Dorothy Hodgkin
Dorothy Mary Crowfoot Hodgkin [8] (12 May 1910 – 29 July 1994), was a British chemist. She developed protein crystallography. Hodgkin received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964.[9]
Dorothy Hodgkin | |
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| Born | Dorothy Mary Crowfoot 12 May 1910 |
| Died | 29 July 1994 (aged 84) Ilmington, Warwickshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Sir John Leman Grammar School |
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| Children | Luke, Elizabeth, and Toby |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry X-ray crystallography |
| Thesis | X-ray crystallography and the chemistry of the sterols (1937) |
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Early life
Hodgkin was born in Cairo, Egypt. She and her sisters were sent to live in England when World War l started. She spent the rest of her life there.
Her mother was an expert on nature and Ancient Egyptian textiles. Hodgkin’s father was a British archeologist and scholar.
Career
She studied crystals and became a tutor at Somerville College, Oxford. In 1969, Hodgkin used computer technology to analyse the structure of Insulin. Insulin is a protein which is used to treat diabetes.
Hodgkin advanced the technique of X-ray crystallography. It is a method used to discover the three dimensional structures of biomolecules.
Ernst Chain thought he had found the structure of penicillin, and Hodgkin proved he was right. She also found the structure of vitamin B12. For her work she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
In 1969, after 35 years of work and five years after winning the Nobel Prize, Hodgkin was able to find the structure of insulin.
X-ray crystallography became a widely used tool and was used to find the structures of many biological molecules, such as DNA. The structure of molecules helps us understand how they work.
Honours
Apart from the Nobel Prize, she was appointed to the Order of Merit, and given the Copley Medal, the top award of the Royal Society.
Later, she was Chancellor of Bristol University from 1970 to 1988, and President of Pugwash from 1976 to 1988.[10] Pugwash is an organization which holds conferences on Science and World Affairs.
Her best-known student was Margaret Thatcher, who consulted her when she (Thatcher) was in office.[11][12][13]
Controversies
Hodgkin was not allowed to enter the United States without special permission from the CIA.[14] She protested and wanted world peace. She was also a friend of J.D. Bernal, who was also left-wing. She received the Lenin Peace Prize in 1987.
Hodgkin died of a stroke in 1994.
Dorothy Hodgkin Media
- Professor Dorothy Hodgkin.jpg
Dorothy Hodgkin as Chancellor of the University of Bristol
- Model of the Structure of Penicillin, by Dorothy Hodgkin, Oxford, c.1945.jpeg
A three dimensional contour map of the electron density of penicillin derived from x-ray diffraction. The points of highest density show the positions of individual atoms in the penicillin. This device was used by Hodgkin to deduce the structure.
- Molecular model of Penicillin by Dorothy Hodgkin (9663803982).jpg
Molecular model of penicillin built by Hodgkin using the electron density contour maps behind the model
- Cobalamin.svg
Molecular structure of vitamin B12, as established by Hodgkin
- Order of Merit Dorothy Hodgkin.jpg
The Order of Merit insignia of Dorothy Hodgkin, displayed at the Royal Society in London, 20 April 2004.
- Royal Mail Dorothy Hodgkin 1996.png
Royal Mail stamp commemorating Dorothy Hodgkin (1996)
References
- ↑ Anon (2014). "EMBO profile Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin". people.embo.org. Heidelberg: European Molecular Biology Organization.
- ↑ Howard, Judith Ann Kathleen (1971). The study of some organic crystal structures by neutron diffraction. University of Oxford. . http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph020590675. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ↑ Crace, John (2006-09-26). Judith Howard, Crystal gazing: The first woman to head a five-star chemistry department tells John Crace what attracted her to science. Archived from the original on 2017-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20170817205623/https://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/sep/26/academicexperts.highereducationprofile.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Chemistry Tree – Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin". academictree.org.
- ↑ James, Michael Norman George (1966). X-ray crystallographic studies of some antibiotic peptides. University of Oxford. . EThOS uk.bl.ethos.710775. http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph020506626. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ↑ John Blundell, Margaret Thatcher, A Portrait of The Iron Lady, 2008, pp. 25–27. Degree student, 1943–1947.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ Hodgkin, Prof. Dorothy Mary Crowfoot. ukwhoswho.com. Who Was Who. Vol. 2017 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. closed access publication – behind paywall (subscription needed)
- ↑ "Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin." Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale, 1998. Student Resources in Context. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ Obituary: Royal Society of Edinburgh obituary Archived 2006-05-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ Ferry, Georgina. 1998. Dorothy Hodgkin: a life. Granta Books, London.
- ↑ Rose, Hilary (1994). Love, Power, and Knowledge: Towards a Feminist Transformation of the Sciences. Indiana University Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780253209078.
