My early life was spent in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, a small seaside
resort town (population around 5000) on the west coast of England. I w
as born on October 31, 1925 and lived there with my parents until shor
tly after the end of the Second World War in 1946. No member of my fam
ily was involved in any scientific or technical activity. Indeed, I wa
s the first to attend a university.
My father, Keith Pople, owned the principal men's clothing store in Bu
rnham. In addition to selling clothes in the shop, he used to drive ar
ound the surrounding countryside with a car full of clothes for people
in remote farms and villages. He was resourceful and made a fair inco
me, considering the economic difficulties during the depression of the
1930s. My great-grandfather had come to Burnham around 1850 and set u
p a number of local businesses. He had a large family and these were s
plit up among his children. As a result, I had relatives in many of th
e other businesses in the town. My grandfather inherited the clothing
shop and this passed to my father when he returned from the army at en
d of the First World War.
My mother, Mary Jones, came from a farming background. Her father had
moved from Shropshire as a young man and had farmed near Bath for most
of his life. I suspect that he would have preferred to be a teacher,
for he had a large collection of books and encyclopedias. He wanted my
mother to be a schoolteacher, but this did not happen. Instead, she b
ecame a tutor to children in a rich family and, later, a librarian in
the army during the first war. Most of her relatives were farmers in v
arious parts of Somerset and Wiltshire so, as small children, my young
er brother and I spent much time staying on farms.
Both of my parents were ambitious for their children; from an early ag
e I was told that I was expected to do more than continue to run a sma
ll business in this small town. Education was important and seen as a
way of moving forward. However, difficulties arose in the choice of sc
hool. There was a good preparatory school in Burnham but, as part of t
he complex English class system, it was not open to children of retail
tradesmen, even if they could afford the fees. The available alternat
ive was unsatisfactory and my parents must have agonized over what to
do. Eventually, they decided to send us to Bristol Grammar School (BGS
) in the nearest big city thirty miles away. BGS was the prime day sch
ool for boys, catering mainly to middle class families resident in the
city, although it received a government grant for accepting about thi
rty boys a year from the state elementary schools. I went there in the
spring of 1936 at the age of ten. Some arrangement had to be made for
boarding and I used to return home by train each weekend. This I foun
d unappealing and eventually I persuaded my parents to allow me to com
mute daily - two miles by bicycle, twenty-five miles by train and one
mile on foot. I continued to do this during the early part of the war,
a challenging experience during the many air attacks on Bristol. Ofte
n, we had to wend our way past burning buildings and around unexploded
bombs on the way to school in the morning. Many classes had to be hel
d in damp concrete shelters under the playing fields. In spite of all
these difficulties, the school staff coped well and I received a super
b education.
At the age of twelve, I developed an intense interest in mathematics.
On exposure to algebra, I was fascinated by simultaneous equations and
rapidly read ahead of the class to the end of the book. I found a dis
carded textbook on calculus in a wastebasket and read it from cover to
cover. Within a year, I was familiar with most of the normal school m
athematical curriculum. I even started some research projects, formula
ting the theory of permutations in response to a challenge about the n
umber of possible batting orders of the eleven players in a cricket te
am. For a very short time, I thought this to be original work but was
mortified to find n! described in a textbook. I then attempted to exte
nd n! to fractional numbers by various interpolation schemes. Despite
a lot of effort, this project was ultimately unsuccessful; I was angry
with myself when I learned of Euler's solution some years later. Howe
ver, these early experiences were valuable in formulating an attitude
of persistence in research.
All this mathematical activity was kept secret. My parents did not com
prehend what I was doing and, in class, I often introduced deliberate
errors in my exercises to avoid giving an impression of being too clev
er. My grades outside of mathematics and science were undistinguished
so I usually ended up several places down in the monthly class order.
This all changed suddenly three years later when the new senior mathem
atics teacher, R.C. Lyness, decided to challenge the class with an unu
sually difficult test. I succumbed to temptation and turned in a perfe
ct paper, with multiple solutions to many of the problems. Shortly aft
erwards, my parents and I were summoned to a special conference with t
he headmaster at which it was decided that I should be prepared for a
scholarship in mathematics at Cambridge University. During the remaini
ng two years at BGS, I received intense personal coaching from Lyness
and the senior physics master, T.A. Morris. Both were outstanding teac
hers. The school, like many others in Britain, attached great importan
ce to the placement of students at Oxford or Cambridge. Most such awar
ds were in the classics and I think that the mathematics and science s
taff were very anxious to compete. Ironically, during the last two yea
rs at BGS, I abandoned chemistry to concentrate on mathematics and phy
sics. In 1942, I travelled to Cambridge to take the scholarship examin
ation at Trinity College, received an award and entered the university
in October 1943.
