John Llewellyn

Sir Frederick John Llewellyn (29 April 1915 – 15 November 1988), known as John or Jack Llewellyn, was an English chemist and academic administrator who spent some of his career in New Zealand.

Early life and education Llewellyn was born in 1915 in Dursley, Gloucestershire. He received his education at Dursley Grammar School. He attended the University of Birmingham, from where he graduated with a BSc (1st class honours) in Chemistry. and worked alongside Nobel laureate Norman Haworth. His thesis, submitted in 1938, was titled, The crystalline structure of pentaerythritol and β-methyl-xyloside.

Career

1938 - 1947: Early career in the UK After his PhD at Birmingham, Llewellyn worked as Scientific Officer at the Fuel Research Station in Greenwich from 1938 to 1939. This experience at the Ministry of Supply would later inspire his research interest in organic nitrogenous compounds. Among his students at Auckland were the then undergraduate student Charmian O'Connor (later Dame Charmian), as well as doctoral researchers David Hall, June Sutor, Joyce Waters, and Neil Waters - future vice-chancellor of Massey University. During his tenure at Canterbury, Llewellyn oversaw its transition from a constituent of the University of New Zealand to an independent institution with its own degree-awarding power. In 1961, he left Canterbury to be the first chairman of New Zealand's University Grants Committee,

From 1962 to 1965, Llewellyn was chairman of the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, his first position outside academia.

Return to the UK Llewellyn returned to the UK to become the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter in 1966. During his tenure, the university saw growing student numbers and with that, constructions of new campus buildings and halls of residence. Some of the buildings opened during this time at Exeter were the Newman, Laver, and Streatham Court,

Llewellyn left Exeter in 1972 to become Director General of the British Council, holding this office until 1980. He was appointed at a time of crisis for the organisation, when it was at risk of being closed down by the government. and was also a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. serving as the inaugural chairman of the society’s South West regional branch in 1966.

Llewellyn received a DSc from the University of Birmingham in 1951, on the basis of 17 publications on "electrostatics and X-ray crystal structure determination". In 1962, he was one of the three inaugural recipients of an honorary doctorate from the University of Canterbury, receiving a Legum Doctor (LLD). In 1966, Victoria University of Wellington conferred the same honorary degree on him. He also received honorary degrees from Universities of Exeter and Salford and the Open University in 1973 , 1975, and 1979, respectively.

In the 1974 Birthday Honours, Llewellyn was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG).

Personal life and death In 1939, he married Joyce Barrett; they were to have one son and one daughter. His younger brother, Sir Don Llewellyn (1919–2004), was also a chemist and was the founding Vice-chancellor of University of Waikato.

Llewellyn died at his home in London on 15 November 1988, aged 73.