John C. Bailar Jr.

John Christian Bailar Jr.
Born(1904-05-27)May 27, 1904
Golden, Colorado
DiedOctober 17, 1991(1991-10-17) (aged 87)
Urbana, Illinois
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
AwardsPriestley Medal (1964)
Scientific career
FieldsInorganic chemistry
Doctoral students
Other notable students

John Christian Bailar Jr. (May 27, 1904[1] – October 17, 1991) was a professor of inorganic chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his B.A. at the University of Colorado and his Ph.D. at the University of Michigan. His father was a member of the chemistry staff of the Colorado School of Mines.[2]

At the University of Illinois, he developed an active research program on coordination chemistry. He is referred to as the “Father of Coordination Chemistry in the United States,” as prior to his time, this area of chemistry received little attention in the U.S.[3] The Bailar twist in coordination compounds is named after him. He helped found the book series Inorganic Syntheses and the journal Inorganic Chemistry.[4] His work was widely recognized culminating in the award of the Priestley Medal from the American Chemical Society, an organization of which he was also president.[5][6]

  1. ^ "Bailar, John Christian Jr.". Who was who in America : with world notables, v. XI (1993–1996). New Providence, N.J.: Marquis Who's Who. 1996. p. 12. ISBN 0837902258.
  2. ^ Miles, Wyndham D. "Interview with Dr. John C. Bailar (1st segment)". summitmemory.org. ACS Rubber Division. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  3. ^ Kauffman, G. B.; Girolami, G. S.; Busch, D. H. (1993). "John C. Bailar Jr. (1904–1991): Father of Coordination Chemistry in the United States". Coord. Chem. Rev. 128 (1–2): 1–48. doi:10.1016/0010-8545(93)80022-W.
  4. ^ "John Christian Bailar, Jr. (1904 – 1991) / Chemistry at Illinois". chemistry.illinois.edu. Archived from the original on 2009-12-15.
  5. ^ Girolami, Gregory S. (1992). "John C. Bailar Jr. 1904–1991 in memoriam". Inorg. Chem. 31 (15): 3183–3184. doi:10.1021/ic00041a001.
  6. ^ "Noyes Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign". National Historic Chemical Landmarks. American Chemical Society. Archived from the original on December 20, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.