[1] Bartlett's interest in chemistry dated back to an experiment at Heaton Grammar School when he was only eleven years old, in which he prepared "beautiful, well-formed" crystals by reaction of aqueous ammonia with copper sulfate.

[2] He explored chemistry by constructing a makeshift lab in his parents' home using chemicals and glassware he purchased from a local supply store.

[5] In 1958, Bartlett's career began upon being appointed a lecturer in chemistry at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada where he would ultimately reach the rank of full professor.

He remained there until 1966, when he moved to Princeton University as a professor of chemistry and a member of the research staff at Bell Laboratories.

This contradicted established models of the nature of valency, as it was believed that all noble gases were entirely inert to chemical combination.

As they looked at what they thought might be the first crystals of XeF2, the compound exploded, getting shards of glass in the eyes of both men.

According to Bartlett, he thought that the compound may have contained water molecules, and he and Rao took off their glasses to get a better look.