Robert Mond
Encyclopedia
Sir Robert Ludwig Mond FRS
, FRSE (9 September 1867 — 22 October 1938) was a British
chemist
and archaeologist
.
, the elder son of Ludwig Mond
, chemist and industrialist. He was educated at Cheltenham College
, Peterhouse, Cambridge
, Zurich Polytechnic
, the University of Edinburgh
and the University of Glasgow
. At Glasgow he studied under William Thomson
.
. He perfected the industrial production of iron carbonyl, and discovered the first derivative of a metallic carbonyl (cobalt nitroso-carbonyl) and a new ruthenium carbonyl. For a time he made trials of scientific farming. Following his father's heritage he became a director of Brunner Mond & Company
and because of a connection with nickel
mines in Canada he was a trustee
of the Royal Ontario Museum
in Toronto.
archaeology
and worked with some of the major archaeologists of the time, including Percy Newberry, Howard Carter
, Arthur Weigall
and Alan Gardiner
. With the last named he worked on the Theban
necropolis
. After World War I
he was involved with the preservation of the tomb of Ramesses
. He built up a considerable collection of artefacts which he bequeathed to the British Museum
. He also performed archaeological work in Palestine
, France and the Channel Islands and assisted in the foundation of a British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. Robert Mond also took an interest in model soldiers
building up a collection of 900 figures representing all the regiment
s in Napoleon's
army.
which supported the work of chemistry in France and he was a benefactor of the British Institute in Paris
. He also made large benefactions to the universities of Liverpool
, Manchester
and Toronto
.
He was knight
ed in 1932. He received numerous honours including the honorary degree
s of LL.D from the universities of Liverpool and Toronto, and D.Sc
from the University of London
. He was made president of the Faraday Society
(1930–1932) and was awarded the Messel medal of the Society of Chemical Industry
. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
and Fellow of the Royal Society. In France he became Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur and a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
, thereby joining the Institut de France
. He was elected president of the Société de Chimie.
, London. In 1922 he married Marie-Louise Guggenheim (née Le Manach) of Belle-Île-en-Terre, Brittany
and following this spent more of his life in France. He died in Paris, was cremated at the Père Lachaise Cemetery
and his ashes were buried at his home at Belle-Île-en-Terre.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
, FRSE (9 September 1867 — 22 October 1938) was a British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
.
Early life and education
Robert Mond was born at Farnworth, Widnes, LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, the elder son of Ludwig Mond
Ludwig Mond
Dr Ludwig Mond , was a German-born chemist and industrialist who took British nationality.-Education and career:...
, chemist and industrialist. He was educated at Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College
Cheltenham College is a co-educational independent school, located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.One of the public schools of the Victorian period, it was opened in July 1841. An Anglican foundation, it is known for its classical, military and sporting traditions.The 1893 book Great...
, Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse, Cambridge
Peterhouse is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the oldest college of the University, having been founded in 1284 by Hugo de Balsham, Bishop of Ely...
, Zurich Polytechnic
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
, the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
. At Glasgow he studied under William Thomson
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin OM, GCVO, PC, PRS, PRSE, was a mathematical physicist and engineer. At the University of Glasgow he did important work in the mathematical analysis of electricity and formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics, and did much to unify the emerging...
.
Chemistry
He collaborated with his father in the discovery of the gaseous compound nickel carbonylNickel carbonyl
Nickel carbonyl is the organonickel compound with the formula Ni4. This pale-yellow liquid is the principal carbonyl of nickel. It is an intermediate in the Mond process for the purification of nickel and a reagent in organometallic chemistry...
. He perfected the industrial production of iron carbonyl, and discovered the first derivative of a metallic carbonyl (cobalt nitroso-carbonyl) and a new ruthenium carbonyl. For a time he made trials of scientific farming. Following his father's heritage he became a director of Brunner Mond & Company
Brunner Mond
Tata Chemicals Europe is a UK-based chemicals company that is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals Limited, itself a part of the India-based Tata Group...
and because of a connection with nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
mines in Canada he was a trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
of the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
in Toronto.
