James Lovelock

James Lovelock
CH CBE FRS
James Lovelock CH CBE FRS
	Lovelock in 2005
Born	James Ephraim Lovelock; 26 July 1919; Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England
Died	26 July 2022 (aged 103); Abbotsbury, Dorset, England
Alma mater	University of Manchester (BSc); London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (PhD);
Known for	Electron capture detector; Gaia hypothesis;
Spouses	; Helen Hyslop (m. 1942; died 1989) ; Sandy Orchard (m. 1991)
Children	4
Awards	See list Fellow of the Royal Society (1974); Tswett Medal for Chromatography (1975); American Chemical Society Award in Chromatography (1980); Norbert Gerbier–MUMM Award (1988); Dr A. H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences (1990); Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1990); Volvo Environment Prize (1996); Companion of Honour (2003); Wollaston Medal (2006); Arne Naess Chair in Global Justice and the Environment (2007); ;
	Scientific career
Fields	Chemistry; earth science;
Institutions	Independent scientist; Yale University; Baylor College of Medicine; Harvard University; Harvard Medical School;
Thesis	The properties and use of aliphatic and hydroxy carboxylic acids in aerial disinfection (1947)
Website	Official website

James Ephraim Lovelock CH CBE FRS (26 July 1919 – 26 July 2022) was an English independent scientist, environmentalist and futurist. He is best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis, which postulates that the Earth functions as a self-regulating system.^[3]

With a PhD in medicine, Lovelock began his career performing cryopreservation experiments on rodents, including successfully thawing frozen specimens. His methods were influential in the theories of cryonics (the cryopreservation of humans). He invented the electron capture detector and, using it, became the first to detect the widespread presence of chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere. While designing scientific instruments for NASA, he developed the Gaia hypothesis.

In the 2000s, he proposed a method of climate engineering to restore carbon dioxide–consuming algae. He was an outspoken member of Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy,^[4] asserting that fossil fuel interests have been behind opposition to nuclear energy, citing the effects of carbon dioxide as being harmful to the environment, and warning of global warming due to the greenhouse effect. He wrote several environmental science books based upon the Gaia hypothesis from the late 1970s.

He also worked for MI5, the British security service, for decades.^[5] Bryan Appleyard, writing in The Sunday Times, described him as "basically Q in the James Bond films".^[6]

^ "SUM – Centre for Development and the Environment :: Arne Naess Chair :: About". University of Oslo. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
^ Cite error: The named reference ecolo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Ball P (2014). "James Lovelock reflects on Gaia's legacy". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2014.15017. S2CID 125073140.
^ "Environmentalists For Nuclear Energy". ecolo.org. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
^ Clarke B, Dutreuil S, eds. (18 August 2022). Writing Gaia: The Scientific Correspondence of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-96794-5.
^ Appleyard B (21 August 2022). "Writing Gaia review: what my friend James Lovelock's letters reveal". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

[1] "SUM – Centre for Development and the Environment :: Arne Naess Chair :: About". University of Oslo. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2010.

[ecolo-2] Cite error: The named reference ecolo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[3] Ball P (2014). "James Lovelock reflects on Gaia's legacy". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2014.15017. S2CID 125073140.

[ecolo.org-4] "Environmentalists For Nuclear Energy". ecolo.org. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.

[5] Clarke B, Dutreuil S, eds. (18 August 2022). Writing Gaia: The Scientific Correspondence of James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-96794-5.

[6] Appleyard B (21 August 2022). "Writing Gaia review: what my friend James Lovelock's letters reveal". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 22 August 2022.

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James Lovelock CH CBE FRS
Lovelock in 2005
Born	James Ephraim Lovelock (1919-07-26)26 July 1919 Letchworth, Hertfordshire, England
Died	26 July 2022(2022-07-26) (aged 103) Abbotsbury, Dorset, England
Alma mater	University of Manchester (BSc) London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (PhD)
Known for	Electron capture detector Gaia hypothesis
Spouses	Helen Hyslop (m. 1942; died 1989) Sandy Orchard (m. 1991)
Children	4
Awards	See list Fellow of the Royal Society (1974) Tswett Medal for Chromatography (1975) American Chemical Society Award in Chromatography (1980) Norbert Gerbier–MUMM Award (1988) Dr A. H. Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences (1990) Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1990) Volvo Environment Prize (1996) Companion of Honour (2003) Wollaston Medal (2006) Arne Naess Chair in Global Justice and the Environment (2007)^[1]
Scientific career
Fields	Chemistry earth science
Institutions	Independent scientist Yale University Baylor College of Medicine Harvard University Harvard Medical School^[2]
Thesis	The properties and use of aliphatic and hydroxy carboxylic acids in aerial disinfection (1947)

Website	Official website