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{{short description|Canadian chemist (born 1929)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2017}}
{{Hungarian name|Polányi János Károly}}
{{Infobox scientist
|honorific_prefix = [[The Honourable]]
|name = John Polanyi
|honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=CAN|PC|CC|FRSC|OOnt|FRS|size=100%}}
|image       = John Polanyi.jpg
|caption     = Polanyi in 2019
|birth_name  = John Charles Polanyi
|birth_date  = {{birth date and age|df=y|1929|1|23}}
|birth_place = [[Berlin]], [[Weimar Germany|Germany]]
|nationality = Canadian
|death_date  = 
|death_place = 
|alma_mater  = [[University of Manchester]]
|known_for   = [[Chemical kinetics]]<br>[[Reaction dynamics]]
|spouse      = {{marriage|Anne Davidson|1958|2013|end=died}}
|children    = 2
|father      = [[Michael Polanyi]]
|relatives   = {{plainlist|
* [[Karl Polanyi]] (uncle)
* [[Ilona Duczynska]] (aunt)
* [[Kari Polanyi Levitt]] (cousin)
* [[Eva Zeisel]] (cousin)
}}
|prizes      = {{Plainlist|
* [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]] (1971)<ref name=frs/>
* [[Henry Marshall Tory Medal]]  (1977)
* [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (1986)
* [[Royal Medal]] (1989)
* [[Faraday Lectureship Prize]] (2010)}}
|field       = 
|work_institution  = [[University of Toronto]]
| website = {{URL|sites.utoronto.ca/jpolanyi}}
}}
[[File:John Polanyi Collegiate Insititute.jpg|thumb|[[John Polanyi Collegiate Institute]], Toronto]]

'''John Charles Polanyi''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CC|FRSC|OOnt|FRS}} ({{langx|hu|Polányi János Károly}}; born 23 January 1929) is a German-born Canadian [[chemist]]. He was awarded the 1986 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for his research in [[chemical kinetics]]. 

Polanyi was born into the prominent Hungarian Polányi (Pollacsek) family in [[Berlin]], Germany, prior to emigrating in 1933 to the United Kingdom where he was subsequently educated at the [[University of Manchester]], and did [[postdoctoral research]] at the [[National Research Council (Canada)|National Research Council]] in Canada and [[Princeton University]] in [[New Jersey]]. Polanyi's first academic appointment was at the [[University of Toronto]], and he remains there {{as of|2019|lc=y}}. 

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Polanyi has received numerous other awards, including 33 honorary degrees, the [[Wolf Prize in Chemistry]] and the [[Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering]]. Outside his scientific pursuits, Polanyi is active in public policy discussion, especially concerning science and nuclear weapons. His father, Mihály ([[Michael Polanyi|Michael]]), was a noted chemist and philosopher. His uncle, Károly ([[Karl Polanyi|Karl]]) was a renowned political economist, best known for his seminal work, [[The Great Transformation (book)|''The Great Transformation'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1986/polanyi-bio.html|title=Polanyi Biography at Nobel e-Museum}}</ref> According to [[György Marx]], he was one of "[[The Martians (scientists)|The Martians]]", a group of prominent Hungarian scientists who emigrated to the United States in the first half of the 20th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fizikaiszemle.hu/archivum/fsz9703/marsl.html|title=A MARSLAKOK LEGENDAJA|website=Fizikai Szemle 1997/3. szám|language=hu|author=György Marx|author-link=György Marx}}</ref>

