William Lipscomb dies at 91
William Nunn Lipscomb Jr., emeritus professor and winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1976, died at age 91 in Cambridge, Mass., on Thursday (April 14) of pneumonia and other complications resulting after a fall. Lipscomb was professor of chemistry at Harvard from 1959 to 1971, Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry from 1971 to 1990, and Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, since his retirement in 1990. According to The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, his studies of boranes and related chemical compounds “enormously enriched” the field and provided scientists with “a deeper insight into the nature of chemical bonding.” Years later, during his retirement, Lipscomb participated in the gentle mockery of this accomplishment by joining other Nobel laureates as participants in the Ig Nobel Prize ceremonies, held in Harvard’s Sanders Theatre. Lipscomb was born in Cleveland and grew up in Lexington, Ky. He earned a bachelor of...