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Periodic Table of Nottingham
Lr

Lawrencium

Nottingham element: DH Lawrence

He is undoubtedly Nottinghamshire’s most famous novelist.

David Herbert (D.H.) Lawrence was a miner’s son who was born in 1885 and grew up in the town of Eastwood near Nottingham.

He trained as a teacher at University College, Nottingham which became the University of Nottingham much later in 1948.

His public reputation during his writing career was controversial, thanks to his notorious exploration of themes of sexuality in his novels, most famously Lady Chatterley’s Lover. This novel wasn’t published in its unexpurgated edition in the UK until 1960 – 30 years after his premature death from TB.

The obituaries after his death were mainly hostile however nowadays he is widely celebrated as one of the greatest British novelists.

Scientific element: Lawrencium

Lawrencium is artificially produced, and has only been made in small quantities.

Lawrencium is named for Ernest O. Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron, which was instrumental in the discovery of many elements.

Because lawrencium has only been produced in small quantities, its only use is for scientific research.

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