==Early years==
Polanyi's father Michael was born Jewish and converted to Catholicism. Polanyi's family moved from [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] to [[UK|Britain]] in 1933, partly as a result of the persecution of [[Jews]] under [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name=michael /> During [[World War II]], Polanyi's father sent him to Canada for three years when he was 11, so he would be safe from [[The Blitz|German bombings]].<ref name=science>{{cite web|title=John Charles Polanyi|url=http://www.science.ca/scientists/scientistprofile.php?pID=16|publisher=GCS Research Society|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> While living in Toronto, he attended the [[University of Toronto Schools]].  After returning to Britain, Polanyi finished high school and attended university at [[Manchester University|Manchester]], where he received his undergraduate degree in 1949 and his [[doctorate|PhD]] in 1952.<ref name=nobelbio>{{cite web|title=John C. Polanyi – Biography|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1986/polanyi.html|publisher=The Nobel Foundation|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> Although his university education was focused in science, he was not convinced it was his calling after finishing high school, when he briefly considered a career as a poet.<ref name=poet>{{cite news|title=Is Canada losing the lab-rat race?|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|last1=Andersson|first1=Erin|last2=McIlroy|first2=Anne|date=2 May 2009|page=F1}}</ref> His father, [[Michael Polanyi]], was a professor in the chemistry department during his first year of university, before transferring<!--this makes it sound like the father transferred; is that so?--> to a newly created position in the [[social studies]] department. Polanyi's supervisor during his graduate studies was [[Ernest Warhurst]], a former student of his father's.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|title=John C. Polanyi Official Website, Killiam Biography|url=https://www.utoronto.ca/jpolanyi/profile/profile2.html|publisher=University of Toronto|access-date=31 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317115800/http://www.utoronto.ca/jpolanyi/profile/profile2.html|archive-date=17 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> After completing his PhD studies, Polanyi did postdoctoral research at the [[National Research Council (Canada)|National Research Council]] in Ottawa, [[Ontario]] from 1952 until 1954, where he worked with [[Edgar William Richard Steacie]].<ref name=bio /> From 1954 until 1956, he was a research associate at [[Princeton University]].<ref name=nobelbio />

==Academic posts==
John Polanyi started at the [[University of Toronto]] as a lecturer in 1956. He moved up the ranks quickly at the university, being promoted to assistant professor in 1957, associate professor in 1960 and becoming a full professor in 1962. In 1975, he was named University Professor, an honorary title he has retained since.<ref name=nobelbio />

==Research interests==
Polanyi's PhD studies at Manchester University focused on measuring the strengths of [[chemical bonds]] using thermal dissociation, building on Warhurst's graduate studies using a sodium flame apparatus to determine the likelihood that a collision between a sodium atom and another molecule would lead to a [[chemical reaction]].<ref name=bio /> For the majority of his career, Polanyi's research has focused on chemical dynamics, attempting to determine the mechanics of a [[chemical reaction]], and the properties of chemical species in the [[transition state]].<ref name=science /> While at the [[National Research Council (Canada)|National Research Council]] (NRC), Polanyi evaluated [[transition state theory]] for its predictive powers, coming to the conclusion that the theory was flawed, largely due to a lack of knowledge about the forces at play in the transition state.<ref name=bio /> Near the end of his stay at NRC, Polanyi worked in [[Gerhard Herzberg]]'s lab, using [[spectroscopy]] to examine vibrational and rotational excitation in iodine molecules.<ref name=bio /> During Polanyi's time at [[Princeton University]], he worked with Sir [[Hugh Stott Taylor|Hugh Taylor]] and his colleagues, Michael Boudart and David Garvin. He was influenced by studies conducted at Princeton looking at the vibrationally excited reaction products between atomic [[hydrogen]] and [[ozone]].<ref name=bio />

When Polanyi moved to the [[University of Toronto]], his first graduate students were looking for enhanced reaction rates with vibrationally excited hydrogen, as well as looking for the presence of vibrationally excited hydrogen chloride during the [[exothermic]] reaction of molecular chlorine with atomic hydrogen.<ref name=bio /> Graduate student Kenneth Cashion was working with Polanyi when they made their first discoveries about [[chemiluminescence]], the light emitted by an atom molecule when it is in an [[excited state]]. This work was first published in 1958.<ref name=canenc />

