graduating, Richards stayed at the university as a Fellow in chemistry at Lincoln College from 1947 to 1964. In 1964 he succeeded Sir Cyril Hinshelwood as Dr Lee's Professor of Chemistry at Exeter College. In 1969, he became Warden of Merton College. Richards held the post of vice chancellor of the university from 1977 to 1981 and was Director of IBM (UK) Ltd from 1978 to 1983 and Director of the Leverhulme Trust from 1984 to 1993. He was president of the Royal Society of Chemistry for two years, and the Royal Society awarded him the Davy Medal in 1976 and the Royal Medal in 1986. He was knighted in 1977. He was also Chancellor of the University of Exeter from 1982 to October 1998. A painted portrait of Richards by Allan Ramsay hangs in the Senate and Council Chamber, Northcote House, University of Exeter, and another by Bryan Organ in Merton College, Oxford.

Richards chaired numerous committees concerned with higher education, including an independent enquiry to investigate factors that might deter young physicians and dentists from choosing clinical academic careers.

Richards maintained an interest in the art world as well; he was a member of the National Gallery Scientific Advisory Committee from 1978 to 2007 and its chairman from 1991 to 1993. In 1981, Richards became a founding member of the World Cultural Council. He was trustee of the Tate Gallery from 1982 to 1988 and 1989–1993, of the National Gallery from 1982 to 1988 and 1989–1993, and of the Henry Moore Foundation from 1989 to 2002; he was Chairman of the Moore from 1994 to 2001. He was also Chairman of the British Postgraduate Medical Foundation from 1986 to 1993.

The emperor of Japan Naruhito mentions him in his memoir, and when Emperor Akihito visited his son, then Prince Naruhito, at Merton College, Oxford, he was a very gracious warden and the emperor praised Sir Rex Richards. He was warden for only half his stay, but he was a big influence on him and his researches.

Richards's research work in the physical and theoretical chemistry laboratory at Oxford was primarily concerned with nuclear magnetic resonance; the magnet from his 1956 prototype is in the collection of the Science Museum, London.. His early work, leading to the award of a DPhil. in 1948, was on infrared spectroscopy and was supervised by Harold Warris Thompson.

Awards and honours

Richards was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1959, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 1970, and won the Davy Medal in 1976. His nomination for the Royal Society reads:

Distinguished for his work on nuclear magnetic resonance and its application to chemical problems. He has made outstanding contributions to the development of this technique, and was the first to apply it to the determination of unknown molecular structures. During recent years he has stimulated other work in the field by his own numerous applications. Earlier, he has done work of high quality in infrared spectroscopy, thermo-chemistry and magnetochemistry and has discovered important information about certain clathrate structures. He was awarded the Corday-Morgan Medal in 1954.

Personal life

In 1948 Richards married Eva Vago; the couple had two daughters. Eva Richards died in 2009.

References

1. GRO Register of Births: DEC 1922 5b 15 AXMINSTER – Rex E. Richards.
2. "Previous Vice-Chancellors". University of Oxford, UK. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
3. ^ Gadian, David G (2021). "Sir Rex Edward Richards. 28 October 1922—15 July 2019". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 70. The Royal Society: 387–407. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2020.0039. S2CID 232162170. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
4. ^ Manuscript papers of British scientists, University of Bath, UK. Archived 15 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine
5. University of Warwick brief biography, Coventry & Warwickshire, UK.
6. "Sir Rex Richards (b.1922), DSc, FBA, FRS, Chancellor of the University of Exeter (1982–1998)". Art UK. Retrieved 22 May 2013.
7. "Sir Rex Richards". Art UK. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
8. "About Us". World Cultural Council. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
9. "EC/1959/18: Richards, Sir Rex Edward". London: The Royal Society. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016.
10. Ferry, Georgina (29 July 2019). "Sir Rex Richards obituary". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 15 March 2021.

External links

• Prototype nmr magnet (1956) in the collection of the Science Museum, London
• Permanent nmr magnet (1959) in the collection of the Science Museum, London
• Rex Richards on the History of Modern Biomedicine Research Group website

v t e University of Exeter
People	Chancellor Sir Michael Barber Vice-Chancellor Professor Lisa Roberts List of academics List of alumni List of honorary graduates
Departments and centres	Bill Douglas Centre Business School Camborne School of Mines Institute of Cornish Studies
Campus	Exeter Science Park Penryn Campus St Luke's Campus Streatham Campus Halls of Residence University Chapel (Holy Trinity) University Chapel (St Luke)
Student life	Exeposé (newspaper) Hockey Club Northcott Theatre Rugby Football Club Xpression FM XTV Bottle Match
Affiliates	eSTAR Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital University of St Mark & St John
Other	Academic dress CSM Association Exoniensis University of Exeter Press
Category Commons

• 1922 births
• People from East Devon District
• Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
• Fellows of Lincoln College, Oxford
• Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford
• Fellows of Merton College, Oxford
• Wardens of Merton College, Oxford
• Fellows of St John's College, Oxford
• Chancellors of the University of Exeter
• Fellows of the Royal Society
• Fellows of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• English chemists
• Royal Medal winners
• Knights Bachelor
• Vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford
• People associated with the National Gallery, London
• People associated with the Tate galleries
• Presidents of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Dr Lee's Professors of Chemistry
• Founding members of the World Cultural Council
• 2019 deaths
• Honorary Fellows of the British Academy