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Dame Kathleen Lonsdale FRS (1903–1971): her contribution to crystallography

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Abstract

Dame Kathleen Lonsdale (née Yardley) FRS (1903–1971) was not only one of the most prominent female scientists of the twentieth century but also a leading campaigner for peace, penal reform and the position of women in science. She started her career using X-ray crystallography, a technique which had been developed 10 years after her birth, following the discovery of X-rays in the late nineteenth century. Lonsdale married and had three children but managed to continue with her career, a feat rare at that time. Although born a Baptist, Lonsdale joined the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and endured a prison sentence for her pacifist beliefs. During her later career, her scientific interests became more closely entwined with her religion and social concerns. This article provides a brief introduction to Lonsdale’s early years, followed by a more detailed overview of her career in X-ray crystallography. It then examines Lonsdale’s contribution to both crystal structure analysis and to the early development of crystallography.

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© Godfrey Argent Studio Courtesy: Royal Society

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Notes

  1. K.B.E. Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.

  2. Laue was awarded the Nobel prize in physics in 1914 for his ‘discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals’.

  3. In the text William Henry Bragg is referred to as William Bragg with his son William Lawrence Bragg as Lawrence which he himself used professionally.

  4. William Bragg and Lawrence Bragg were jointly awarded the Nobel prize for physics for their work on ‘the analysis of crystal structures by means of X-rays’. They are the only parent–child to receive the award jointly and Lawrence Bragg remains the youngest recipient of that award.

  5. Astbury became a life-long friend and professionally supported Lonsdale’s nomination to the Royal Society. He left the DFRL in 1928 and moved to the University of Leeds where he worked for many years before becoming Professor of Biomolecular Structure in 1946.

  6. There is evidence that Whiddington and William Bragg were in correspondence regarding scientific matters before Lonsdale moved to Leeds.

  7. A Toast to Dr Lonsdale “Husbands should help at home”, Daily Telegraph 6th January 1956.

  8. Bernal had been a member of William Bragg’s team at the RI from 1923 to 1927. He was now Professor of Crystallography at Birkbeck College, University of London.

  9. The Davy Medal is named after Humphry Davy (1778–1829), the chemist and inventor, and is awarded for outstanding research in the field of chemistry.

  10. Madame Curie had received it jointly with her husband Pierre in 1903.

  11. Bravais lattice is named after Auguste Bravais (1811–1863) who derived the mathematical theory of space lattices. He showed that there are 14 space lattices in three-dimensional crystalline systems and showed that the lattices provided an explanation for the seven crystal systems.

  12. A unit cell is described by the lengths of its sides (a, b, c) and the angles between them (α, β, ƴ). These are called the lattice parameters.

  13. These symbols were devised by Carl Hermann (1878–1958) and Charles Victor Mauguin (1898–1961) and became the international standard notation for crystallographic groups.

  14. The ICSU is now the International Council for Science (ISC) since it merged with the International Social Science Council (ISSC) in 2018.

  15. The current Tables now consist of nine volumes available in print and online. Emphasis is given to symmetry, diffraction methods, techniques of crystal structure determination and the physical and chemical properties of crystals.

  16. Bernal had suffered a stroke in 1963 followed by a second which had affected his ability to speak clearly.

  17. Professor Jenny Pickworth Glusker (1931–) is a British biochemist and crystallographer. Currently Professor Emeritus at the Fox Chase Centre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

  18. A Laue photograph is a collection of X-ray diffraction spots made by a crystal using a Laue camera and white radiation.

  19. Friday Evening Discourses at the RI are monthly lectures given by eminent scientists, each limited to exactly 1 h. They were started in 1825 by Michael Faraday (1791–1867).

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  1. Department of Science and Technology Studies, University College London, London, UK

    Jennifer M. Wilson

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Wilson, J.M. Dame Kathleen Lonsdale FRS (1903–1971): her contribution to crystallography. ChemTexts 7, 23 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40828-021-00148-9

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