Britton Chance facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Britton Chance
FRS , D.Sc
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Britton Chance (Photo by Ron Kroon, 1965)
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| Born | July 24, 1913 |
| Died | November 16, 2010 (aged 97) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Haverford School (1931) University of Pennsylvania (B.A) (1935) Cambridge University (Ph.D) (1942) |
| Known for | Kinetics of fast enzyme-catalysed reactions Optical imaging MRI Sailing |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Earle, Lilian Streeter Lucas, Shoko Nioka |
| Children | four from first marriage, including Britton Chance Jr., Jan Chance; four from second marriage |
| Parents |
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| Awards | National Medal of Science President's Certificate of Merit |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biophysics, Biochemistry |
| Institutions | University of Pennsylvania National Cheng Kung University |
| Medal record | ||
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| Men's sailing | ||
Representing the  United States |
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| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 1952 Helsinki | 5.5 metre class |
| World Championship | ||
| Gold | 1962 Poole | 5.5 metre class |
Britton "Brit" Chance (July 24, 1913 – November 16, 2010) was a famous American scientist and inventor. He was a biochemist (someone who studies the chemistry of living things) and a biophysicist (someone who studies how physics applies to living things).
Brit Chance was a leader in turning science ideas into useful medical tools. He helped develop ways to diagnose health problems using light, a field now called "biomedical photonics." In 1974, he received the National Medal of Science, one of the highest science awards in the United States.
Besides his amazing science career, he was also an Olympic athlete. He won a gold medal for the United States in sailing at the 1952 Summer Olympics.
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Early Life and Learning
Brit Chance was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. His father, Edwin Mickley Chance, was an engineer and inventor. He even created a device to find dangerous gases in coal mines! Brit's grandfather was also a well-known geologist and doctor. Science and inventing clearly ran in the family!
When Brit was a teenager, his family moved to Haverford, Pennsylvania. They had a summer home where he learned to sail on his father's yacht. He loved sailing from a young age.
At 13, he became a licensed radiotelegraph operator. He even built his own powerful radio transmitter. This showed his early interest in electronics and technology.
College and Inventions
Brit graduated from Haverford School in 1931. He then went to the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1935 and a master's degree in microbiology in 1936.
Around age 17, he invented a device that could steer ships automatically. He tested it on his father's yacht during a trip in 1935. In 1938, a company called General Electric hired him to test his invention on a large ship sailing from England to Australia. In return, they paid for his tuition to Cambridge University in England.
He started at Cambridge in 1938. But because of World War II, he couldn't go back to England after visiting his parents. So, he finished his Ph.D. (a high-level science degree) at the University of Pennsylvania in 1940. He later earned another Ph.D. from Cambridge in 1943.
His Amazing Career
In 1941, Brit Chance became a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. During World War II, he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). There, he helped develop radar technology. This radar helped blimps find German submarines and improved bombing accuracy. He also helped create ENIAC, one of the world's first general-purpose computers.
After the war, he worked with a famous scientist in Sweden. Their research led to many important papers and helped that scientist win a Nobel Prize!
Medical Discoveries
In 1949, he became a full professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He led a research foundation there for many years.
Early in his career, Brit studied how enzymes (special proteins that speed up chemical reactions in living things) work. He invented a special device called a "stopped-flow" apparatus. This device helped scientists study very fast enzyme reactions.
He is known as the founder of biomedical photonics. This is a field that uses light to study biology and medicine. He developed ways to use near-infrared spectroscopy and light imaging to see inside the body. This helped doctors detect problems like cancer. He also used computers to understand how chemical reactions happen in the body.
Brit Chance retired from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983. But he kept working! He became president of a medical research foundation and taught as a visiting professor in Taiwan.
Professional Groups and Awards
Brit Chance was a member of many important science groups. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1950. He also advised President Dwight D. Eisenhower on science matters.
He was a member of the Royal Society in England and the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. He also helped start the Biophysical Society and a science journal.
Key Awards
Brit Chance received many awards for his scientific work. Some of the most important include:
- President's Certificate of Merit (1950)
- Franklin Medal (1966)
- Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics (1970)
- Canada Gairdner International Award (1972)
- National Medal of Science (1974)
- Max Delbruck Prize in Biological Physics (1987)
- Benjamin Franklin Medal (1990)
- Friendship Award from China (2008)
Honors and Legacy
Many places honored Brit Chance for his contributions.
- The Stellar-Chance Laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania were named after him in 1995.
- He received many honorary doctorates from universities around the world.
- Two important science groups created awards in his honor: The Britton Chance Award and the Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award. These awards recognize scientists who follow in his footsteps.
Sailing and the Olympics
Brit Chance was a very talented sailor. He won many championships from the 1930s to the 1950s. He even won the first-ever Barnegat Bay Regatta in 1938.
In 1952, the 5.5-meter class was a new sailing category at the Olympics. Brit had a special boat called Complex II built just for this new class. He was the only one to enter the Olympic trials for this category, so he earned a spot on the US Olympic team!
His crew included friends from his yacht club, including teenagers Michael Schoettle and twin brothers Edgar White and Sumner White.
Olympic Gold!
In July 1952, in Helsinki, Finland, Brit Chance and his team won an Olympic gold medal! He was the helmsman (the person who steers the boat) and captain of Complex II. They won three of the seven races. In the final race, Brit used a clever tactic to block another boat's wind, helping his team secure the gold.
He continued to win sailing competitions after the Olympics. In 1962, he won the 5.5 Metre Class World Championship in England. He was known for his "superb helmsmanship and clever sailing tactics."
In 2004, he was added to the Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame. He once said, "I wouldn’t be without sailing. That would be unendurable for me." This shows how much he loved the sport.
Personal Life
Brit Chance married Jane Earle in 1938. They had four children together: Eleanor, Britton Chance Jr., Jan Chance, and Peter. His daughter, Jan, became a famous sailor herself, winning the US Sailor of the Year award multiple times. His son, Britton Jr., became a naval architect who designed sailboats for the Olympics.
Brit later married Lilian Streeter Lucas and had four more children: Margaret, Lilian, Benjamin, and Samuel.
In 2010, he married his research partner, Shoko Nioka. Brit Chance passed away in November 2010 in Philadelphia, at the age of 97. He left behind an amazing legacy in both science and sports.
