Basil Lythgoe facts for kids

Basil Lythgoe FRS (born August 18, 1913 – died April 18, 2009) was a British chemist. He studied the structure of many natural substances. These included parts of nucleosides (which make up DNA), plant poisons, and vitamin D2. He was a professor of organic chemistry at the University of Leeds.

Life Story

Basil Lythgoe was born in Leigh, England. He was the second of three children. His father worked for a local textile company.

Early Education and University

Basil went to Leigh Grammar School, just like his father. In 1930, he went to the University of Manchester. He graduated in 1934 with top marks, even though he had a bad throat infection.

He stayed at Manchester to work on his PhD degree. His supervisor was Professor I W Heilbron. Basil earned his PhD in 1936.

Working as a Chemist

After his PhD, Basil Lythgoe worked at a company called ICI in Huddersfield. There, he helped make a special kind of dye.

But he soon returned to the University of Manchester. He became an assistant lecturer and worked with Alexander Todd.

In 1946, Lythgoe moved with Alexander Todd to the University of Cambridge. He started as an assistant researcher and later became a lecturer.

Research on DNA and Toxins

At Cambridge, their main research was on nucleosides. These are important parts of DNA. Their work helped scientists understand what DNA looks like. By 1948, Lythgoe began working on his own. He continued to study nucleosides. Later, he studied a very poisonous natural substance called macrozamin.

In 1953, Basil Lythgoe moved to the University of Leeds. He became a professor of organic chemistry there.

Research on Plant Chemicals and Vitamin D

He spent many years studying plant chemicals called taxine alkaloids. Lythgoe was one of the first to use a new tool called NMR. This helped him figure out what taxine-I looked like.

He also did a lot of research on calciferols, which are related to Vitamin D. In one of his papers, he described how he created cholecalciferol in his lab. He used a special method called the Wittig reaction.

Basil Lythgoe retired from his work in 1978.

Awards and Recognition

Basil Lythgoe received many awards for his work:

• In 1958, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
• He also received the Tilden Lectureship of the Chemical Society in 1958.
• He got the Synthetic Organic Chemistry Award of the Chemical Society in 1978.
• He received the Simonsen Lectureship of the Chemical Society in 1978.
• In 1979, he received the Chemical Society Award for Organic Synthesis.

Family Life

Basil Lythgoe married Kathleen (Kate) Cameron Hallum in June 1946. They had met at the University of Manchester.

They had two sons: John Cameron (born 1948) and Andrew Hallum (born 1950). Both sons went on to have careers in industry. They also got married and had their own families.

Kate passed away in 2003. Basil Lythgoe passed away on April 18, 2009.