20 Facts About Albert Claude

Albert Claude served in the British Intelligence Service during the First World War, and got imprisoned in concentration camps twice.

Albert Claude earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1928.

Albert Claude was the first to employ the electron microscope in the field of biology.

Albert Claude was born in 1899 in Longlier, a hamlet in Neufchateau, Belgium, to Florentin Joseph Claude and Marie-Glaudice Watriquant Claude.

Albert Claude was the youngest among three brothers and one sister.

Albert Claude's father was a Paris-trained baker and ran a bakery-cum-general store at Longlier valley near railroad station.

Albert Claude spent his pre-school life with his ailing mother.

Albert Claude started education in Longlier Primary School, a pluralistic school of single room, mixed grades, and all under one teacher.

Albert Claude dropped out of school and practically nursed his uncle for several years.

Albert Claude obtained his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1928.

Albert Claude received travel grants from Belgian government for his doctoral thesis on the transplantation of mouse cancers into rats.

Albert Claude applied for the Rockefeller Institute in New York, USA.

Albert Claude then filtered out the cell membranes and placed the remaining cell contents in a centrifuge to separate them according to mass.

Albert Claude divided the centrifuged contents into fractions, each of a specific mass, and discovered that particular fractions were responsible for particular cell functions.

Albert Claude was the first to use electron microscope to study biological cells.

Albert Claude discovered that mitochondria are the "power houses" of all cells.

Albert Claude discovered cytoplasmic granules full of RNA and named them "microsomes", which were later renamed ribosomes, the protein synthesizing machineries of cell.

Albert Claude invited him to come and work with him in Brussels, making it possible for Dr Mrena's family to escape the communist regime.

Albert Claude married Julia Gilder in 1935, with whom he had a daughter, Philippa.

Albert Claude was known to be a bit of an eccentric and had close friendship with painters, including Diego Rivera and Paul Delvaux, and musicians such as Edgard Varese.