[2][3] He and his younger brother John F. Coates, attended school at Clifton College, Bristol, while his father taught chemistry as a Professor at Swansea University.
During this time, Coates attended lectures by J. J. Thomson and James Chadwick’s seminar announcing the discovery of the neutron in 1932.
in chemistry also from Oxford, conducting research with physical chemist Leslie Ernest Sutton on the thermochemistry and dipole moment studies of aromatic organic compounds.
[8] During World War II, Coates worked in the research department of the Magnesium Metal Corporation in Swansea.
This last edition, in two volumes, remains a foundational work in organometallic chemistry, has been translated into numerous languages, and was the standard text used by colleges throughout the world for 20 years.
In 1979, Coates retired early from the University of Wyoming due to health issues, but recovered and was active as an Emeritus Professor in the Chemistry Department.
[1] Coates married W. Jean Hobbs while she was a medical student at Bristol in 1951, and their daughter Helen was born just after her mother qualified.
[1] In his seventies, Coates began exploring the ocean by booking extended trips on commercial freighters, first across the Atlantic and later to Southeast Asia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Fiji.