In the middle of the war, most young men of my age were inducted into
the armed forces at the age of seventeen. However, a small group of st
udents in mathematics, science and medicine was permitted to attend un
iversity before taking part in wartime research projects such as radar
, nuclear explosives, code-breaking and the like. This was a highly su
ccessful project and many of my predecessors in earlier years made imp
ortant contributions to the war effort. The plan was to complete all d
egree courses in only two years, followed by secondment to a governmen
t research establishment. In my case, I completed Part II of the mathe
matical tripos in May 1945, just as the European war was ending. In fa
ct, it was hard to concentrate on the examinations because of the nois
y celebrations going on in the streets outside. The government no long
er had need for my services and the university was under great pressur
e to make room for the deluge of exservicemen as they were demobilized
from the armed forces. So, I had to leave Cambridge and take up indus
trial employment for a period. This was with the Bristol Aeroplane Com
pany, close to where I had attended school. There was little to do the
re and I had a period of enforced idleness as changing employment was
illegal at the time (part of the obsession for a planned economy in po
stwar Britain).
In 1945, I had little idea of what my future career might be. My inter
est in pure mathematics began to wane; after toying with several ideas
, I finally resolved to use my mathematical skills in some branch of s
cience. The choice of a particular field was postponed, so I devoted m
uch of my time to pestering government offices for permission to retur
n to Cambridge and resume my studies. In the late summer of 1947, I fi
nally received a letter informing me that an unexpectedly large number
of students had failed their examinations and a few places were avail
able. So, in October 1947, I returned to Cambridge to begin a career i
n mathematical science.
Cambridge in 1947 had greatly changed since 1943. The university was c
rowded with students in their late twenties who had spent many years a
way at the war. In addition, the lectures were given by the younger ge
neration who had also been away on research projects. There was a gene
ral air of excitement as these people turned their attention to new sc
ientific challenges. I remained as a mathematics student but spent the
academic year 1947-8 taking courses in as many branches of theoretica
l science as I could manage. These included quantum mechanics (taught
in part by Dirac), fluid dynamics, cosmology and statistical mechanics
. Most of the class opted for research in fundamental areas of physics
such as quantum electrodynamics which was an active field at the time
. I felt that challenging the likes of Einstein and Dirac was overambi
tious and decided to seek a less crowded (and possibly easier) branch
of science. I developed an interest in the theory of liquids, particul
arly as the statistical mechanics of this phase had received relativel
y little attention, compared with solids and gases. I approached Fred
Hoyle, who was giving the statistical mechanics lectures (following th
e death of R.H. Fowler). However, his current interests were in the fi
elds of astrophysics and cosmology, which I found rather remote from e
veryday experience. I next approached Sir John Lennard-Jones (LJ), who
had published important papers on a theory of liquids in 1937. He hel
d the chair of theoretical chemistry at Cambridge and was lecturing on
molecular orbital theory at the time. When I approached him, he told
me that his interests were currently in electronic structure but he wo
uld very possibly return to liquid theory at some time. On this basis,
we agreed that I would become a research student with him for the fol
lowing year. Thus, after the examinations in June 1948, I began my car
eer in theoretical chemistry at the beginning of July. I had almost no
chemical background, having last taken a chemistry course at BGS at t
he age of fifteen. Other important events took place in my life at thi
s time. In late 1947, I was attempting to learn to play the piano and
rented an instrument for the attic in which I lived in the most remote
part of Trinity College. The neighbouring room was occupied by the ph
ilosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, who had retired to live in primitive an
d undisturbed conditions in the same attic area. There is some evidenc
e that my musical efforts distracted him so much that he left Cambridg
e shortly thereafter. In the following year, I sought out a profession
al teacher. The young lady I contacted, Joy Bowers, subsequently becam
e my wife. We were married in Great St. Mary's Church, Cambridge in 19
52, after a long courtship. Like many other Laureates, I have benefit
immeasurably from the love and support of my wife and children. Life w
ith a scientist who is often changing jobs and is frequently away at m
eetings and on lecture tours is not easy. Without a secure home base,
I could not have made much progress. The next ten years (1948-1958) we
re spent in Cambridge. I was a research student until 1951, then a res
earch fellow at Trinity College and finally a lecturer on the Mathemat
ics Faculty from 1954 to 1958. Cambridge was an extraordinarily active
place during that decade. I was a close observer of the remarkable de
velopments in molecular biology, leading up to the double helix papers
of Watson and Crick. At the same time, the X-ray group of Perutz and
Kendrew (introduced to the Cavendish Laboratory by Lawrence Bragg) wer
e achieving the first definitive structures of proteins. Elsewhere, Ho
yle, Bondi and Gold were arguing their case for a cosmology of continu
ous creation, ultimately disproved but vigorously presented. Looking t
hrough the list of earlier Nobel laureates, I note a large number with
whom I became acquainted and with whom I interacted during those year
s as they passed through Cambridge.
