威廉·提尔顿1842—1926

生平

提尔顿早年在贝德福德现代学校受教育。并分别在1868年与1871年取得伦敦大学的理学士学位与自然科学博士学位。1872年至1880年期间于布里斯托的克里夫顿学院担任资深科学教师。1880至1894年间则在梅森科学学院（后来的伯明翰大学）当化学教授。1894年至其过世前，一直任职于伦敦皇家科学院，1909年以前担任化学教授，1905至1909年间出任院长，之后成为荣誉教授。

提尔顿在1880成为皇家学会会员并于1904至1906年间任副会长。1908年获得戴维奖章。1903至1905年间任化学学会会长，1939年后化学学会创立提尔顿奖以纪念他，该奖项此后每年颁发给三位年轻的学会会员（现在该奖项改由英国皇家化学学会颁发）。除此之外，提尔顿还多方参与科学、化学的相关组织如英国先进科学组织、化学机构（1885年后该组织改名为皇家科学机构）、化工学会等。

1921年提尔顿曾出版《知名化学家与他们的贡献》（Famous Chemists: the men and their work）一书。其子菲利浦·阿姆斯壮·提尔顿为20世纪早期的知名建筑师。

William Augustus Tilden (15 August 1842 – 11 December 1926) was a British chemist. He discovered that isoprene could be made from turpentine. He was unable to turn this discovery into a way to make commercially viable synthetic rubber.

Life

Educated at Bedford Modern School, Tilden obtained a B Sc in 1868 and a D Sc in 1871, both from the University of London. From 1872 to 1880 he was Senior Teacher of Science at Clifton College, Bristol. From 1880 to 1894, he was professor of chemistry at Mason College, (which later became the University of Birmingham). From 1894 until his death, he was at the Royal College of Science, London, being professor of chemistry to 1909, Dean from 1905 to 1909, and then emeritus professor.

He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1880 and was vice-president from 1904 to 1906. In 1908, he was awarded the Davy Medal of the society. He was president of the Chemical Society from 1903 to 1905. The Tilden Prize was named in his memory by the society in 1939 and has been awarded annually (now by the Royal Society of Chemistry) to three younger members since then. He held office in many other organisations, including the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Chemistry (renamed Royal Institute of Chemistry in 1885) and the Society of Chemical Industry.

He published Famous Chemists: the men and their work (George Routledge and Sons Ltd.) in 1921. His son, Philip Armstrong Tilden became a prominent architect.