Dr. Keith Ingold died on Sept. 8, at the age of 94.The National Research Council
Dr. Keith Ingold, a giant in the field of organic chemistry, elucidated the role of free radicals. Owing to their chemical structure, these molecules are highly reactive and can easily damage other molecules. In the case of butter, free radicals cause it to turn rancid but in the human body free radicals can cause everything from wrinkles to cancer.
His investigation into the role of oxidation as part of the aging process was a revelation worldwide, particularly as it confirmed vitamin E as an antioxidant that could counteract free radicals. Later research showed that a healthy diet can provide more than enough vitamin E, although during the early 1980s talk of vitamin E and other antioxidants permeated conversations about everything from blueberries to shampoo.
His understanding of the damage free radicals could do in the human body resulted from Dr. Ingold’s earlier work with the petroleum industry. Neutralizing free radicals increased the longevity of engine oils, and by extension the longevity of the engines themselves. What was the human body if not an engine?
Before his death of natural causes in Ottawa on Sept. 8, at the age of 94, Dr. Ingold wrote more than 500 scientific papers and received six honorary university degrees and multiple awards, including the prestigious Linus Pauling Award for Chemistry. In 1995, he was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada.
In 1995, Dr. Ingold was invested as an officer of the Order of Canada.The National Research Council
Keith Usherwood Ingold was born on May 31, 1929, in Leeds, a market city in the northern county of Yorkshire, England. He was one of three children born to Sir Christopher Ingold, knighted for his work in chemistry, and Lady Hilda Usherwood, also a scientist.
Because Sir Christopher was head of chemistry at University College London (UCL), and a valuable member of the faculty, the Ingold family were shipped to safety at a smaller university outside London in the Welsh town of Aberystwyth during the Second World War. Trying to ignite his teenaged son Keith’s interest in something, anything, his father tossed a piece of potassium into a laboratory sink filled with water. An ear-splitting bang emptied the sink, resulting in hundreds of puddles with tiny purple flames zipping frenetically across their surfaces like a watery rock concert. The drama, mystery and visual effects grabbed Keith’s attention. His parents felt relief that he was keen to know exactly how and why this spectacular, somewhat hazardous, show had occurred.
Back in England after the war, Keith graduated from secondary school at age 16, then began studies at UCL, where his father remained head of chemistry and his mother worked in a lab. He graduated with a bachelor of science in 1949 then forged ahead to Oxford University, obtaining a PhD in chemistry at the youthful age of 22. His future beamed with promise.
Following his doctorate, Dr. Ingold immigrated to Canada to work at the National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa. Two years later, lured by mountains and the outdoor opportunities of British Columbia, he spent two years conducting postdoctoral research at the University of British Columbia before returning to the NRC, first as a research officer, followed by a promotion to head of the Free Radical Chemistry Section, where he spent the rest of his career.
After his work on free radicals and how they could impact negatively on the human body, Dr. Ingold became a media star who was interviewed by Margaret Trudeau during a short-lived Ottawa television show.
One key to Dr. Ingold’s success was fearlessness. He once experimented on himself, without telling his wife, by ingesting an altered version of vitamin E followed by a large glass of red wine. In a previous lab experiment, the vitamin (minus the wine) had proved fatal to a rat. The following morning, showing no ill effects, he triumphantly declared to his assistant, “Men aren’t rats!” She instantly responded, “All men are rats.” It was a testament to his good sense of humour that Dr. Ingold roared with laughter and the story became a family joke.
Although friendly and good natured, when it came to getting something he required for work, Dr. Ingold refused to be thwarted. “He needed a complicated piece of equipment called a vacuum rack which involved all sorts of glass tubes and valves,” said Dr. David Griller, a colleague and friend who knew Dr. Ingold from their time as students at UCL. “When the glassblower said it would take 12 weeks to make, he went ahead and built it himself.”
Had the potassium in the sink incident not taken place, and given his predilection for outdoorsy adventure, Dr. Ingold might have chosen a career involving sport. As an adult he was a risk taker who insisted on skiing down hazardous hills that first required consultation with the ski patrol. Equally adept on water skis, he also loved hiking precarious mountain terrain, ice climbing and running. His friend Roger Bannister, the first to break the four-minute mile, accompanied him on early morning runs across London’s Hampstead Heath.
Speed and adventure infused Dr. Ingold’s travels, with the aging process barely making a dent. Freshly retired at 87, he successfully convinced his sister Dilys, two years younger, to accompany him on the longest, fastest zip line in Wales.
Dr. Ingold’s partner in life was Cairine (née Hodgkin) Ingold, a woman he first spied floating on a raft in the middle of a lake just north of Ottawa. She had been asked to leave Queen’s University in Kingston for having attended more parties than classes. She transferred to Carleton University, got a degree in English and worked as a proofreader and editor for scientific journals. The couple married in 1956 and had three children and six grandchildren. Dr. Ingold delighted in passing along his love of skiing to them and his scientific knowledge of the interactions of elements that can affect our lives.
“Keith dug deeply into any experiment he was doing,” Dr. Griller said. “He’d bring forth strong proof and was always generous with sharing ideas during a time when people were guarded. It was refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t afraid to share because that’s one of the keys to success in science.”
In the complex world of physical organic chemistry, Dr. Ingold became a legend in his field.
Predeceased by his wife, son Christopher and sister Sylvia, Dr. Ingold leaves his son John, daughter Diana, sister Dilys, several nephews, a niece, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.