History - People - Clifford A Bunton

C A Bunton Tenure: Assistant Lecturer 1943-1947 Lecturer 1947-1958 Reader 1958-1963

'Bunny' Bunton was a physical organic chemist who studied under Ingold getting his PhD in 1944. In 1963 he moved to California where he became Professor at Santa Barbara.
As this was at the height of the 'brain drain', the announcement of his departure led to the BBC arranging a television interview. Alan Stones remembers the excitement as the camera crew arrived. As Bunton's office was sandwiched between the men's and women's toilets on C floor, the interview itself was punctuated memorably by flushing sounds. Alwyn Davies adds that Bunton himself may have been referring to this when he mentioned "the rattling of chains" in a subsequent letter he wrote to The Times.

This page last modified 20 September, 2010