Robert Howson Pickard

Sir Robert Howson Pickard FRS (27 September 1874 – 18 October 1949) was a chemist who did pioneering work in stereochemistry and also for the cotton industry in Lancashire. He was also involved in educational administration and was Vice Chancellor of the University of London from 1937-1939. He was Principal of Battersea Polytechnic (which later became the University of Surrey) from 1920 to 1927.

Early life

He was born in Balsall Heath, Birmingham, Warwickshire, (now the West Midlands), England, From 1883 to 1891, (now the Royal Society of Chemistry) (president 1936-1939); the Chemical Society (vice-president); the now defunct Chemical Council (chairman) and various positions over a long period with the University of London including Vice-Chancellor, 1937-1939.

Personal life He married Ethel Marian Wood in 1901. She died in 1944. They had a daughter, who predeceased her father, and a son. He died at his son's home in Headley, Surrey.