[1] His work is summarized in a classic reference book, Structural inorganic chemistry, first appeared in 1945 and has since gone through five editions.
[2] In addition, his work on crystal structures in terms of nets have been important and inspirational for the field of metal-organic frameworks and related materials.
[3] Wells studied at The Queens' College, University of Oxford and obtained his BA and MA in 1934 and 1937, respectively.
Wells was not interested in senior administrative jobs offer to him in the industry, he moved back to academia and became a professor of chemistry at University of Connecticut in the US from 1968 until his retirement in 1980.
[4] During World War II, Wells worked on developing phosphors to be used in cathode-ray tubes and in helping service people move about in the dark.