Alan McLeod Sargeson FAA. 13 October 1930 — 29 December 2008

Abstract

Alan Sargeson was an extraordinarily gifted inorganic chemist who consistently made important and lasting contributions to his discipline. His lifelong interests were in the area of coordination chemistry, especially in the stereochemistry and reactivity of complexes involving the transition element cobalt. notable discoveries included the elucidation of the mechanisms of substitution reactions of cobalt complexes, the demonstration that amino acid amides and their esters and phosphate esters incorporated in properly designed metal complexes could achieve the high rates of hydrolysis displayed by enzyme reactions, and perhaps most notably the discovery of the ready formation of cage complexes in which the metal is fully encapsulated. His impact on his field was far reaching, his achievements were at the highest level and for more than 30 years he was among the few who dominated the field. 268 Biographical MemoirsBy a twist of fate I came face to face with Herbert Sargeson presiding in a Sydney court, but I did not note the magistrate's name. At that time I was a 21-year-old who had recently run his car into the back of the car in front. My flimsy defence was that my brakes failed. The magistrate, possibly trying to be helpful, asked if I had any evidence, a note from a garage for example, to support the brake failure hypothesis. I was too naive to realize that the magistrate was possibly giving me a way out. My response, 'no', was honest but not helpful. 'Then it will be five pounds (a considerable amount for a youth in those days); pay at the counter; next case.' A year or so later I arrived in canberra to do a Phd with Frank dwyer, who had just recruited Alan. There, with great indignation, I told the story to a much-amused Alan Sargeson, who to my embarrassment informed me that it was his father who had administered the justice! Because of his father's work, the family moved when he was six months old to cessnock and stayed there for about four years. This was followed by another four years spent at Taree near the coast in new South Wales. Although this time covered the depression, the family did not suffer inordinately and Alan remembered his stay in Taree as pleasant and enjoyable. He grew up in an outdoor environment and developed all of the physical coordination that he was later to display. His father and mother were both excellent golfers and his father was fond of fishing. The athletic abilities of his parents were passed on to their sons, who were exceptional at sports. Both parents ran a disciplined household and insisted that the children perform their assigned tasks, especially school homework.like most children brought up outdoors in good weather, Alan did not at first enjoy school. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 was not conducive to scholastic application, because he was moved to five different schools in five years as his father was assigned to geographically different courts. At 14 years of age he moved to cootamundra, where he came upon a teacher by the name of daphne Morton, who, in hi...

Athelstan Laurence Johnson Beckwith OA FAA. 20 February 1930 — 15 May 2010

“…Beckwith and his inorganic colleague, Alan sargeson (Bosnich 2011(Bosnich , 2012, having reached the statutory age of 65 years, retired at the end of 1995, and a seminar to honour their achievements was held in January 1996. A further symposium was held in 2010 on Athel's 80th birthday.…”