Surname Fraser is of Scottish descent. History knows many prominent personalities who wear it. The Fraser family is noble, and people bearing this surname are called sirs in Scotland. In this article we will tell you about some representatives of this noble family.
Surely, you've heard about James Fraser Stoddart - the world famous scientist-chemist, Nobel Prize winner. Despite the fact that he was born in Scotland, this man is one of the best chemical scientists in America. His work in the field of nanotechnology was recognized as brilliant. Another representative of the family, Fraser James George, is a representative of a completely different direction in science - religious studies, anthropology, ethnography. It is with his biography that we will begin our story.
Famous anthropologist of the Fraser clan
James George was born on January 1, 1854 in Glasgow (Scotland), in the family nest of the Frasers clan. His father was a pharmacist. He was the first child of his parents. Later, three more children were born in the family. The Frasers belonged to the conservative sect of the Free Church of Scotland. As a result, the boy grew up very pious. He attended a parish school and, having successfully completed it, at the age of 15 entered the faculty of law at the University of Glasgow.
In his student years, 3 important things happened to George James Fraser, as he wrote in his memoirs. Firstly, he became interested in classical literature and ancient languages, secondly, he came to the conclusion that the world is governed by a system of unchanging natural laws, and thirdly, he has lost religiosity - everything that has been inspired to him from childhood. Of course, it was very painful for him.
Scientific research and works
After reading Taylor’s Primitive Culture book dated 1871, James Fraser decided to study anthropology and entered the University of Trinity College at Cambridge, after which he received a second bachelor's degree. Here his mentor was W. Robertson-Smith. It was thanks to him that George James stayed for life as a researcher and teacher of social anthropology at Cambridge University.
Personal life
In 1896, George James Fraser married Frenchwoman Elizabeth Grove, a widow who had two minor children in her care. She was engaged in writing and for the period of their acquaintance worked on a manuscript about the history of dance.
After marriage, she supported her husband in every possible way, considered him a real scientist, was a little worried because he was undeservedly deprived of public attention as a great scientist in his field. It was she who authored the translation of Fraser's books, thanks to which they found out about him on the other side of the English Channel. Throughout his life, George J. Fraser has been awarded top academic honors. In 1914, he received the title of knight, and 9 years later received a government award for services to British science. In 1930, at the age of 76, the anthropologist almost lost his sight and could no longer engage in scientific activities. He died in 1941.
James Fraser Stoddart
Another scientist, who came from a noble family of Frasers, glorified his glorious name as a chemical scientist. He was born during the Second World War - in the spring of 1942 in Scotland, in the suburbs of Edinburgh. Sir James Fraser's childhood passed on a farm. He attended a village school, and then continued his studies at Melville College in Edinburgh.
He graduated with honors from this educational institution with a bachelor's degree (1964), and three years later, in 1967, he became a doctor of philosophy and professor at the University of Edinburgh. The theme of his doctoral work was natural resins in the acacia bark. Its supervisor was Edmund L. Hurst and D. Anderson.
Career
In 1967, after defending his doctorate, James Fraser went to Queen's University of Canada (Canada) as a research fellow at the National Research Council, and in 1970 he went to Sheffield and began working as a research fellow and professor of chemistry at the University of the Chemical Industry. Then Sir Fraser was invited to Los Angeles. Here he took the position of senior visiting researcher at the Research Council at the famous University of California.
During the vacation, he decided to relax in Runcorn and at the same time get acquainted with the local factory laboratory. In 1990, he was appointed to the University of Birmingham and became head of the Department of Chemistry. Here he worked for about 4 years, and then returned to Los Angeles, where he was replaced by the Nobel laureate Donald Krum. All scientific Scotland followed his successes. In the summer of 2002, James Fraser took over as Acting Director (ACNI) of the California Nanosystems Institute. A year later, he headed the department of nanosystems of science and remained in this position until 2007.
Scientific and teaching activities
Over 35 years of teaching, about 300 graduate students, as well as doctoral researchers, passed through his hands. In 2008, one of his main achievements was the creation of the Mechanostereochemistry group, and he himself became the head of the Board of Trustees. At the same time, he received an invitation to teach chemistry at Northwestern University. During this period, he managed to achieve a lot as a scientist: he created effective synthetic protocols based on cyclobis (paraquat-p-phenylene), and electron-rich aromatic capabilities. Colleagues sometimes called this brilliant scientist a creative person, and his achievements - creativity, which is the link between the scientific and technical problems of nanoelectromechanical systems and chemistry.
Achievements
In 2016, Stoddart was assigned an H-index of 130. By this time, he had published about a thousand publications and held at least ten patents. Between 1997 and 2007, he was the third most cited chemical scientist in the world. In 2003, he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, but Peter Agre and Roderick Mackinnon received the prize that year.
Awards and honors
In 2006, James Fraser Stoddart received the title of Knight of the Bachelor (as well as his distant ancestor, anthropologist) and the Queen Elizabeth II Medal. In 2007, he was awarded the Albert Einstein Prize. In 2012, Fraser was named an honorary citizen of Illinois. Since 2014, he has been a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. 2016 was the most successful year in his scientific career. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 2017, Carnegie Corporation in New York named him one of America’s "great settlers."
Personal life of the great chemist
Stoddart obtained American citizenship by marrying American Norma Scholan in 1968. Two daughters were born in the marriage. The girls did not follow in the footsteps of their father, but chose to engage in the humanities.
Actor Brendan James Fraser: biography
The future theater and film artist was born on December 3, 1968 in the United States, Indiana. His parents were from Canada, although the distant ancestors of his father were from Europe, Scotland. His mother worked as a sales consultant, and his father, a journalist by profession, was in the diplomatic service at the country's Ministry of Tourism. Brendan was the youngest of the four Fraser brothers.
The childhood of the boys was very interesting: the family traveled a lot, especially in Europe. Brendan was sent to an expensive private boarding school for boys in Toronto, which was called Upper College Canada. Once, when he was 12 years old, during a vacation in the British capital, James Fraser took part in a professional production in the West End. He really liked this first acting experience, and later, as a professional actor, in 2001 he volunteered to take part in the hit London performance by Tennessee Williams - "Cat on a Hot Roof".
Education
In the same Toronto, where almost all of his childhood passed, Brendan Fraser entered the Cornish College of Art in the class of acting. Then he began to study at acting college in New York, then went to Los Angeles, being sure that he could find himself in the city of cinema. The first roles of the artist are comedic, and he owes his success to the parody film “George from the Jungle” (a parody of Tarzan). However, the artist wanted at all costs to prove that he could handle dramatic roles. And he succeeded during the filming of the biographical picture "Gods and Monsters."
The personal life of the actor
Fraser married in the fall of 1998. She and Effton Smith had been together for a long time, but they did not formalize the relationship. Three sons were born in the marriage. There was two years difference between the boys. It is noteworthy that B. Fraser is fluent in French, because he has dual citizenship. The artist is also interested in photography.
Movie and surname Fraser
Surely many of you have seen the Hollywood multi-part picture “Alien Woman”. If you remember, the main character of the film is James Alexander Malcolm Fraser. He is a Scot from a noble family, is a landowner and a true warrior, like his distant ancestors.
James Mackenzie Freisern is the future laird of Lallybroch. Returning from France to his homeland, he meets Claire - a stranger, and so begins the story of their love ...