H F W Taylor was for many years Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at he University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Since 1948, his main research interest has been the chemistry of cement. His early work laid the foundations of our understanding of the structure at the nanometre level of C-S-H, the principal product formed when cement is mixed with water, and the one mainly reponsible for its hardening. Subsequent studies took him into many additional aspects of the chemistry and materials science of cement and concrete. His work has been recognized by Fellowships and by other honours and awards.