Wendell Meredith Stanley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wendell Meredith Stanley
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| Born | August 16, 1904 |
| Died | June 15, 1971 (aged 66) |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Earlham College University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |
| Awards | Newcomb Cleveland Prize (1936) Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1946) William H. Nichols Medal (1946) Willard Gibbs Award (1947) Franklin Medal (1948) Order of the Rising Sun (1966) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Chemistry |
| Institutions | Rockefeller Institute University of California, Berkeley |
Wendell Meredith Stanley was an important American scientist. He was a biochemist, which means he studied the chemistry of living things. He was also a virologist, someone who studies viruses. He even won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his amazing work! He lived from August 16, 1904, to June 15, 1971.
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Early Life and Education
Wendell Stanley was born in a town called Ridgeville, Indiana, in the United States. He loved science from a young age. He went to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he earned a degree in chemistry.
After that, he continued his studies at the University of Illinois. He earned a master's degree in science in 1927. Just two years later, he received his PhD in chemistry.
Scientific Discoveries
After finishing his studies, Stanley traveled to Munich, Germany, to work with another famous scientist, Heinrich Wieland. In 1931, he returned to the United States. He started working at The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. He stayed there for many years, becoming a top researcher.
In 1948, he moved to the University of California, Berkeley. There, he helped create a special Virus Laboratory. He also built a new building for the Biochemistry Department, which is now called Stanley Hall.
Studying Viruses
Stanley's most famous work was about viruses. He studied a virus that caused a disease in tobacco plants. This disease was called mosaic disease because it made the plant leaves look like a mosaic pattern.
He was able to isolate, or separate, a special substance from the infected plants. This substance was a nucleoprotein, which is a mix of protein and nucleic acid. He showed that this nucleoprotein was actually the virus itself! This was a huge discovery because it helped scientists understand what viruses are made of.
Stanley was one of the first to show that viruses could be crystallized. This meant they could be treated almost like chemicals, even though they were still able to cause disease.
Awards and Honors
Wendell Stanley received many important awards for his scientific work. In 1946, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This was for his groundbreaking research on the tobacco mosaic virus.
He was also chosen to be a member of important groups like the American Philosophical Society and the National Academy of Sciences. Many universities, both in America and other countries, gave him honorary degrees. These included Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Paris.
Personal Life
Wendell Stanley married Marian Staples in 1929. They had four children: three daughters named Marjorie, Dorothy, and Janet, and a son named Wendell Meredith Junior.
Two buildings are named in his honor: Stanley Hall at the University of California, Berkeley and Stanley Hall at Earlham College. These buildings remind us of his important contributions to science.
See also
- In Spanish: Wendell Meredith Stanley para niños
