Sir James Colquhoun Irvine KBE FRS[1] FRSE FEIS (9 May 1877 – 12 June 1952) was a British organic chemist and Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of St Andrews from 1921 until his death.

[4][5] He then studied at the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, before taking a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of St Andrews.

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1920 and knighted in 1925[7] and was awarded the Freedom of St Andrews.

He received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Aberdeen, Cambridge, Columbia, Durham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, McGill, Oxford, Princeton, Toronto, Wales and Yale.

He died at home in St Andrews on 12 June 1952 and was buried in the eastern cemetery close to the main lower entrance gate.