Archaeology
He then took an interest in EgyptianAncient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
and worked with some of the major archaeologists of the time, including Percy Newberry, Howard Carter
Howard Carter (archaeologist)
Howard Carter was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist, noted as a primary discoverer of the tomb of Tutankhamun.-Beginning of career:...
, Arthur Weigall
Arthur Weigall
Arthur Edward Pearse Brome Weigall was an English Egyptologist, stage designer, journalist and author whose works span the whole range from histories of Ancient Egypt through historical biographies, guide-books, popular novels, screenplays and lyrics.- Biography :Arthur Weigall was born in the...
and Alan Gardiner
Alan Gardiner
Sir Alan Henderson Gardiner was one of the premier British Egyptologists of the early and mid-20th century...
. With the last named he worked on the Theban
Thebes, Egypt
Thebes is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile within the modern city of Luxor. The Theban Necropolis is situated nearby on the west bank of the Nile.-History:...
necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
. After World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he was involved with the preservation of the tomb of Ramesses
Ramesses
Ramesses is the name conventionally given in English transliteration to 11 Egyptian pharaohs of the later New Kingdom period. The name essentially translates as "Born of the sun-god Ra"....
. He built up a considerable collection of artefacts which he bequeathed to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. He also performed archaeological work in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, France and the Channel Islands and assisted in the foundation of a British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. Robert Mond also took an interest in model soldiers
Toy soldier
A toy soldier is a miniature figurine that represents a soldier. The term applies to depictions of uniformed military personnel from all eras, and includes knights, cowboys, pirates, and other subjects that involve combat-related themes. Toy soldiers vary from simple playthings to highly realistic...
building up a collection of 900 figures representing all the regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
s in Napoleon's
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
army.
Honours and benefactions
Mond helped convert a house in Paris into the Maison de la ChimieMaison de la Chimie
The Maison de la Chimie is an international conference center in Paris, France, located near the National Assembly.The house is managed by a nonprofit association...
which supported the work of chemistry in France and he was a benefactor of the British Institute in Paris
University of London Institute in Paris
The University of London Institute in Paris is a college of the University of London located in Paris. It is currently the only UK University Institute in Continental Europe.-History:...
. He also made large benefactions to the universities of Liverpool
University of Liverpool
The University of Liverpool is a teaching and research university in the city of Liverpool, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration. Founded in 1881 , it is also one of the six original "red brick" civic...
, Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
and Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
.
He was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1932. He received numerous honours including the honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s of LL.D from the universities of Liverpool and Toronto, and D.Sc
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
from the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. He was made president of the Faraday Society
Faraday Society
The Faraday Society was a British society for the study of physical chemistry, founded in 1903 and named in honour of Michael Faraday. It merged with several similar organisations in 1980 to form the Royal Society of Chemistry...
(1930–1932) and was awarded the Messel medal of the Society of Chemical Industry
Society of Chemical Industry
The Society of Chemical Industry is a learned society set up in 1881 "to further the application of chemistry and related sciences for the public benefit". Its purpose is "Promoting the commercial application of science for the benefit of society". Its first president was Henry Enfield Roscoe and...
. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
and Fellow of the Royal Society. In France he became Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur and a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a French learned society devoted to the humanities, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France.-History:...
, thereby joining the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
. He was elected president of the Société de Chimie.
Personal life
Robert Mond married twice. In 1898 he married Helen Levis and they had two daughters but Helen died in 1905, following the birth of their second daughter (born in 1901). In her memory Mond founded the Infants' Hospital in Vincent SquareVincent Square
Vincent Square is a large grass-covered square in Westminster, London, England, covering 13 acres. It provides playing fields for Westminster School, which privately owns it....
, London. In 1922 he married Marie-Louise Guggenheim (née Le Manach) of Belle-Île-en-Terre, Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and following this spent more of his life in France. He died in Paris, was cremated at the Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery
Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris, France , though there are larger cemeteries in the city's suburbs.Père Lachaise is in the 20th arrondissement, and is reputed to be the world's most-visited cemetery, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors annually to the...
and his ashes were buried at his home at Belle-Île-en-Terre.