Alfred Spinks

Alfred Spinks CBE FRS (25 February 1917 – 11 February 1982), was a British chemist and biologist who acted as president of the Chemical Society from 1979-1980. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1977 and appointed CBE in 1978

Spinks was born in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, on 25 February 1917. His father, Alfred Robert Spinks, was the manager of a brewery, and his mother was named Ruth Harley. He won a scholarship to Soham Grammar School in 1932. He went on to study Chemistry at the Nottingham University College and achieved top marks in the 1938 University of London BSc external degree examination .

Spinks moved to London to study for a PhD in Chemistry at Imperial College. He worked with Ian Heilbron and A. W. Johnson, focusing on synthesizing vitamin A.