Robert Robinson worked on many types of chemical problems, but he received the 1947 Nobel Prize for his work with the alkaloids, complex nitrogen-containing natural compounds that often exhibit high biological activity. His work in synthesis, identification, and reaction theory make him one of the founders of modern organic chemistry. Robinson summed up his philosophy about basic research when he said in his Nobel address, "In both [chemistry and physics] it is in the course of attack of the most difficult problems, without consideration of eventual applications, that new fundamental knowledge is most certainly garnered.... Such contributions as I have been able to make are to the science itself and do not derive their interest from the economic or biological importance of the substances studied."

Robinson was born to the inventor William Bradbury Robinson and Jane (Davenport) Robinson on September 13, 1886 near Chesterfield, England. His very large family included eight...