Biography:
Ronald James Gillespie was born in 1924 in London, England. As a child at age 11, he was awarded a scholarship to the local grammar school. During his time as a young child, when it came to any test or exam time, he always was prepared to work hard and put forth his best effort and achieve excellence in his grades. While in high school, Gillespie was always inspired by his chemistry teacher, Mr. Cast. Mr. Cast would always make chemistry fun with lab experiments which was more exciting than the textbook. Taking his inspiration with him, Gillespie left school in 1942 and was awarded a bursary to do a special two year war time degree at University College London. He then attended the University of Wales in Aberystwyth in 1942 when Gillespie became a student and started to work on the mechanism of aromatic nitration. When he graduated, he started to take his studies more seriously and started to figure out which direction he was going to take. In 1953, Gillespie was awarded with the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship Award. In 1958, Ronald moved to Hamilton to attend McMaster University to research. As Ronald became more intense with his research and studies, he started to accomplish many different things and awards soon followed.
Ronald James Gillespie was born in 1924 in London, England. As a child at age 11, he was awarded a scholarship to the local grammar school. During his time as a young child, when it came to any test or exam time, he always was prepared to work hard and put forth his best effort and achieve excellence in his grades. While in high school, Gillespie was always inspired by his chemistry teacher, Mr. Cast. Mr. Cast would always make chemistry fun with lab experiments which was more exciting than the textbook. Taking his inspiration with him, Gillespie left school in 1942 and was awarded a bursary to do a special two year war time degree at University College London. He then attended the University of Wales in Aberystwyth in 1942 when Gillespie became a student and started to work on the mechanism of aromatic nitration. When he graduated, he started to take his studies more seriously and started to figure out which direction he was going to take. In 1953, Gillespie was awarded with the Commonwealth Fund Fellowship Award. In 1958, Ronald moved to Hamilton to attend McMaster University to research. As Ronald became more intense with his research and studies, he started to accomplish many different things and awards soon followed.
To the left this is where Ronald attend high school. He left school in 1942 and was awarded a bursary to do a special two year war time degree at University College London. He then attended the University of Wales in Aberystwyth in 1942. On the right is a picture of the University of Wales that he attended when University College London was evacuated.