Dame Kathleen Lonsdale (January 28, 1903 - April 1, 1971) was a prominent crystallographer, who discovered the planar hexagonal structure of benzene. January 28 is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... Crystallography (from the Greek words crystallon = cold drop / frozen drop, with its meaning extending to all solids with some degree of transparency, and graphein = write) is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in solids. ... Benzene, also known as C6H6, PhH, and benzol, is an organic chemical compound which is a colorless and flammable liquid with a pleasant, sweet smell. ...

Lonsdale was born Kathleen Yardley in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. She was born at Charlotte House, Newbridge, where her father was the town postmaster. She was the tenth child of Harry Yardley and Jessie Cameron. Her family moved to England when she was five. Newbridge (Irish: Droichead Nua) is a town in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, near the midlands of Ireland. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location within the British Isles Official language English de facto Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st UK...

She studied at Ilford County High School for Girls, moving to the boys' school to study mathematics and science because the girls' school did not offer this subject. Ilford County High School (ICHS) is a boys secondary grammar school in Clayhall in the London Borough of Redbridge. ...

She earned her B.Sc. from Bedford College for Women in 1922, graduating in physics with an M.Sc. from University College London 1924. She then joined the research team of Sir William Bragg. In 1927 she married Thomas Jackson Lonsdale. They had three children – Jane, Nancy, and Stephen. Bedford College was founded in 1849 by Elizabeth Jesser Reid as a college for the education of women. ... 1922 (MCMXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... University College London, commonly known as UCL, is one of the colleges that make up the University of London. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... William Bragg is the name of several people: Two Nobel Prize winning physicists, who were father and son: William Henry Bragg (1862–1942); see Bragg Peak His son, William Lawrence Bragg (1890-1971); see Braggs law Stephen William Bragg (born 1957), a musician. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Lonsdale became a Quaker in 1935. As such, she was a committed pacifist and served time in Holloway prison during World War II because she refused to register for civil defense duties or pay a fine for refusing to register. The Religious Society of Friends (commonly known as Quakers or Friends) was founded in England in the 17th century. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Pacifism is opposition to war. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the...

Lonsdale obtained a D.Sc. from University College London in 1936. In addition to discovering the structure of benzene, Lonsdale worked on the synthesis of diamonds. She was a pioneer in the use of X-rays to study crystals. Lonsdale became one of the first two female fellows of the Royal Society of London in 1945. 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... In the NATO phonetic alphabet, X-ray represents the letter X. An X-ray picture (radiograph) taken by Röntgen An X-ray is a form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength approximately in the range of 5 pm to 10 nanometers (corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 PHz... The premises of the Royal Society in London. ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1949, Lonsdale became a professor of chemistry and the head of the Department of Crystallography at University College, London. She was the first woman professor at that college, a position she held until 1968 when she was named Professor Emeritus. Chemistry (derived from the Arabic word kimia, alchemy, where al is Arabic for the) is the science that deals with the properties of organic and inorganic substances and their interactions with other organic and inorganic substances. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... A professor is a senior teacher and researcher, usually in a college or university. ...

She was given the title Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1956. Lonsdale became the first woman president of the International Union of Crystallography in 1966. Lonsdale was active in encouraging young people to study science and was the first woman president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in 1967. She died in 1971, aged 68. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand Cross... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... The British Association or the British Association for the Advancement of Science or the BA is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating intercourse between scientific workers. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Lonsdaleite an allotrope of carbon was named in her honour; it is a rare form of diamond found in meteorites. Lonsdaleite is a hexagonal polymorph of the carbon allotrope diamond, believed to form when meteoric graphite falls to Earth. ... The allotropes of carbon are the different molecular configurations (allotropes) that pure carbon can take. ... A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... A meteorite is a small extraterrestrial body that impacts the Earths surface. ...

A sciences building opened in the 1990s on the University of Limerick campus is named the Kathleen Lonsdale Building in her honour, and there is also a Kathleen Lonsdale Building at UCL. The University of Limerick (UL) was established in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick and became a university by statute in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act, 1989. ...

National University of Ireland, Maynooth present a special award annually in her honour - The Lonsdale Prize in Chemistry, which is presented to the student who achieves the highest result in final examinations for the Science Single Honours (Chemistry) degree. The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) was founded in 1997 by the Universities Act, 1997 as a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. ...

Selected Writings

• "The Structure of the Benzene Ring in Hexamethylbenzene," Proceedings of the Royal Society 123A: 494 (1929).
• "An X-Ray Analysis of the Structure of Hexachlorobenzene, Using the Fourier Method," Proceedings of the Royal Society 133A: 536 (1931).
• Simplified Structure Factor and Electron Density Formulae for the 230 Space Groups of Mathematical Crystallography, G. Bell & Sons, London, 1936.
• "Diamonds, Natural and Artificial," Nature 153: 669 (1944).
• "Divergent Beam X-ray Photography of Crystals," Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 240A: 219 (1947).
• Crystals and X-Rays, G. Bell & Sons, London, 1948.

External links

• Very short biographical note
• Longer biography