Swann, Sherlock (1900-1983) | University of Illinois Archives

Sherlock Swann, Jr., (1900-1983) was research assistant (1927-29); research associate (1929-34); assistant research professor (1934-37); associate research professor (1937-41); research professor (1941-69); and research professor emeritus (1969-83) of chemical engineering at the University of Illinois (UI). He was a leading chemist specializing in electro-organic chemistry, perhaps best known for his extensive bibliographic compilations.

Swann was born on September 30, 1900, in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 1922 and a PhD from Johns Hopkins University in 1926. He started at UI in 1927 as a research assistant at the Engineering Experiment Station attached to Chemical Engineering at UI, and he remained at the university for the entirety of his career. His publications include "Industrial Possibilities of Electro-organic Reductions" (Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 1937) and "Electrolytic Reactions" (Technique of Organic Chemistry, 1956). He is perhaps best known for his meticulous bibliographic collections such as the tome Bibliography of Electro-Organic Syntheses, 1801-1975 (with Richard Alkire, 1980). Swann was a founding member of the Electrochemical Society (ECS) in 1940 and served a variety of roles during his lifetime, including as electro-organic divisional editor of the Journal of The Electrochemical Society (1939-59); vice-president (1941-43); chairman (1944-46); and president (1958-59). He became an honorary member of ECS in 1974 and was also made honorary lifetime chair of the Chicago Section of ECS.

Swann retired in 1969, but continued to work until his death on March 14, 1983, in Lutherville, Maryland.

Sources:

Richard Alkire, "ECS Classics: Sherlock Swann, Jr. â?? Electro-organic Chemist and Master Bibliographer," ECS Classics, accessed May 14, 2020, https://www.electrochem.org/dl/interface/wtr/wtr14/wtr14_p038_040.pdf

"Sherlock Swann (1900-1983), from a Memorial Address by Richard Alkire," School of Chemical Sciences Alumni Newsletter (Summer 1984): p. 6, accessed May 14, 2020, https://scs.illinois.edu/system/files/inline-files/SCS%20SUMMER%201984%20Newsletter%20-%20O_0.pdf.

"Sherlock Swann Jr.: ECS President 1958-1959," accessed January 25, 2021, https://www.electrochem.org/swann.