William Boon Explained

William Robert Boon
Birth Date:20 March 1911
Death Date:28 October 1994
Alma Mater:King's College London
Known For:Paraquat
Awards:Mullard Award (1972)
FRS (1974)

William Robert Boon FRS FRSC (20 March 1911 – 28 October 1994) was a British chemist, known for developing the herbicide paraquat.

Early life

He was educated at St Dunstan's College and King's College London (BSc; PhD).[1]

Career

ICI

He developed Bipyridine compounds (4,4'-Bipyridine) in 1954 at ICI's Jealott's Hill Experimental Station (Plant Protection Limited) at Jealott's Hill (Warfield) in Berkshire (Bracknell Forest). These compounds are known as Paraquat-Gramoxone and Diquat, being released onto the market in 1958.

Awards

He was awarded the Mullard Award of the Royal Society in 1972 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974.[2] He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and a Fellow of King's College London.

Notes and References

  1. ‘BOON, Dr William Robert’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2016
  2. Wain . R. L. . 10.1098/rsbm.1997.0008 . William Robert Boon. 20 March 1911--28 October 1994: Elected F.R.S. 1974 . Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society . 43 . 135 . 1997 . free .