In the theoretical chemistry department, LJ was professor and Frank Bo
ys started as lecturer in September 1948. I began research with some s
tudies of the water molecule, examining the nature of the lone pairs o
f electrons. This was an initial step towards a theory of hydrogen bon
ding between water molecules and a preliminary, rather empirical study
of the structure of liquid water. This fulfilled my initial objective
of dealing with properties of liquids and gained me a Ph.D. and a res
earch fellowship at Trinity College. This highly competitive stage acc
omplished, I was able to relax a bit and formulate a more general phil
osophy for future research in chemistry. The general plan of developin
g mathematical models for simulating a whole chemistry was formulated,
at least in principle, some time late in 1952. It is the progress tow
ards those early objectives that is the subject of my Nobel lecture.
At that early date, of course, computational resources were limited to
hand calculators and very limited access to motorized electric machin
es. So my early notes show attempts to simplify theories enough to tur
n them into practical possibilities. The work paralleling studies of P
ariser and Parr led to what became known as PPP theory. This was not a
complete model but rather one applicable to systems with only one sig
nificant electron per atom. It did fit the general form of conjugated
hydrocarbons and achieved some notoriety. In 1953, Bob Parr came to Ca
mbridge to spend a year with Frank Boys. We shared an office and had m
any valuable discussions; he was to have a major influence on my futur
e. I talked about PPP theory when I began to speak at international me
etings in 1955.
In addition to the PPP work, I started theoretical work on other topic
s in physical chemistry. I began supervision of research students in 1
952, beginning with David Buckingham, who completed a masterly thesis
on properties of compressed gases. He was the first of a long list of
remarkably able and dedicated students who have worked with me over th
e years. In 1954, LJ was succeeded as professor of theoretical chemist
ry by Christopher Longuet-Higgins, who was joined by Leslie Orgel shor
tly afterwards. I continued to spend a lot of time in the chemistry de
partment, although by then I had undertaken new teaching responsibilit
ies as a lecturer in mathematics. The department was crowded and activ
e in those years. Among the many visitors were Linus Pauling, Robert M
ulliken, Jack Kirkwood, Clemens Roothaan and Bill Schneider. Frank Boy
s was also managing a lively group of students.
At the end of 1955, I developed an interest in nuclear magnetic resona
nce, which was then emerging as a powerful technique for studying mole
cular structure. At the urging of Bill Schneider, I agreed to spend tw
o summers (1956 and 1957) at the National Research Council in Ottawa,
Canada, working on the theoretical background of NMR. This was extreme
ly stimulating for, at that time, we were measuring the spectra and in
terpreting the nuclear spin behaviour of many standard chemicals for t
he first time. My time there with Bill and Harold Bernstein led to a b
ook, High Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, which was well receiv
ed. This area was the main emphasis of my research during the final ye
ars in Cambridge.
By 1958, I had become dissatisfied with my mathematics teaching positi
on at Cambridge. I had clearly changed from being a mathematician to a
practicing scientist. Indeed, I was increasingly embarassed that I co
uld no longer follow some of the more modern branches of pure mathemat
ics, in which my undergraduate students were being examined. I therefo
re resolved to seek a new job with greater scientific content. After s
ome hesitation, I accepted a position as head of the new Basics Physic
s Division at the National Physical Laboratory near London. This invol
ved direction of experimental work and a considerable amount of admini
stration. When I took the job, I hoped that the administrative burden
would not be large enough to interfere with my research programme. Alt
hough I was given plenty of help, this turned out not to be so and I h
ad a rather fallow period while I was there.
In the spring of 1961, I organized an international conference in Oxfo
rd, along with Charles Coulson and Christopher Longuet-Higgins. Bob Pa
rr was an invited speaker and, during a break, he urged me to come and
spend a sabbatical year at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsb
urgh. This was an attractive suggestion and I arranged to come for the
academic year 1961-2 with my family. By this time, Joy and I had thre
e children and were expecting a fourth. We arrived in September, accom
panied by a charming young Swedish au pair, Elisabeth Fahlvik. One of
the most delightful side-effects of winning the Nobel Prize is the opp
ortunity to meet her again after a gap of over thirty-six years.
