George Ingle Finch, 1888-1970

George Ingle Finch was born in Orange, New South Wales, on 4 August 1888, the eldest son of G. E. Finch, Chairman of the Land Court of New South Wales. His early education was at Wolaroi College, but he was privately tutored in Europe. After a short period at the Ecole de Médecine in Paris, he switched from medicine to physical sciences and studied at the Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule, Zürich, from 1906 to 1911. He won the gold medal of the diploma course, and served as a research assistant at the E.T.H. and later at the University of Geneva. As a consequence of his discovery of an improved ammonia catalyst for the synthesis of ammonia, he became associated with ‘Badische Anilin and Sodafabrik’ and spent a period as manager in one of their subsidiaries. This interest in technical application of science aroused and stimulated by his period in Zürich, remained a feature of all the diverse scientific activities of Finch in later life. An enthusiasm for mountaineering, dating from his school days and enhanced by the opportunities afforded during his years in Switzerland, formed a permanent feature of his later life.