On May 26, 1986, the American Chemical Society announced that John D. Roberts had been named the recipient of the 1987 Priestley Medal ‘for his numerous contributions to chemistry.”

Roberts is probably best known for his work with nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. In the mid-1950s, he was one of the first to recognize NMR’s potential and was a central figure in developing proton NMR into one of organic chemistry’s most powerful tools.