In 2009, Polanyi and his colleagues published a paper in ''[[Nature Chemistry]]'', entitled "Molecular dynamics in surface reactions."<ref name=nano>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nchem.440| last1 = Harikumar | first1 = K. R. | last2 = Leung | first2 = L. | last3 = McNab | first3 = I. R. | last4 = Polanyi | first4 = J. C. | last5 = Lin | first5 = H. | last6 = Hofer | first6 = W. A. | title = Cooperative molecular dynamics in surface reactions | journal = Nature Chemistry | volume = 1 | issue = 9 | pages = 716–721 | year = 2009 | pmid =  21124358 |bibcode = 2009NatCh...1..716H }}</ref> This more recent research could be influential in [[nanotechnology]], building devices from single atoms and molecules.<ref name=nanoint>{{cite news|title=Not resting on his (Nobel) laurels "; 'I still dream science,' says 1986 chemistry Prize winner John Polanyi who's now tackling nanotechnology|work=[[Toronto Star]]|date=21 November 2009|page=GT1|last=Hall|first=Joseph}}</ref> Polanyi's work still focuses on the basic workings of chemical reactions, but since his Nobel Prize win in 1986, his methods have changed. While in [[Sweden]] for the award ceremony, he encountered the three scientists who were awarded the 1986 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]], who were honoured for their work in [[electron optics]] and [[Scanning tunneling microscope|scanning tunneling microscopy]].<ref name=86physics /> This technology allowed Polanyi and his colleagues to monitor chemical reactions on a very small scale, rather than observing the energy being released using infrared technology. His lab at the University of Toronto currently has 4 scanning tunneling microscopes, valued at approximately $750,000 each.<ref name=nanoint />

In addition to his scientific pursuits, Polanyi has also always been keenly aware of the world at large. As a student, he edited a newspaper and displayed an interest in politics.<ref name=bio /> Although his father was a scientist, he did not demonstrate an immediate affinity for chemistry.<ref name=science /> Beginning in the 1950s, Polanyi became involved in public affairs, especially concerning [[nuclear weapons]].<ref name=bio /> He founded Canada's [[Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs|Pugwash]] group in 1960, and served as the chairman for the group from its inception until 1978.<ref name=bio /> Pugwash is a global movement that received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1995. Their goal is to reduce armed conflict and seek solutions to global problems.<ref name=school /> He has also been a supporter of "pure" science, and a critic of government policies that do not support such research.<ref name=canenc>{{cite web|title=Polanyi, John Charles|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006362|publisher=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=31 March 2011|archive-date=3 January 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060103184758/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0006362|url-status=dead}}</ref> He is also a supporter of the [[Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly]], an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://en.unpacampaign.org/supporters/overview/?mapcountry=allhea&mapgroup=hea|title=Supporters|work=Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly|access-date=2017-09-26|language=en-US}}</ref> Polanyi often accepts speaking engagements to discuss issues relating to social justice, peace and nuclear proliferation, despite his busy research schedule.<ref name=nanoint /> He frequently comments on science and public policy issues via the ''Letters to the Editor'' and ''Opinion'' sections of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' newspaper.<ref name=lte1>{{cite news|title=Nuclear Security|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=14 April 2010|page=A18|last=Polanyi|first=John}}</ref><ref name=lte2>{{cite news|title=Freedom, indivisible|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=7 December 2010|page=A20|last=Polanyi|first=John}}</ref><ref name=opinion>{{cite news|title=The solemn quest for 'global zero'|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=31 January 2010|last=Polanyi|first=John|page=A17}}</ref> He currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, the research arm of [[Council for a Livable World]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Board|url=http://armscontrolcenter.org/about/board/#JPolanyi|website=Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation|access-date=22 September 2016}}</ref>

