Sir John Cowdery Kendrew, was an English biochemist, crystallographer, and science administrator.
11 Facts About John Kendrew
2.
John Kendrew attended Trinity College, Cambridge in 1936, as a Major Scholar, graduating in chemistry in 1939.
3.
John Kendrew spent the early months of World War II doing research on reaction kinetics, and then became a member of the Air Ministry Research Establishment, working on radar.
4.
John Kendrew was awarded his PhD after the war in 1949.
5.
John Kendrew shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for chemistry with Max Perutz for determining the first atomic structures of proteins using X-ray crystallography.
6.
John Kendrew determined the structure of the protein myoglobin, which stores oxygen in muscle cells.
7.
The original studies were on the structure of sheep haemoglobin, but when this work had progressed as far as was possible using the resources then available, John Kendrew embarked on the study of myoglobin, a molecule only a quarter the size of the haemoglobin molecule.
8.
John Kendrew realized that the oxygen-conserving tissue of diving mammals could offer a better prospect, and a chance encounter led to his acquiring a large chunk of whale meat from Peru.
9.
In 1963, John Kendrew became one of the founders of the European Molecular Biology Organization; as well, he founded and was for many years editor-in-chief of the Journal of Molecular Biology.
10.
John Kendrew became Fellow of the American Society of Biological Chemists in 1967 and honorary member of the International Academy of Science, Munich.
11.
John Kendrew was married to the former Elizabeth Jarvie from 1948 to 1956.