The PCL in 1942 from a photograph by J.R.H. Weaver
Introduction
1991 was quite a historic year. It marked
the 200th anniversary of the birth of Michael Faraday (who has a strong claim
to be regarded as the first Physical Chemist), the 150th anniversary of the
formation of the Chemical Society of London (now the Royal Society of
Chemistry) and the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Oxford Physical
Chemistry Laboratory. As the first Head of the Laboratory, Professor Sir Cyril
Hinshelwood, commented on the occasion of the Centenary Celebration of the
Chemical Society.
"The observance of anniversaries
and centenaries is dictated by a deep-seated instinct. How far this in its turn
is inspired by a feeling for the magic of numbers and awe at the vast cyclical processes
of Nature, I do not know, but, however that may be, these recurrent occasions
for retrospect and prospect are assuredly felt to be significant and
moving."
We approached the job of writing about the
first fifty years of the PCL in different, but we hope complementary ways. In
Part I, RFB has pieced together some of the facts, from published reports and
from accounts from colleagues - and for these, most warm thanks. In II, CJD,
very closely involved with the affairs of the laboratory for some forty-two
years, gives a personal account of what the place was like, with some emphasis
on the early days.
We have updated some of the introduction
chapters of Part I to show more recent changes in the dates, finances, and
administration sections, and in Part III we present the history of the
laboratory from 1991-2001.
