Dudley Maurice Newitt FRS^[1] (28 April 1894 – 14 March 1980) was a British chemical engineer who was awarded the Rumford Medal in 1962 in recognition of his 'distinguished contributions to chemical engineering'.^[2]

Biography

Newitt was born in London and started working as an assistant chemist for Nobel in Scotland. In the First World War, he served in the East Surrey Regiment and was awarded the Military Cross.^[3]

In 1921, he gained a first class Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the Royal College of Science in London, and went on to postgraduate studies in chemical engineering at Imperial College, London. During the Second World War, he was scientific director ^[4] of Special Operations Executive responsible for the development of technology for sabotage and espionage. During this period he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society.^[3]

In 1945, he was appointed as professor of chemical engineering at Imperial College. By 1952, he was made the Head of Department, being responsible for the new building (completed 1967). He was appointed pro-rector of the college in 1956 until his retirement in 1961. He died 14 March 1980 in Farnham, Surrey.^[3]

Personal life

He married Aliex Schaeffer in 1919, but she died in childbirth in 1923, and the baby was stillborn. In 1933, he married Doris Garrod, and they had a son and a daughter.^[3]

References

Further reading

• Biography of Professor Dudley Maurice Newitt, written by Professor Malyn Newitt. Available in three volumes:
  1. India, Mesopotamia, Palestine (1894 - 1919)
  2. Marriage, The Royal Society and SOE. The Making of 'Q'. (1919 -1945)
  3. The Scientist in the Public Domain. Imperial College, The Roving Ambassador for Science and Retirement. (1945 - 1980)
• "National Portrait Gallery - Person - Dudley Maurice Newitt". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
• Ubbelohde, A. R. (November 1981). "Dudley Maurice Newitt. 28 April 1894-14 March 1980". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 27: 365–378. JSTOR 769877.