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Walter Thomas James Morgan
Born (1900-10-05)5 October 1900
Ilford, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Died 10 February 2003(2003-02-10) (aged 102)
Nationality British
Alma mater University of London
Queen Mary University of London (BSc)
University of East London (MSc)
The Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine (PhD)
Awards Royal Medal (1968)
Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1968)
Scientific career
Fields Biochemistry
Institutions The Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich
University of London

Walter Thomas James Morgan (born October 5, 1900 – died February 10, 2003) was a British scientist who studied biochemistry. He was famous for his work on how the body's immune system reacts to different substances, especially antigens. People called him one of the first experts in this field, known as immunochemistry.

Early Life and School

Walter Morgan was born in Ilford, England. His father worked in a law office. When Walter was young, he had a skin infection called ringworm on his head. The treatment made his hair fall out, and his parents were worried it wouldn't grow back. Because of this, his family moved to Little Ilford.

After primary school, Walter went to Raine's Foundation School. There, he became very interested in mechanical engineering. Soon, his interest shifted to chemistry. He even set up his own small lab in a garden shed! He bought chemicals from London and focused on making dyes and explosive compounds.

When World War I started in 1914, many teachers joined the army. This made school difficult, so Walter left in 1916. He first worked for a gas company, then moved to a government factory in Greenwich. He found the first job unpleasant.

Walter knew he would have to join the military when he turned 18. So, he joined early to choose where he would serve. He picked the Royal Navy. Because of his experience with chemicals, he worked on making chemicals and equipment for the navy. This included things like smoke screen floats.

University Studies

In 1919, Walter finished his time in the navy. He was offered money from the government to go to university. He started studying chemistry in 1920 at East London College.

To help his family, who were struggling financially after his father passed away, he worked part-time. He went back to the gas company as a junior chemist. His job was to find a better way to get natural gas from a type of fuel called coke. He showed his new method at a special lecture, and it was a success!

After scientists discovered insulin in 1922, Walter became interested in how chemistry could be used in medicine. He studied for his Master of Science degree part-time while still working. He finished his degree in 1925 and published his first scientific paper in 1926.

One of his teachers, Arthur Harden, was impressed with Walter's work. He told Walter to apply for a research grant at The Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine. Walter got the grant, even though the pay was less than his current job. He stayed at the Lister Institute for more than 50 years! Before starting, he took many evening classes, including ones on how living things work and tiny organisms like yeast.

Work at the Lister Institute

At the Lister Institute, Walter first worked with Dr. Robert Robison. They studied the structure of a specific sugar molecule. Walter successfully figured this out, and his findings were a big part of his PhD thesis. In 1925, he took a special course in Austria to learn more about analyzing tiny amounts of organic chemicals. He earned his PhD in 1927.

In 1928, he became a biochemist in the institute's Serum and Vaccine Department. In 1930, he successfully made a horse immune to Poliomyelitis. He also met many important scientists at a conference in 1929, including Walter Goebel and Michael Heidelberger, who became good friends.

In 1936, he received a special fellowship that allowed him to study in Switzerland. He worked with Tadeus Reichstein, another scientist who became his friend. Walter returned to England in 1938. He continued his research on how bacteria react in the body.

When World War II started, he had to stop this research. There was a risk that large amounts of bacteria could be released if the lab was bombed. Instead, he focused on studying the structure of blood antigens with Winifred Watkins. He was one of the first to insist on using only human blood samples, not animal samples. It took until 1965 for them to fully understand the chemical structure of A and B-type blood.

Walter retired from the Biochemistry department in 1968. He continued as a guest researcher until 1972. The institute was in a bad state, so he was asked to become the director again. He led the institute until 1975, when it had to close. After that, he worked in an honorary position at another research center until 1989.

Awards and Recognition

Walter Morgan became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1949. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. He served on the Royal Society's council and was elected its vice president in 1961.

In 1959, he was made a CBE, which is a special award from the British government. In 1968, he received the Royal Medal from the Royal Society. This award recognized his amazing work on the chemistry of blood-group substances.

Personal Life

Walter Morgan married Dorothy Irene Price on April 25, 1930. They had two daughters and one son. Dorothy passed away in 1993.

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