Harry Melville

Sir Harry Work Melville, (27 April 1908 – 14 June 2000) was a British chemist, academic, and academic administrator, who specialised in polymer research. He spent his early career in academia as a lecturer and researcher, before moving into administration as a civil servant and university college head.

He was a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, from 1933 to 1944, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen from 1945 to 1947, and Mason Professor of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham from 1948 to 1956. Having moved into administration, he was permanent secretary of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research from 1956 to 1965, chairman of the Science Research Council from 1965 to 1967, and principal of Queen Mary College from 1967 to 1976.

Melvin was elected to the fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and of the Royal Society. He was awarded Meldola Medal by the Institute of Chemistry and the Davy Medal by the Royal Society. He gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1955 and the Royal Society's Bakerian Lecture in 1956. He was knighted as a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1958.

Early life and education Melville was born on 27 April 1908 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was the son of Thomas Melville and his wife, Esther Cumming Burnet Nicol. They lived at 233 Dalkeith Road in the south of Edinburgh.

He was educated at Preston Street School, a state primary school in Edinburgh, and at George Heriot's School, a private school in Old Town, Edinburgh. He then studied for a year at Heriot-Watt College, a technical college that specialised in engineering. From 1965 to 1967, he served as chairman of the Science Research Council, the newly created agency that took on oversight of publicly funded scientific research from the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.

In 1981, Melville became a founding member of the World Cultural Council.

Later life In retirement, Melville maintained his links with academia and research. He was appointed a part-time member of the London Electricity Board in 1968. He served as chair of the council of Westfield College between 1977 and 1983. In 1955, he was awarded the Davy Medal by the Royal Society "in recognition of his distinguished work in physical chemistry and in polymer reactions". In 1955, he gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on "Big Molecules".

On 1 March 1937, Melville was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE). In 1941, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS); aged 33, he was one of the youngest ever to be elected to the fellowship.

In 1959, Melville was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) by the University of Exeter. In 1966, he was awarded an honorary DSc degree by Heriot-Watt University. In 1975, he was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Essex.

In 1990, the Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis was established at the University of Cambridge, being named in his honour.