By the time we arrived in Pittsburgh, Bob Parr had decided to leave fo
r Johns Hopkins University and he did, in fact, leave in January. Neve
rtheless, we had a delightful year, travelling as a family over much o
f the eastern part of the U.S.A. During this period, I made up my mind
to abandon my administrative job and seek an opportunity to devote as
much time as possible to chemical research. I was approaching the age
of forty, with a substantial publication record, but had not yet held
any position in a chemistry department. When we returned to England i
n June, 1962, it was not clear where we might go for there were opport
unities both in the U.K. and the U.S.A. Eventually, after much debate,
we decided to return to Pittsburgh in 1964. Leaving England was a pai
nful decision and we still have some regrets about it. However, at tha
t time, the research environment for theoretical chemistry was clearly
better in the U.S.
On my return to Pittsburgh, I resolved to go back to the fundamental p
roblems of electronic structure that I had contemplated abstractly man
y years earlier. Prospects of really implementing model chemistries ha
d improved because of the emerging development of high-speed computers
. I was late in recognizing the role that computers, would play in the
field – I should not have been, for Frank Boys was continually urgin
g the use of early machines back in Cambridge days. However, by 1964,
it was clear that the development of an efficient computer code was on
e of the major tasks facing a practical theoretician and I learned the
trade with enthusiasm. Mellon Institute, where I had an adjunct appoi
ntment, acquired a Control Data machine in 1966 and my group was able
to make rapid progress in the dingy deep basement of that classic buil
ding. In 1967, Carnegie Tech and Mellon Institute merged to become Car
negie-Mellon University (CMU) and I remained on the faculty there unti
l 1993. Almost all of the work honored by the Nobel Foundation was don
e at CMU. That institution deserves much of the credit for their conti
nuing support and encouragement over many years.
The scientific details of the Pittsburgh work are related, in part, in
the accompanying lecture. Over the years, we were able to keep abreas
t with the rapid developments in computer technology. Around 1971, the
work was moved to a Univac 1108 machine and then, in 1978, we were fo
rtunate enough to acquire the first VAX/780 minicomputer from the Digi
tal Equipment Corporation for use entirely within the chemistry depart
ment. This became a valuable workhorse as we began to distribute progr
ams to the general chemical community. In more recent years, of course
, the techniques have become available on small work stations and pers
onal computers. The astonishing progress made in computer technology h
as had profound consequences in so many branches of theoretical scienc
e.
Our children were mostly brought up and educated in the Churchill subu
rb east of Pittsburgh. Each summer, we took them back to England for a
n extended period. By 1979, all had gone away and Joy and I decided to
move again to Illinois, where our daughter had settled. In 1981, we s
et up house in Rogers Park, Chicago and then moved to Wilmette in 1988
. Our family is now scattered in Chicago, Houston, Pittsburgh and Cork
, Ireland. We have been blessed with ten grandchildren (an eleventh ex
pected), who greatly enrich our lives in many ways.
From 1981 to 1993, I continued to run my research group in Pittsburgh,
commuting frequently and communicating with my students by telephone
and modem. Northwestern University kindly offered me an adjunct appoin
tment and I became a full member of their faculty in 1993. I am very g
rateful to them for the opportunity to continue my research programme
and interact with other members of the chemistry department.
I have had many opportunities to visit universities all over the world
in the past fifty years. Among the most rewarding have been frequent
trips to Australia and New Zealand, where Joy and I have wintered no f
ewer than nine times since 1982. The campus of the Australian National
University, where Leo Radom became Professor after spending time with
me as a postdoctoral fellow from 1968 to 1972, has become a second ac
ademic home – a great place for relaxed contemplation.
Israel and Germany are other countries with which I have become closel
y associated, having visited and collaborated many times. In the 1980s
, I held a von Humboldt Award, which allowed me to spend some time in
Erlangen, where I collaborated with Paul Schleyer on a large number of
applications of the theory. In Israel, I have visited and lectured at
all universities, including a period as Visiting Professor at the Tec
hnion, Haifa. In 1992, I was fortunate enough to receive the Wolf Priz
e in Chemistry at a ceremony in the Knesset.
I must emphasize that my contribution to quantum chemistry has depende
d hugely on work by others. The international community in our field i
s a close one, meeting frequently and exchanging ideas freely. I am de
lighted to have had students, friends and colleagues in so many nation
s and to have learned so much of what I know from them. This Nobel Awa
rd honours them all.
From Les Prix Nobel 1998.
John Pople died the 15th of March, 2004.
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FROM 10.22.11.62