Complex sentence: Known by a number of names during its lifespan, the department was formed, under Professor Alan Eddy as the Department of Biochemistry in 1959 from the previously existing Brewing Chemistry department.
Split into simpler sentences: Known by a number of names during its lifespan the department was formed as the Department of Biochemistry, under Professor Alan Eddy, in 1959. It was created from the previously existing Brewing Chemistry department.