Brock was born in
Brighton in 1936. He studied chemistry at
University College London and the history and philosophy of science at the
University of Leicester to become a lecturer on the subject. He earned a Ph.D. for his biography of the chemist
William Prout which was expanded into the book,
From Protyle to Proton: William Prout and the Nature of Matter, 1785–1985 (1985). Brock remained at Leicester until he retired in 1998 as Emeritus Professor of History of Science. Brock has written biographies of famous chemists such as
Justus von Liebig,
August Wilhelm von Hofmann and
William Crookes. In 1995, Brock received the
Dexter Award for Outstanding Achievement in the History of Chemistry from the
American Chemical Society. Brock died on 16 February 2025, at the age of 88. ==Publications==