Bob Briggs
Born
Lindsay Heathcote Briggs

(1905-01-03)3 January 1905
Hastings, New Zealand
Died16 January 1975(1975-01-16) (aged 70)
Auckland, New Zealand
Alma mater
Known forContribution to the structure of strychnine; chemistry of New Zealand native plants
AwardsHector Medal (1943)
Scientific career
FieldsOrganic chemistry
InstitutionsUniversity of Auckland
Thesis (1932)
Doctoral advisorRobert Robinson

Lindsay Heathcote "Bob" Briggs (3 January 1905 – 16 January 1975) was a New Zealand organic chemist.

Early life

Born in Hastings in 1905,[1] Briggs was educated at Auckland Grammar School.[2]

Academic career

After graduating from Auckland University College with a Master of Science with second-class honours in 1928,[3] he received funding to research manuka oil the following year,[4] and undertook independent research at Massey Agricultural College from 1929 to 1930.

He then went to the Dyson Perrins Laboratory at Oxford University for a PhD under Robert Robinson, investigating the chemical structure of strychnine.[1] He was awarded his doctorate in 1932 and returned to Auckland, where he was appointed as a lecturer in organic chemistry in 1933.[2]

In 1941 he was awarded a DSc from Auckland University College.[3] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1942[5] and served as its president from 1956 to 1958.[6] He was awarded the Hector Medal by the society in 1943.[7] In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[8]

He was also an active member of the Auckland University field club.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b McLintock, A.H., ed. (1966). "Briggs, Lindsay Heathcote". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Chemistry lecturer". New Zealand Herald. 27 March 1933. p. 10. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  3. ^ a b "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Bri–By". Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  4. ^ "Scientific research". Evening Post. 5 March 1929. p. 10. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  5. ^ "The academy: A–C". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Presidents of the Royal Society of New Zealand". Royal Society of New Zealand. 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  7. ^ "Hector Medal". Royal Society of New Zealand. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Coronation Medal" (PDF). Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette. No. 37. 3 July 1953. pp. 1021–1035. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  9. ^ Millener, Laurie (1975). "Obituary – Professor L.H. Briggs" (PDF). Tane: The Journal of the Auckland University Field Club. 21: 175–176. Retrieved 20 August 2014.


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