Fred C. Anson
1933 – 2024
Fred C. Anson (BS ’54), the Elizabeth W. Gilloon Professor of Chemistry, Emeritus, who served as chair of the Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from 1984 to 1994, passed away on May 22. He was 91.
Anson was born and raised in South San Gabriel, California, where he had a paper route for the Los Angeles Times. He first came to Caltech as an undergraduate, studying chemistry on a scholarship from the LA Times. He was senior captain of Caltech’s 1954 basketball team, which won the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship. He went on to earn his doctoral degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1957 but returned the same year to Caltech as an instructor.
Anson spent his entire career at Caltech. In 1958, he was appointed assistant professor, became an associate professor in 1962, a full professor in 1968, and the Gilloon Professor in 1995. His research focused on the kinetics, mechanisms, and catalysis of electrode reactions. In particular, he was interested in understanding the behavior of reactants attached to the surface of electrodes.
He served as the executive officer for chemistry from 1973 until 1977 before being named chairman of the division in 1984. He also chaired the presidential search committee that resulted in the selection of Marvin L. Goldberger to be Caltech’s fifth president. Anson retired in 2001 and moved to Santa Barbara.
Among Anson’s many honors, he was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1988) and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2003). He received the Alexander von Humboldt Award in 1984, which allowed him to do research in Berlin. Anson was also honored with the inaugural David Grahame Award from the Electrochemical Society (1983), the C.N. Reilley Award in electroanalytical chemistry (1986), and the American Chemical Society Award in Analytical Chemistry (1989). He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne in 1993.
He retired in 2001, and he and Roxana moved to Santa Barbara and later to Vista del Monte, a retirement community in Santa Barbara. He was a supporter of the Santa Barbara Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, Ensemble Theatre Company, and State Street Ballet. Funds from their charitable trust were used to establish the Fred C. and Roxana H. Anson Scholarship Fund to support Caltech undergraduate students.
Anson is survived by his wife, Roxana Anson; daughter, Alison Anson; son, Eric Anson; daughter-in-law, Linda Anson; and his sister, Liane Anson Hawkins.