James Clare Speakman was born on 18 October 1907 . He gained his MSc and PhD at Sheffield University, England. He was appointed lecturer in the Chemistry Department at the University of Glasgow , Scotland, in 1946 . He was awarded a DSc from the University of Glasgow in 1954 for a thesis entitled Studies Mainly Electrochemical and Crystallographic . Following a period as a senior lecturer, Dr Speakman became a reader in Chemistry in 1966. He retired from the readership in 1973 but retained his connection with the department as an honorary senior research fellow. In 1974 he went to the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada as Visiting Professor. He continued active work until about 1982.
Initially, Dr Speakman's primary interest was in electrochemistry, however he later conducted research into hydrogen bonding in solids by diffraction methods. He published many articles in journals and was the author of several textbooks such as Molecular Structure: The Physical Approach , 1960 and Physical Chemistry , 1962. Dr Speakman was on the committee of the Chemical Crystallography Group of the British Crystallographic Association from 1967-1970. He was also involved in the Royal Society of Chemistry as a member of its publication committee from 1954-1962 and as a member of council from 1967-1971. Dr Speakman was also a member of the Data Commission of the International Union. He died in 1986 .
From the guide to the Papers of James Clare Speakman, 1907-1986, Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Scotland, 1930-1984, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
