Natta was born inImperia, Italy. He earned his degree in chemical engineering from thePolitecnico di Milano university inMilan in 1924. In 1927 he passed the exams for becoming a professor there. From 1929 to 1933, he was also in charge of physical chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of theUniversity of Milan. In 1933 he became a full professor and the director of the Institute of General Chemistry ofPavia University, where he stayed until 1935. During this time he began using crystallography to elucidate the structures of a wide variety of molecules including phosphine, arsine and others. In that year he was appointed full professor in physical chemistry at theUniversity of Rome.[1]
In 1935 Natta married Rosita Beati; a graduate in literature, she coined the terms "isotactic", "atactic" and "syndiotactic" for polymers discovered by her husband.[2] They had two children, Giuseppe and Franca. Rosita died in 1968.[1]
Natta was diagnosed withParkinson's disease in 1956. By 1963, his condition had progressed to the point that he required the assistance of his son and four colleagues to present his speech at the Nobel ceremonies in Stockholm. Natta died inBergamo,Italy at age 76.[1]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toGiulio Natta.
Giulio Natta on Nobelprize.org including the Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1963From the Stereospecific Polymerization to the Asymmetric Autocatalytic Synthesis of Macromolecules