==Awards and honours==

===Nobel Prize===
Polanyi was awarded the 1986 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] for his work in [[chemical kinetics]]. He shared the prize with [[Dudley Herschbach]] of [[Harvard University]] and [[Yuan T. Lee]] of the [[University of California]]. The trio were honoured for "their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."<ref name=86nobel>{{cite web|title=Press Release: The 1986 Nobel Prize in Chemistry|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1986/press.html|publisher=The Nobel Foundation|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> Polanyi's contributions were centred around the work he did developing the technique of [[Chemiluminescence#Infrared chemiluminescence|infrared chemiluminescence]]. This technique was used to measure weak infrared emissions from a newly formed molecule in order to examine energy disposal during a chemical reaction.<ref name=86nobel /> Polanyi's Nobel lecture upon receipt of the award was entitled "Some Concepts in Reaction Dynamics."<ref name=lecture>{{cite web|title=Some Concepts in Reaction Dynamics|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1986/polanyi-lecture.pdf|publisher=The Nobel Foundation|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref>

Polanyi had mixed feelings about the impact of the Nobel Prize on his research, feeling that his name on research proposals and papers often brought additional scrutiny, and also had people questioning his dedication to science after the honour. Polanyi said, "There is a very reasonable suspicion that you are so busy doing the things that Nobel Prize winners do that you are actually only giving half your mind to science."<ref name=nanoint />

His Nobel victory also signaled a change in his research direction. The 1986 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] was awarded to [[Ernst Ruska]], [[Gerd Binnig]] and [[Heinrich Rohrer]] for their work in [[electron microscopes]] and [[scanning tunnelling microscopy]] (STM).<ref name=86physics>{{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1986|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1986/|publisher=The Nobel Foundation|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref> This research piqued Polanyi's interest while he was in Sweden for the ceremony. After returning to Toronto, Polanyi and his colleagues looked into the technique and now have four STMs, which they use to picture chemical reactions at the molecular level, rather than using infrared detection and chemiluminescence.<ref name=nanoint />

Polanyi's Nobel medal is on display at [[Massey College]] (University of Toronto) where he is also a Senior Fellow.

===Additional awards===
He was elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1971|Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1971]].<ref name=frs>{{cite web|title=Fellowship of the Royal Society 1660–2015 |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RVVZY00MZNrK2YCTTzVrbTFH2t3RxoAZah128gQR-NM/pubhtml |publisher=[[Royal Society]] |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015185820/https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RVVZY00MZNrK2YCTTzVrbTFH2t3RxoAZah128gQR-NM/pubhtml |archive-date=15 October 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1974, Polanyi was made an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]].<ref>{{OCC|1357}}</ref> In 1979, he was promoted to Companion.<ref name=nobelbio /> He has received many other awards throughout his career, including the Marlow Medal of the [[Faraday Society]] in 1962, Centenary Medal of the [[British Chemical Society]] in 1965, the [[Steacie Prize]] for Natural Sciences in 1965 (shared), the Noranda Award of the Chemical Institute of Canada in 1967, the [[Henry Marshall Tory Medal]] of the [[Royal Society of Canada]] in 1977, the [[Wolf Prize in Chemistry]] in 1982 (shared), the [[Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize]] in 1988, the [[Royal Medal]] of the [[Royal Society]] in 1989, and the John C. Polanyi Lecture Award of the [[Canadian Society for Chemistry]] in 1992.<ref name=nobelbio /> In 2007, Polanyi was awarded the [[Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering]].<ref name=herzberg>{{cite web|title=2007 Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal for Science and Engineering|url=http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/Herzberg-Herzberg/Profiles-Profils_eng.asp?ID=1001|publisher=[[Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council]]|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> The [[Royal Society of Chemistry]] honoured Polanyi as their 2010 [[Faraday Lectureship Prize]].<ref name=faraday>{{cite web|title=Faraday Lectureship Prize Winner 2010|url=http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/FaradayLectureshipPrize/2010winner.asp|publisher=[[Royal Society of Chemistry]]|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref>

