Herbert C. Brown Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Herbert C. Brown
OCCUPATION: Academic, Chemist
BIRTH DATE: May 22, 1912
DEATH DATE: December 19, 2004
EDUCATION: University of Chicago
PLACE OF BIRTH: London, England, United Kingdom
PLACE OF DEATH: Lafayette, Indiana
Originally: Herbert Charles Brovarnik
Full Name: Herbert Charles Brown
AKA: Herbert C. Brown
AKA: Herbert Brovarnik
AKA: Herbert C. Brovarnik
AKA: Herbert Brown

Best Known For

Herbert C. Brown was a scientist and professor who won the Nobel Prize for his work in organic chemistry.

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Herbert Charles Brown

APA Style

Herbert Charles Brown. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 06:55, May 21, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287.

Harvard Style

Herbert Charles Brown. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287 [Accessed 21 May 2013].

MLA Style

"Herbert Charles Brown." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 21 2013, 06:55 http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287.

MHRA Style

"Herbert Charles Brown," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287 [accessed May 21, 2013].

Chicago Style

"Herbert Charles Brown," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287 (accessed May 21, 2013).

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Herbert Charles Brown [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 21] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287.

Bluebook Style

Herbert Charles Brown, http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287 (last visited May 21, 2013).

AMA Style

Herbert Charles Brown. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/herbert-c-brown-9228287. Accessed May 21, 2013.

Synopsis

Herbert C. Brown was born in London, England, on May 22, 1912, and later earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Brown would go on to do trailblazing, sometimes contested work in the field of organic chemistry, for which he would later share the 1979 Nobel Prize. He also worked as a Purdue University professor and was a highly prolific writer. He died on December 19, 2004, in Lafayette, Indiana.

Early Life and Career

Famed chemist Herbert Charles Brown was born on May 22, 1912, in London, England, and his family moved to Chicago when he was 2 years old. He studied at the University of Chicago, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1936 and a Ph.D. in 1938.

Trailblazing Work in Chemistry

Herbert C. Brown would go on to do trailblazing, sometimes contested work in the field of organic chemistry. In 1947, Brown became a professor at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he spent most of his academic career, eventually earning the title of R.B. Wetherill research professor emeritus of chemistry. He was also a highly prolific writer.

Brown was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1957, and was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Science in 1969.

Brown ended his career at Purdue in 1978. The following year, he shared the 1979 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Georg Wittig for his work in introducing boron compounds as important reagents in synthesis.

Death and Legacy

Herbert C. Brown died on December 19, 2004, at the age of 92, in Lafayette, Indiana. He is remembered today for his pioneering chemistry work, as well as for the numerous honors he earned over his decades-long research career.