Alan Dronsfield
Alan Dronsfield’s interest in chemistry started when he was given a chemistry set in the early 1950s and was subsequently sustained by an inspirational secondary school teacher. After an early career in school and college teaching, and later academic research in organophosphorus and organocobalt chemistry, Alan turned to the history of our subject, specialising in 19th century chemical theory, historic synthetic dyestuffs and, most recently, chemical aspects of the history of anaesthesia. A former chair of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Historical Group, Alan took early retirement in 2001 from the University of Derby, UK, which conferred upon him the honorary position of emeritus professor.
ReviewToxic: A History of Nerve Agents, From Nazi Germany to Putin’s Russia
A comprehensive and timely book covering events from 1931 to 2018
ReviewTraveling with the Atom: A Scientific Guide to Europe and Beyond
Use this book to plot visits across Europe to the homesteads, graveyards, laboratories, apartments, abbeys and castles of your chemistry heroes
ReviewUnravelling the Double Helix: The Lost Heroes of DNA
A compelling narrative that shines a light on the unsung pioneers behind science’s greatest discovery – Gareth Williams dives into the rich history of DNA
ReviewFor Science, King & Country: The Life and Legacy of Henry Moseley
Alan Dronsfield reviews a biography of the talented young researcher who developed the concept of atomic numbers
ReviewToxic exposures: mustard gas and the health consequences of world war II in the United States
An insight into the murky world of chemical warfare
ReviewWisdom of the Martians of science: in their own words with commentaries
The stories of John von Neumann, Theodor von Kármán, Leo Szilárd, Eugene Wigner and Edward Teller
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A moving biography
A G Stromberg, first class scientist, second class citizen : letters from the Gulag and a history of electroanalysis in the USSR