Polanyi has received many honorary degrees from 25 institutions, including [[University of Waterloo|Waterloo]] in 1970, [[Harvard University]] in 1982, [[University of Ottawa|Ottawa]] in 1987, and [[Queen's University at Kingston|Queen's]] in 1992.<ref name=nobelbio /> He is a fellow of the [[Royal Society of Canada]], the [[Royal Society of London]], the [[Royal Society of Edinburgh]], and a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]], the [[U.S. National Academy of Sciences]], the [[Pontifical Academy of Sciences]], and an Honorary Fellow of the [[Royal Society of Chemistry]] of the United Kingdom and the [[Chemical Institute of Canada]].<ref name=nobelbio />

Polanyi was pictured on a [[Canada Post]] first class postage stamp on 3 October 2011, issued to salute the [[International Year of Chemistry]]. In 1992, Polanyi was appointed to the Queen's Privy Council of Canada.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=council-conseil&doc=members-membres/chronolog-eng.htm#a1991-2000| title=Privy Council Office| date=2017-12-04| access-date=7 February 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160215221747/http://www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/index.asp?lang=eng&page=information&sub=council-conseil&doc=members-membres%2Fchronolog-eng.htm#a1991-2000| archive-date=15 February 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Polanyi was awarded the 2022 Andrei Sakharov Prize. The award cites Polanyi's seven decades of activism for a nuclear-weapons-free world, for upholding human rights and freedom of speech globally, for public education on the essential role of science in society, and for a visionary approach to bringing about a hopeful, peaceful future.<ref>{{cite web|title=2022 Andrei Sakharov Prize Recipient|url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?last_nm=Polanyi&first_nm=John&year=2022|publisher=[[American Physical Society]]|access-date=2 April 2022}}</ref>

===Legacy===
In honour of Polanyi's Nobel Prize win, the Ontario government established the "John Charles Polanyi Prizes". These prizes are each worth $20,000, and are awarded to young researchers in the province in a postdoctoral fellowship or who have recently started a faculty appointment at an Ontario university. The prizes are awarded in similar categories to the Nobel Prizes, broadly defined as: [[Physics]], [[Chemistry]], [[Physiology]] or Medicine, Economics and Literature.<ref name=polanyiawards>{{cite web|title=John Charles Polanyi Awards|url=http://ocgs.cou.on.ca/_bin/home/polanyi.cfm|publisher=Ontario Council of Graduate Studies|access-date=31 March 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106173332/http://ocgs.cou.on.ca/_bin/home/polanyi.cfm|archive-date=6 January 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Canada's [[Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council]] (NSERC) created the John C. Polanyi award to recognize a researcher or researchers whose work in an NSERC-supported field has led to an outstanding advance in the field. The research must have been conducted in Canada, and have been at least partially supported by NSERC funding. The award consists partially of a $250,000 grant for the winner.<ref name=nsercpolanyi>{{cite web|title=NSERC – John C. Polanyi Award – About the Award|url=http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/Polanyi-Polanyi/About-Apropos_eng.asp|publisher=[[Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council]]|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> The inaugural winner of the John C. Polanyi Award was the [[Sudbury Neutrino Observatory]].<ref name=polanyiwinner>{{cite web|title=2006 NSERC John C. Polanyi Award|url=http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Prizes-Prix/Polanyi-Polanyi/Past-Anciens_eng.asp?Year=2006|publisher=[[Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council]]|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> In 2011, the award was presented to [[Victoria M. Kaspi]], an [[astrophysics|astrophysicist]] at [[McGill University]].<ref name=11award>{{cite web|title=NSERC John C. Polanyi Award|url=http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Media-Media/ForMedia-PourMedias/Polanyi-Polanyi_eng.asp|publisher=[[Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council]]|access-date=1 April 2011}}</ref>

