Earl, John Campbell

Earl was born in Adelaide in 1890, and was educated at Queen's School, North Adelaide (1899-1901), Great Yarmouth School, U. K., (1902-1907), City and Guilds Technical College, London(1907-1911), University of Melbourne (1914), University of Adelaide and St. Andrews (c.1917-1921). He married Winifred Vincent Jones in 1938.

Earl was B.Sc. (Adel.) 1921, Ph.D. (St. Andrews (1921),D.Sc. (Adel) 1926, Fellow of the Society of Chemical Industry, 1943, H.G.Smith Memorial Medal (Royal Australian Chemical Institute). He was appointed Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at the University of Sydney in 1921, Professor of Organic Chemistry in 1928.

Research included the discovery of a new type of ring compound which Earl named "syndomes", studies on various natural products such as a component of Eucalyptus oils, cellulose and related compounds from various sources including cotton, Australian water plants especially Posidonia species, and the fungus Polporus mylittae.

During World war 11, Earl was Chairman of the Chemical Sub-committee of the Chemical Defence Board. He advised and assisted personnel of Timbrol Ltd. in the development of procedures for the large scale production of various essential chemicals for munitions, as well as the antiseptic used by the Army, proflavine. Earl's application for a commission with the R.A.A.F. was refused.

Earl had some divergence of opinion with the University Administration regarding his Department, and he retired in 1947, going to Norfolk, U.K. to live. He returned to Adelaide in 1967, where he died in 1978.