Ernst Chain facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir
Ernst Chain
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Chain in 1945
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| Born |
Ernst Boris Chain
19 June 1906 |
| Died | 12 August 1979 (aged 73) Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
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| Citizenship | German (until 1939) British (from 1939) |
| Alma mater | |
| Known for | Discovery of penicillin |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1945) Fellow of the Royal Society (1948) Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1954) Knight Bachelor (1969) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Institutions | Imperial College London University of Cambridge University of Oxford Istituto Superiore di Sanità University College Hospital |
Sir Ernst Boris Chain (born June 19, 1906 – died August 12, 1979) was a British scientist. He was born in Germany. He is famous for his important work on penicillin. He even won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for it!
Contents
Early Life and Education
Ernst Chain was born in Berlin, Germany. His father was a chemist and businessman. In 1930, Ernst earned his degree in chemistry from Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin.
Moving to England
When the Nazis came to power in Germany, Chain knew it was not safe for him. He was Jewish. So, he moved to England on April 2, 1933, with very little money. A scientist named J.B.S. Haldane helped him get a job at University College Hospital in London.
A few months later, he became a PhD student at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. There, he studied phospholipids. In 1935, he started working at University of Oxford as a lecturer in pathology. He researched many things, like snake venom and how tumours grow. In April 1939, he became a British citizen.
The Discovery of Penicillin
In 1939, Chain joined Howard Florey. They wanted to study natural substances that could fight bacteria. This led them to look at the work of Alexander Fleming. Fleming had found penicillin nine years earlier.
Chain and Florey worked together to find out how penicillin worked. They also learned how to get the germ-killing part of penicillin and make it stronger. Their discoveries showed how useful penicillin could be as a medicine. For this amazing research, Chain, Florey, and Fleming shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945.
Chain also helped figure out the chemical structure of penicillin in 1942. This was later confirmed by Dorothy Hodgkin using special X-ray tests.
Later Career and Life
After World War II, Chain learned that his mother and sister had died because of the Nazis. He then moved to Rome, Italy, to work at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.
In 1964, he came back to Britain. He started and led the biochemistry department at Imperial College London. He worked there until he retired. He focused on ways to use fermentation in industry.
In 1948, Chain became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very important honor for scientists.
In 1948, he married Anne Beloff. She was also a talented biochemist. As he got older, his Jewish heritage became more important to him. He was very involved with the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. He made sure his children learned about their Jewish faith. In 1965, he gave a famous speech called 'Why I am a Jew'.
Ernst Chain was made a Knight Bachelor in 1969. This means he was given the title "Sir."
Chain passed away in 1979 in Castlebar, Ireland. The biochemistry building at Imperial College London is named after him. A road in Castlebar is also named in his honor.
See also
- List of Jewish Nobel laureates
