chemistry

Russell Grimwade

Russell Grimwade is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Russell Grimwade rather than just read about it. In short: Sir Wilfrid Russell Grimwade (15 October 1879 – 2 November 1955) was an Australian chemist, botanist, industrialist and philanthropist. He was the son of Frederick Sheppard Grimwade and brother of Harold Grimwade.

Key takeaways

Russell Grimwade belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Russell Grimwade to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Russell Grimwade from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sir Wilfrid Russell Grimwade (15 October 1879 – 2 November 1955) was an Australian chemist, botanist, industrialist and philanthropist. He was the son of Frederick Sheppard Grimwade and brother of Harold Grimwade.

Education Grimwade was born at his father's mansion 'Harleston' in Caulfield, which was given in 1916 to his school Melbourne Grammar, from which he went to Ormond College at the University of Melbourne, where he earned a B.Sc. in science in 1901, then spent time in London to become familiar the latest developments in chemistry.

Career

Grimwade then joined the family pharmaceutical firm Felton Grimwade & Company, as director of the new research laboratory in 1903 and was made a partner in 1907. He became wealthy as the company diversified into such enterprises as the incorporation of Bosisto's Eucalyptus Oil. In 1909 he married Mabel Louise Kelly, and the couple lived at 'Miegunyah' in Orrong Road, its name is from an Aboriginal Australian language, meaning 'my house'. Over his career, Grimwade was director of Drug Houses of Australia, Australian Glass Manufacturers, Cuming Smith & Company, and chaired the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research as well as the National Gallery of Victoria. In 1924 Grimwade built 'Westerfield', a holiday home in Frankston South, set on 45 hectares (110 acres), completed in the Federation Arts and Crafts style.

Forestry

A vocal advocate for the appreciation and commercialisation of the eucalyptus, during the 1910s and 1920s Grimwade produced a book on the species, examining local examples in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens (where he served on its advisory committee) and other specimens suggested by gum-tree enthusiast associates. He planted them extensively in his Toorak garden and at his farm in Melbourne's south-east. An Anthography of the Eucalypts, illustrated with his own photographs of their flowers (carbon prints held now in The University of Melbourne Art Collection) was published in 1920 and expanded in 1930, and now, as noted by Bunbury, regarded as "important in its time for its accessible language and the quality of its illustrations". An endowment by Grimwade in 1929 was used to create the Russell Grimwade Prize, a scholarship for study of forestry. As of 2018, the annual prize value is $40,000.

Honours Grimwade was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1935 and was knighted in the 1950 King's Birthday Honours List.

Philanthropy and legacy Grimwade donated £50,000 for a purpose-built facility to house the School of Biochemistry at the University of Melbourne, which bore his name from its construction in 1956 until its demolition in 2008. He was an honorary member of the British Medical Association, and served on the advisory council that established the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (now CSIRO), later sponsoring its forestry division. In 1934, he presented Cooks' Cottage to Victoria after purchasing it in England and having dismantled and shipped to Australia. An imprint of Melbourne University Press, named for his mansion 'Miegunyah', was established in 1967 under Grimwade's bequest to subsidise publication of illustrated scholarly works that would otherwise be uneconomic to publish. Grimwade's great-grandnephew Andrew Grimwade was its patron.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Russell Grimwade

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Russell Grimwade claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Russell Grimwade before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Russell Grimwade ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Russell Grimwade

In research: Russell Grimwade appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Russell Grimwade in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Russell Grimwade is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1879 births, 1955 deaths, 20th-century Australian botanists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Russell Grimwade outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Russell Grimwade in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Russell Grimwade means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Russell Grimwade out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Russell Grimwade in simple terms?

Why does Russell Grimwade matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Russell Grimwade?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Russell Grimwade.