Edward Armand Guggenheim. 1901-1970

Edward Armand Guggenheim was born on 11 August 1901 in Manchester; he was the elder brother of a family of three. His father, Armand Guggenheim, was of Swiss nationality but became a naturalized British subject at the age of forty-six in 1906. He was the senior partner in E. Spinner & Co., importers of Indian cotton and exporters of cotton cloth, especially khaki, and during the years 1917-1923 was also the Swiss Consul in Manchester. Edward after attending Terra Nova School, Birkdale, Southport, proceeded at the age of fourteen with a Junior Scholarship to Charterhouse. At first he was on the classical side but he switched to the science side where he came under the influence of two outstanding mathematics teachers, C. O. Tuckey and Alfred Lodge who was the brother of the more famous Oliver Lodge. His high intellectual qualities developed rapidly at Charterhouse, where he gained a Senior Scholarship in 1917 and was top of the sixth form in mathematical sciences for the period 1918-1920. His strong character and desire for authority were recognized by his election to the Head of House during his last year at School. Edward’s father died at the early age of 63, but his mother lived much longer and was an admirable hostess to Edward’s friends. After declining an Exhibition in the previous year, Edward won a Scholarship from Charterhouse to Cambridge University at Gonville and Caius College in 1920. One year later he obtained a first-class mathematical tripos in Part 1 and in 1923 a first-class in the natural science tripos, Part 2, in chemistry. One imagines that his theoretical papers were outstanding, since his practical ability at that time appears not to have been exceptionally high, particularly in preparative organic chemistry. After completion of an organic synthesis, which should have given a crystalline product, he was holding a test-tube containing a small volume of a viscous tarry material. It is reported that he contrived to collide with a perambulating demonstrator and, with studied carelessness, allowed the only record of his work to slip through his fingers with consequent breakage of the test-tube.