| 1939 | Born in Leicester, UK |
| 1958 | Open Scholarship to the University of Nottingham |
| 1961 | Graduated from the University of Nottingham with 1st Class Honours |
| 1964 | PhD at Imperial College London with Prof. Hamish Sutherland |
| 1965 | Postdoctoral year at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore with Prof. Alex Nickon |
| 1966 | Postdoctoral year at Imperial College with Prof. Sir Derek Barton |
| 1967 | Assistant lecturer at Imperial College |
| 1968 | Lecturer in Organic Chemistry |
| 1979 | DSc from the University of London |
| 1982 | Reader in Organic Chemistry |
| 1996 | Director of Undergraduates Studies, Chemistry Department, Imperial College |
| 1997 | Bader Award of the Royal Society of Chemistry for eminence in organic chemistry |