Ernest Lester Smith facts for kids
Ernest Lester Smith FRS (born August 7, 1904, in Teddington – died November 6, 1992, in Bradfield St George) was an English scientist who studied living things and chemicals. He is famous for helping the UK make penicillin during World War II. He also successfully found and separated vitamin B12 from liver after the war.
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His Early Life and Education
Ernest Lester Smith was the only child of Joseph Lester Smith and Rose Annie Smith. His father loved to read and was interested in many religions. He was also a pacifist, meaning he believed in peace and was against war. Because of his anti-war views, he lost his job during World War I.
Lester Smith went to Wood Green County School from 1916 to 1920. He really wanted to study chemistry at university. However, his family didn't have much money, so he had to wait. He worked for a year in a pharmacy.
From 1921 to 1925, he studied physics, chemistry, and maths at Chelsea Polytechnic. This school later became part of King's College London. In 1925, when he was 21, he earned a qualification similar to a bachelor's degree in chemistry with top marks. He then studied for another year and completed his master's degree in 1926. By 1927, three of his science papers were published in a well-known journal.
His Beliefs and Interests
As a young man, Smith attended meetings of the Theosophical Society. This group explores different religions and philosophies. He continued to be interested in theosophy and also followed a vegetarian diet throughout his life. He met many people who shared his views on these topics and on left-wing politics. He even edited and wrote books for the Theosophical Publishing House. In 1967, he received a special medal from the Theosophical Society.
Working at Glaxo
In January 1926, Smith started working for the Glaxo company, which makes medicines. He stayed there until he retired in 1964. During his time at Glaxo, he helped create twelve patents. These were special rights for his new inventions related to penicillin, vitamin B12, and other important discoveries.
In 1931, he married Winifred Rose Fitch. Glaxo changed a few times during his career. In 1935, Glaxo became its own company and moved to a new building in Greenford. Smith and his wife lived in Pinner for many years.
Early Research on Vitamins
When Smith first started at Glaxo, he continued work on how to get vitamins A and D from fish-liver oils. These vitamins are important for health. He found a good way to extract them. This work was so good that his tutor suggested he use it for a higher degree, a D.Sc. (Doctor of Science), instead of a Ph.D. He earned his D.Sc. from the University of London in 1933.
Finding Vitamin B12
Scientists had been trying to find a special substance from liver that could treat a serious blood problem called pernicious anaemia. In 1935, a Norwegian company found a way to make a purified liver extract that helped patients. Glaxo got permission to make this extract. In 1936, Smith went to Norway to learn the process.
Glaxo started selling this extract called ‘Examen’ in 1937. Smith worked to make the process even better and to find the exact active part of the extract. However, his work was stopped when World War II began in September 1939.
Helping with Penicillin Production
When World War II started, Glaxo asked Smith to focus on making medical products for the war. In 1940, scientists published an important paper about penicillin, a powerful medicine that fights infections. Glaxo began working on how to produce penicillin.
Even with wartime shortages, Glaxo's factories made more than 80% of the penicillin available in Britain for the D-Day invasion in June 1944. Smith played a very important role in Glaxo's success in making this life-saving medicine.
After the war, in 1946, Smith went back to his research on liver extracts. He made great progress using a special method called partition chromatography. In 1948, almost at the same time as an American team, Smith's team successfully separated vitamin B12 in a pure, crystal form.
Other scientists then showed that this new vitamin B12 was very effective in treating pernicious anaemia. Smith's team also studied the vitamin's properties and worked closely with other famous scientists like Alexander Todd and Dorothy Hodgkin. Smith even wrote a book about the story of this research.
Awards and Retirement
In 1957, Smith was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a very high honor for scientists. He also received several other important awards for his work, including a gold medal in Therapeutics in 1954 and the Lister Memorial Lectureship in 1955.
In 1964, Smith retired from Glaxo. He and his wife moved to Three Oaks, East Sussex. There, he enjoyed gardening, especially growing primulas and breeding new plants. He won many prizes at flower shows. In 1962, he received the Lindley Medal for a display of beautiful flowers.
Later in life, in 1973, he developed heart problems and stopped gardening. He and his wife moved to a home for elderly vegetarians in Hastings. After his wife passed away in 1989, he moved to Bradfield St George. He continued some gardening there and had a friend, Mrs. Sylvine Lloyd, who helped him. He passed away suddenly in 1992.