Polanyi started publishing his scientific research in 1953. As of 2010, he has published over 250 scientific papers.<ref name=refs>{{cite web|title=Publications|url=https://www.utoronto.ca/jpolanyi/science/|publisher=[[University of Toronto]]|access-date=31 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514003354/http://www.utoronto.ca/jpolanyi/science/|archive-date=14 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> His writing is not limited to his scientific interests, as he has published over 100 articles on policy, the impact of science on society and armament control.<ref name=nobelbio /> In 1970, he produced a film entitled ''Concepts in Reaction Dynamics'', and he co-edited a book called ''The Dangers of Nuclear War''.<ref name=nobelbio />

In 2010, the [[Toronto District School Board]] voted to change the name of [[Sir Sandford Fleming Academy]] to the [[John Polanyi Collegiate Institute]] to coincide with a move to a new location. The new school opened in September 2011.<ref name=school>{{cite web|title=John Polanyi CI to provide exciting opportunities for Lawrence Heights students|url=http://www.tdsb.on.ca/about_us/media_room/room.asp?show=allNews&view=detailed&self=27396|publisher=[[Toronto District School Board]]|date=17 December 2010|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Polanyi was born in 1929 to [[Michael Polanyi|Michael]] and Magda Elizabeth Kemény Polanyi in [[Berlin]], Germany.<ref name=nobelbio /> His father was born in 1891, in [[Hungary]].<ref name=michael>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1177/0048393105277986 | last1 = Knepper | first1 = P. | title = Michael Polanyi and Jewish Identity | journal = Philosophy of the Social Sciences | volume = 35 | issue = 3 | pages = 263–293 | year = 2005 | s2cid = 144091082 }}</ref> His uncle, [[Karl Polanyi|Karl]] was an economist, noted for his criticism of [[market capitalism]].<ref name=canenc /> His brother George was noted for his defence of market capitalism. His paternal grandfather, Mihaly Pollacsek, built railways.<ref name=canenc /> Mihaly Pollacsek [[Hungarian language|Magyarised]] the family's name to Polanyi, but did not change his own name.<ref name=michael /> The Polanyi's were non-observant [[History of the Jews in Hungary|Jews]], although Michael Polanyi became a [[Christian]]. 

In 1958, Polanyi married Anne Ferrar Davidson (1929–2013).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humphreymiles.com./book-of-memories/1760027/Polanyi-Anne-Sue/index.php |title=In Memory of Anne (Sue) Polanyi |access-date=2014-01-02 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102194749/http://www.humphreymiles.com/book-of-memories/1760027/Polanyi-Anne-Sue/index.php |archive-date=2 January 2014 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> He has two children – a daughter, Margaret, born in 1961 and a son, Michael, born in 1963.<ref name=nobelbio /> His daughter is a journalist, and his son is a political scientist who started his career as a physicist.<ref name=bio /> Polanyi is currently married to portrait artist [[Brenda Bury]].<ref name=bury>{{cite web|title=Brenda Bury's biography|url=http://www.brendabury.com/Bio.html|publisher=Brenda Bury|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref> Outside his scientific and policy endeavours, Polanyi's interests include art, literature and poetry. He was an avid white water canoeist in his younger days, but has replaced that with walking and skiing.<ref name=bio />

==See also==
*[[Chemical laser]]
*[[The Martians (scientists)]]
*[[List of Jewish Nobel laureates]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{wikiquote inline|John Polanyi}}
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture, 8 December 1986 ''Some Concepts in Reaction Dynamics''

{{Wolf Prize in Chemistry}}
{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry}}
{{1986 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Hungarian Nobel Laureates}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polanyi, John C.}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
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[[Category:Canadian physical chemists]]
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[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada]]
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[[Category:Members of the Order of Ontario]]
[[Category:Academic staff of the University of Toronto]]
[[Category:Wolf Prize in Chemistry laureates]]
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[[Category:German emigrants to Canada]]
[[Category:Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Canadian people of German-Jewish descent]]
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[[Category:Sandford Fleming Award recipients]]
[[Category:Jewish Canadian scientists]]
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[[Category:Chemical physicists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]]

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