George Edward Briggs facts for kids

George Edward Briggs (born June 25, 1893 – died February 7, 1985) was a famous British scientist. He was a Professor of Botany at the University of Cambridge. Botany is the study of plants.

Briggs was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. He was the oldest son of Walker Thomas and Susan Briggs.

A Top Scientist

In 1935, George Edward Briggs became a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very special honor given to the best scientists in the United Kingdom. It means his scientific work was highly respected and important.

Studying Enzymes

Briggs did a lot of important research on enzymes. Enzymes are like tiny helpers inside living things. They speed up chemical reactions that are needed for life, like digesting food or growing.

He worked with another famous scientist named J. B. S. Haldane. Together, they figured out a better way to understand how enzymes work. This method is called Michaelis–Menten kinetics. It helps scientists study how fast enzymes do their job. Even today, scientists still use the ideas that Briggs and Haldane developed. Their work helped us understand how these tiny helpers keep living things going.

Important Books

One of Briggs's well-known books was called Movement of Water in Plants. This book helped explain how plants take in water and move it through their stems and leaves.