James Black (pharmacologist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir James Black
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James Whyte Black
14 June 1924 Uddingston, Lanarkshire, Scotland
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| Died | 22 March 2010 (aged 85) London, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Alma mater | University of St Andrews |
| Known for | work towards the use of propranolol and cimetidine |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Pharmacology |
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Sir James Whyte Black (born June 14, 1924 – died March 22, 2010) was a Scottish doctor and a pharmacologist. A pharmacologist studies how medicines affect the body. He won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1988. He shared the prize with Gertrude B. Elion and George H. Hitchings. They were honored for finding new ways to design medicines.
Sir James Black's work led to two very important drugs. These were propranolol and cimetidine. Propranolol helps treat heart problems. Cimetidine is used to treat stomach ulcers. He also set up a special department at the University of Glasgow. There, he studied how adrenaline affects the heart.
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Early Life and Education
James Black was born on June 14, 1924, in Uddingston, Scotland. He was the fourth of five sons in his family. His father worked as a mining engineer. James grew up in Fife and went to Beath High School. When he was 15, he won a scholarship. This scholarship allowed him to study at the University of St Andrews. His family did not have enough money to send him to university. His math teacher at Beath High School encouraged him to take the entrance exam.
He started at University College, Dundee, in 1943. This college later became the University of Dundee. He earned his medical degree (MB ChB) in 1946. While studying, he lived in St Salvator's Hall. After graduating, he worked as a lecturer in physiology. He then moved to Singapore to teach at King Edward VII College of Medicine. This college later became part of the University of Malaya. James Black decided not to become a regular doctor. He felt that patients were not always treated kindly back then.
A Career in Drug Discovery
After university, James Black had many debts. He taught in Singapore for three years to pay them off. In 1950, he moved to London. Then, he joined the University of Glasgow's Veterinary School. There, he started a new department. He became very interested in how adrenaline affects the human heart. He especially studied its effects on people with angina, a type of chest pain.
He thought of a way to block the effects of adrenaline. In 1958, he joined ICI Pharmaceuticals. He worked there until 1964. During this time, he created propranolol. This drug became one of the world's most popular medicines. Black developed a new way to find drugs. Instead of testing existing chemicals, he designed molecules for specific medical uses. Propranolol was a huge step forward for heart disease treatment.
At the same time, Black was working on a similar drug for stomach ulcers. But ICI was not interested in this idea. So, James Black left ICI in 1964. He joined Smith, Kline and French. He worked there for nine years, until 1973. While there, he developed his second major drug, cimetidine. This drug was sold as Tagamet starting in 1975. It quickly became the world's top-selling prescription drug. It even sold more than propranolol.
In 1973, Black became a professor at University College London. He started a new course in medicinal chemistry. But he was unhappy about the lack of money for research. In 1978, he became a director at Wellcome Research Laboratories. However, he disagreed with his boss and left in 1984. He then became a professor at King's College London. He stayed there until 1992. In 1988, he started the James Black Foundation. This foundation researched new drugs, including those for stomach cancers.
Sir James Black greatly improved our knowledge of heart health. He was both a doctor and a scientist. His invention of propranolol changed how heart conditions were treated. It is seen as one of the most important medical discoveries of the 20th century. Propranolol has helped millions of people. His way of researching and his discoveries about how drugs affect the heart were very important.
He also played a big part in creating cimetidine. This drug was revolutionary for treating peptic ulcers. Cimetidine was the first of a new type of drug called H2-receptor antagonists.
Leading the University of Dundee
In 1980, the University of Dundee honored James Black. They gave him an honorary degree for his many achievements. In 1992, he became the Chancellor of the University. This is a special leadership role. He said that returning to Dundee felt like "coming home."
As Chancellor, Sir James Black worked hard to promote the university. He was very popular there. In 2005, he received a second honorary degree. He retired from his role the next year. To honor him, the university opened the Sir James Black Centre. This center helps scientists work together on life sciences research. Sir James Black visited the center in 2006 and was very happy with it.
A painting of Sir James Black hangs in the Sir James Black Centre. It shows him wearing his Chancellor's robes.
Awards and Recognition
James Black was made a Knight Bachelor in 1981. This honor was for his work in medical research. He received it from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. In 2000, he was given the Order of Merit. Only 24 people can be members of this special order at one time.
He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1976. That same year, he won the Lasker award. The Royal Society recognized his "outstanding contributions" to developing new, important drugs. They noted his work on beta blockers for heart conditions. They also praised his discovery of a new type of drug to stop stomach acid. This work helped show that a new type of histamine receptor existed.
He received many other awards, including the Artois-Baillet Latour Health Prize in 1979. In 1980, he won the Cameron Prize for Therapeutics of the University of Edinburgh. He also received the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 1982. In 1988, he won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. He shared it with Gertrude B. Elion and George H. Hitchings for their drug development work. In 2004, he received the Royal Medal from the Royal Society. In 2008, he won a Lifetime Achievement Award.
There is a street named Sir James Black Gait in Lochgelly, Scotland. In 2018, the University of Glasgow renamed a building after him. It is now called the Sir James Black Building. This was to honor his great scientific contributions. A plaque was unveiled by his wife, Professor Rona Mackie Black. Also, "James Black Place" at Ninewells Hospital is named after him.
Personal Life
James Black met Hilary Joan Vaughan in 1944. They married in 1946. He said she was the most important person in his life. She passed away in 1986 at age 61. They had a daughter named Stephanie, born in 1951. James Black married again in 1994, to Professor Rona MacKie. He was a very private person and did not like a lot of public attention. He was surprised when he found out he had won the Nobel Prize.
Sir James Black died on March 22, 2010, at the age of 85. He had been ill for a long time. The University of Dundee announced his death. His funeral was held in London. He is buried in Ardclach cemetery in Scotland. After his death, many people praised him. The BBC called him "one of the great Scottish scientists of the 20th Century." The Daily Telegraph said he earned the most money for the drug industry through his work. However, he did not get much money himself from his discoveries.
Soon after he died, the Bute Medical School created a special position. It is called the 'Sir James Black Chair of Medicine'. This honors him at the university where he first studied medicine.
See also
In Spanish: James Black para niños
