A lectureship in Thermodynamics was originally endowed by Mrs John Hopkinson
in 1919 with the intention that it would be upgraded to a Professorship.
This was achieved with sponsorship from ICI, in 1951, leading to the creation
of a new Chair, the Hopkinson and Imperial Chemical Industries Professorship
of Thermodynamics. The first holder was William Rede Hawthorne, later
to become Head of Department.