Henrik Dam facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Henrik Dam
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| Born | 21 February 1895 Copenhagen, Denmark
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| Died | 17 April 1976 (aged 81) Copenhagen, Denmark
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| Education | Copenhagen Polytechnic Institute (now the Technical University of Denmark), University of Graz |
| Known for | Discovery of vitamin K |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry and physiology |
| Institutions | University of Copenhagen, University of Rochester |
| Thesis | Nogle Undersøgelser over Sterinernes Biologiske Betydning (Some investigations on the biological significance of the sterines) (1934) |
| Influences | Fritz Pregl |
Carl Peter Henrik Dam (born 21 February 1895 – died 17 April 1976) was a Danish biochemist and physiologist. A biochemist studies the chemistry of living things. A physiologist studies how living things work.
He is famous for discovering vitamin K. This vitamin helps blood to clot. In 1943, he won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He shared this award with Edward Adelbert Doisy. Doisy helped figure out the chemical structure of vitamin K.
Discovering Vitamin K
Henrik Dam's big discovery started with chickens. He was feeding them a special diet. This diet had no cholesterol in it. Other scientists had done similar tests. They noticed that chickens fed fat-free food started to bleed easily. Their blood would not clot.
Dam found that adding cholesterol back to the diet did not fix the problem. This meant something else was missing. Something important had been taken out of the food. He called this missing substance the "coagulation vitamin." Coagulation means blood clotting.
The new vitamin was named vitamin K. The letter K came from the German word Koagulationsvitamin. This is because his first findings were published in a German journal.
His Early Life and Studies
Henrik Dam was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was on February 21, 1895. He earned his first degree in chemistry in 1920. He studied at the Copenhagen Polytechnic Institute. Today, this is the Technical University of Denmark.
After graduating, he worked as a chemistry instructor. He taught at the School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. By 1923, he was teaching biochemistry. This was at Copenhagen University's Physiological Laboratory.
He also studied microchemistry in Austria. This was in 1925 at the University of Graz. His teacher there was Fritz Pregl. Dam then returned to Copenhagen University. He became an assistant professor in biochemistry. This was in 1928. In 1934, he earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry. His research was about the biological importance of sterols.
Nobel Prize and Later Life
From 1942 to 1945, Dam worked in the United States. He was a senior researcher at the University of Rochester. It was during this time that he received the Nobel Prize. He won the 1943 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.
In 1951, Henrik Dam attended a special meeting. It was the first Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Seven Nobel Prize winners were there. He passed away in Copenhagen on April 17, 1976.
