The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) has decided to establish the Brock Award which honours Professor William ‘Bill’ Hodson Brock, one of the leading historians of chemistry of the last fifty years. For most of that time he was based at the University of Leicester, where he also directed the Victorian Studies Centre between 1966 and 1990. His Fontana History of Chemistry (1992) is a masterly summary of the field, while his biographies of Justus Liebig (1997) and of William Crookes (2008) continue to provide invaluable insights into the subtleties of nineteenth-century chemistry. In terms of SHAC, he served as editor of Ambix between 1968 and 1983 and then as Chair from 1993 to 2007. He contributed extensively to Ambix and served on SHAC Council for fifty years from 1967 until 2017. He has given extensive support to the history of chemistry community, always ready to share his expertise and insights and creating a welcoming environment for new scholars, particularly through his service to Ambix as editor and as a frequent reviewer.

The Brock Award consisting of £500 and an appropriate framed image will be awarded every three years beginning in 2025. This will dovetail with the Society’s other two awards, the Partington Prize for an unpublished essay on any area covered by SHAC written by an early career researcher to be next awarded in 2026 and the Morris Award given for outstanding achievement in the history of post-1945 chemistry or the history of the chemical industry to be awarded next in 2027.

The Brock Award will be for outstanding contributions in the fields of the history of alchemy and chemistry. The individual’s impact on the community of historians of alchemy and/or chemistry, through historical research, publication, support and encouragement of students and fellow researchers and contributions to the wider promulgation of the subject will be significant criteria for selection.

The awardee will be determined by a panel appointed by SHAC Council; serving members of Council are ineligible for the award. Nominations, including a cv and at least two letters of support, should be sent by 30 June 2025 to Professor Annette Lykknes: annette.lykknes[a]ntnu.no.

It is expected that the announcement of the first Brock Prize winner will be made in the autumn.

Frank James