Francis Patrick Dwyer was born in Maitland, NSW in 1910.聽
In 1930 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Sydney and continued on in inorganic chemistry under the supervision of David Mellor gaining his Master of Science in 1933 from the same institution.
The following year he was appointed head teacher of Inorganic Chemistry at Sydney Technical College. In 1946 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Science for his research on 'Diazoamino Compounds and Their Metallic Salts and Metallic Hydroxide Lakes' and shortly afterwards was appointed Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney.
In 1958 he accepted the position of reader in Biological Inorganic Chemistry, John Curtin School of Medical Research at the Australian National University and in 1960 was given a Personal Chair at the ANU. In 1961 he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy. He died suddenly in 1962 at the age of 51.
Dwyer worked on many aspects of coordination chemistry, in particular, platinum metal chemistry and optical resolution of metal complexes. He was a pioneer of bio-inorganic chemistry and was making important contributions in this area at the time of his death.
Late in 1962 his friends, colleagues and former research students within the UNSW Chemical Society set up a to endow the Dwyer Memorial Lecture and Medal. The lecture is to be in the field of coordination chemistry and to be delivered by a distinguished worker in this field.
A complete list of the Dwyer Lecturers is given below.
I聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 1962聽 聽 聽 聽R. S. Nyholm, University College, London.
II聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽1964聽 聽 聽 聽M. Calvin, University of California, Berkeley
III聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 1965聽 聽 聽 聽J. C. Bailar, University of Illinois.
IV聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 1966聽 聽 聽 聽F. A. Cotton, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
V聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽1967聽 聽 聽 聽H. B. Jonassen, Tulane University.
VI聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 1968聽 聽 聽 聽F. Lions, University of Sydney.
VII聽 聽 聽 聽 聽1969聽 聽 聽 聽D. P. Mellor, University of New South Wales.
VIII聽 聽 聽 聽 1972聽 聽 聽 聽J. F. Duncan, Victoria University of Wellington.
IX聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 1973聽 聽 聽 聽H. Taube, Stanford University.
X聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽1975聽 聽 聽 聽J. Ibers, Northwestern University
XI聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 1975聽 聽 聽 聽G. Schwarzenbach, ETH, Z眉rich.
XII聽 聽 聽 聽 聽1976聽 聽 聽 聽F. Basolo, Northwestern University.
XIII聽 聽 聽 聽 1977聽 聽 聽 聽G. Wilkinson, Imperial College, London.
XIV聽 聽 聽 聽 1977聽 聽 聽 聽L. Sacconi, University of Florence.
XV聽 聽 聽 聽 聽1978聽 聽 聽 聽D. H. Busch, Ohio State University.
XVI聽 聽 聽 聽 1980聽 聽 聽 聽R. J. Gillespie, McMaster University, Ontario.
XVII聽 聽 聽 聽1980聽 聽 聽 聽J. Chatt, University of Sussex.
XVIII聽 聽 聽 1982聽 聽 聽 聽J. Lewis, University of Cambridge.
XIX聽 聽 聽 聽 1985聽 聽 聽 聽A. M. Sargeson, Australian National University.
XX聽 聽 聽 聽 聽1986聽 聽 聽 聽H. Schmidbaur, Technische Universit盲t M眉nchen.
XXI聽 聽 聽 聽 1988聽 聽 聽 聽R. H. Holm, Harvard University.
XXII聽 聽 聽 聽1989聽 聽 聽 聽J. D. Dunitz, ETH-Zentrum, Z眉rich.
XXIII聽 聽 聽 1989聽 聽 聽 聽T. J. Meyer, University of North Carolina.
XXIV聽 聽 聽 1991聽 聽 聽 聽R. D. Peacock, University of Leicester.
XXV聽 聽 聽 聽1993聽 聽 聽 聽G. C. Christou, University of Indiana.
XXVI聽 聽 聽 1994聽 聽 聽 聽D. C. Bradley, University of London.
XXVII聽 聽 聽1997聽 聽 聽 聽M. L. H. Green, University of Oxford.
XXVIII聽 聽 1999聽 聽 聽 聽P. J. Sadler, University of Edinburgh
XXIX聽 聽 聽 2000聽 聽 聽 聽W. R. Roper, University of Auckland
XXX聽 聽 聽 聽2002聽 聽 聽 聽I. G. Dance, University of New South Wales
XXXI聽 聽 聽 2003聽 聽 聽 聽H. Gray, California Institute of Technology
XXXII聽 聽 聽2007聽 聽 聽 聽C. P. Casey, University of Wisconsin-Madison
XXXIII聽 聽 2009聽 聽 聽 聽M. D. Fryzuk, University of British Columbia
XXXIV聽 聽 2010聽 聽 聽 聽R. Eisenberg, University of Rochester
XXXV聽 聽 2017聽 聽 聽 聽A. L Goodwin, Univerity of Oxford