Word: knowleses
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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As a chemist, Knowles was an internationally known enzymologist. Now, as dean of some of the most accomplished academics worldwide, he is satisfied with his work.
Knowles was born near Oxford, England in 1935, the son and grandson of Oxford University professors. World War II hit Europe before he was five, and Knowles has early memories of 1940's Battle of Britain, hiding in cabinets and cellars as German bombs fell on his hometown.
After graduating from secondary school at 18, Knowles followed Britain's national service policy and joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a Pilot Officer.
In his first working day as an officer, Knowles was assigned to pick up 250 enlisted men from London's Victoria station and get them safely delivered to Germany by train.
"I was a very young 18. I had a funny hat on, so they saluted me, but some of the sergeants were as old as my father," Knowles recalls. "That sort of builds character, although as I sat there alone in the officer's carriage, I didn't think about...