John Cornforth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Cornforth
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Cornforth in 1975
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| Born |
John Warcup Cornforth Jr.
7 September 1918 |
| Died | 8 December 2013 (aged 96) Sussex, England
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| Nationality | Australian |
| Citizenship | Australian British |
| Alma mater |
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| Known for | Stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions Cholesterol total synthesis Cornforth reagent Cornforth rearrangement |
| Spouse(s) | Rita Harradence |
| Awards |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Organic chemistry |
| Institutions |
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| Thesis | Synthesis of analogues of steroid hormones (1941) |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Robinson |
Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr. (born September 7, 1917 – died December 8, 2013) was an amazing Australian-British chemist. He won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975. His important work helped us understand how enzymes work with chemicals. He was the only Nobel Prize winner born in New South Wales, Australia.
Cornforth studied how enzymes change organic compounds. He looked at how enzymes replace hydrogen atoms in these compounds. His research helped explain how our bodies make cholesterol. For this groundbreaking work, he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975. He was also knighted in 1977, which means he received the title "Sir."
Contents
Early Life and Family
John Cornforth was born in Sydney, Australia. He was the second of four children. His father, John Warcup Cornforth, was a school teacher. His mother, Hilda Eipper, was a maternity nurse.
John grew up in Sydney and Armidale. He went to primary school in Armidale.
Around age 10, John started to lose his hearing. He was diagnosed with otosclerosis. This is a condition that causes hearing loss over time. By age 20, he was completely deaf. This change made him choose chemistry instead of law, which was his first plan.
Education and Discoveries
John went to Sydney Boys High School. He was a very bright student. He did well in English, math, science, French, Greek, and Latin. His chemistry teacher, Leonard Basser, inspired him to study chemistry. John was the top student in his class when he graduated in 1933.
In 1934, John started studying at the University of Sydney. He focused on organic chemistry. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree with top honors in 1937. During his studies, his hearing got worse. It was hard for him to hear lectures. He couldn't use hearing aids because they made sounds distorted.
At the University of Sydney, John met Rita Harradence. She was also a chemist and became his wife and science partner. Rita was a brilliant student too. She graduated a year before John with top honors in Organic Chemistry.
In 1939, both John and Rita won special scholarships. These scholarships allowed them to study overseas for two years. They went to the University of Oxford in England. There, they worked with Sir Robert Robinson. They worked together for 14 years. John found working with Robinson very exciting. They often debated ideas until one had a strong argument. In 1941, both John and Rita earned their PhDs in Organic Chemistry. At that time, Australia did not have facilities for chemistry PhDs.
A Career in Chemistry
After arriving at Oxford, John worked on penicillin during World War II. Penicillin is a medicine that fights infections. He helped make it purer and stronger. Penicillin was very unstable in its raw form. John and other chemists studied how to make more of it. He also helped write a book called The Chemistry of Penicillin.
In 1946, John and Rita, who were now married, joined the Medical Research Council (MRC). They continued their work on making sterols, including cholesterol. Their teamwork with Robinson continued to be very successful. In 1951, they completed the first full creation of non-aromatic steroids. They did this at the same time as another famous chemist, Robert Burns Woodward.
At the MRC, John worked with many scientists. One important partner was George Popják. They both were very interested in cholesterol. In 1968, they received the Davy Medal together. This award recognized their great work on how polyisoprenoids and steroids are made in the body.
From 1965 to 1971, John was also a professor at the University of Warwick.
In 1975, John Cornforth received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shared it with Vladimir Prelog. In his acceptance speech, John thanked his wife, Rita. He said she was his most constant helper. He mentioned her great experimental skills. He also said she made it much easier for him to communicate because of his deafness. Her encouragement was his strongest support.
Also in 1975, he moved to the University of Sussex. He worked there as a professor and continued his research until he passed away.
Personal Life
John married Rita Harriet Harradence in 1941. They had one son, John, and two daughters, Brenda and Philippa. John first met Rita when she broke a glass flask in college. John, who was good at glassblowing, fixed it for her. Rita Cornforth passed away on November 6, 2012, after a long illness.
John was very impressed by the work of German chemist Hermann Emil Fischer.
John Cornforth died in Sussex on December 8, 2013, at the age of 96. He is remembered by his three children and four grandchildren. He was a sceptic and an atheist.
Honors and Awards
John Cornforth received many awards for his amazing work. In 1975, he was named Australian of the Year along with Maj. Gen. Alan Stretton. In 1977, his old university, the University of Sydney, gave him an honorary science degree.
Here are some of his other awards:
- Davy Medal (1968)
- Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1953
- Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE; 1972)
- Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1975)
- Royal Medal (1976)
- Knight Bachelor (1977)
- Corresponding Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (1977)
- Foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (since 1978)
- Copley Medal (1982)
- Companion of the Order of Australia (AC; 1991)
- Centenary Medal (2001)
His election certificate for the Royal Society said he was an organic chemist with amazing ideas and experimental skills. It mentioned his work on penicillamine and penicillin. It also praised his important role in creating androgenic hormones and other steroids.
Tribute
On September 7, 2017, Google celebrated John Cornforth's 100th birthday with a special Google Doodle.
See also
In Spanish: John Cornforth para niños
