John Alfred Valentine Butler facts for kids

John Alfred Valentine Butler (born February 14, 1899 – died July 16, 1977) was an English scientist. He was a physical chemist, which means he studied how chemicals behave and change. He is famous for his work on how electricity moves through liquids, especially with something called the Butler–Volmer equation.

About John Butler

John Alfred Valentine Butler, or J. A. V. as his friends called him, was born on February 14, 1899. He grew up in a farming family in Winchcombe, England, in the beautiful Cotswolds area. He was the oldest of three children.

After primary school, John won a scholarship. This helped him pay for travel and fees to attend Cheltenham Grammar School. Since his family was not involved in academics, they did not encourage him to go to university. So, he first worked as an apprentice for a local pharmacist.

World War I Service

This led to him joining the RAMC near the end of World War I. After his training, he was sent to a field hospital close to Ypres. While there, he used his free time to study on his own. He borrowed books from a library in London and took courses from a college in Cambridge.

University and Early Career

John Butler left the army in October 1919. He then enrolled at the University of Birmingham. In 1921, he graduated with top honors in science. The next year, in 1922, he became an Assistant Lecturer at the University College of Swansea. His work there later led to him publishing his first two books.

In 1926, Butler became a Chemistry Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh. Here, he studied how electrolytes (substances that conduct electricity) behave in different mixtures. He published many papers on this topic between 1929 and 1933. Even though he was very productive, he found it hard to support his family on his lecturer's salary.

Work During World War II

In 1939, he got a job at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in Princeton, USA. At the end of August, his family sailed to New York on the Queen Mary. Butler worked in a group that studied pure forms of crystallized enzymes.

When World War II started, Butler offered his help. He became an Executive Officer at the British Central Scientific Office in Washington, D.C. This office had 17 officers and was led by Sir Charles Galton Darwin, who was the grandson of the famous Charles Darwin. Butler stayed in this role until 1944.

Return to England and Later Research

In 1944, Edinburgh University asked him to come back and teach. However, he did not find the conditions there very good. So, in 1946, he got a new job at the Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry. There, he worked on how insulin breaks down. This work was not very successful because other scientists, like Frederick Sanger, were making huge progress in the same area.

In 1949, Butler moved to the Chester Beatty Research Institute in Chelsea. This institute was led by Alexander Haddow. At Chester Beatty, Butler focused on two main areas. One of his most important contributions was his work on histones. These are proteins found with DNA in the structure of chromosomes.

Family Life

In 1929, John Butler married Margaret Lois Hope. She was a botanist and had studied at Cambridge University. They were married in Haddington, East Lothian. They had three children, and all of them became successful in biology and medicine.

From 1949 until 1977, the Butlers lived in Rickmansworth. Their house was called Nightingale Corner. Before them, it belonged to Hubert J. Foss, a music editor. Like the previous owners, the Butlers often had guests over.

J. A. V. Butler passed away on July 16, 1977.

Awards and Recognition

In 1928, John Butler received the Meldola Medal and Prize from the Royal Institute of Chemistry.

In 1956, he was chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. The statement supporting his election highlighted his important work:

"Dr. Butler's main work was in two areas. First, he studied thermodynamics and electrochemistry. Second, he applied physical chemistry to important biological substances and their reactions. He developed theories about how electrode potentials begin. He also looked at how salts behave, especially in mixed liquids. He studied the surfaces of solutions and developed a general theory for overpotential with hydrogen and oxygen electrodes. In thermodynamics, he studied the energy and entropy of organic substances when they absorb water. He also found a general link between heat and entropy when substances dissolve. Additionally, he studied how acids and bases cause reactions in 'heavy water' and how enzymes work at a molecular level. Later, he focused on the physical chemistry of important biological substances. This included how enzymes break down insulin, and how certain substances and X-rays affect DNA."

Published Works

John Butler wrote several books to share his knowledge:

• The Chemical Elements and their Compounds (1927)
• The Fundamentals of Chemical Thermodynamics (1928)
• Man is a Microcosm (1950)
• Electrical Phenomena at Interfaces, in Chemistry, Physics and Biology (1951)
• Inside the Living Cell - some Secrets of Life (1957)
• Science and Human Life: Successes and Limitations (1957)
• Gene Control in the Living Cell (1968)
• The Life Process (1970)
• Modern Biology and Its Human Implications (1976)