Albert Neuberger
(15 April 1908 – 14 August 1996)
was a British Professor of Chemical
Pathology
Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...
,
St Mary's Hospital, 1955–1973, and later
Emeritus Professor
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
.
Education in Germany
Born in
Hassfurt, northern Bavaria, the first of the three children of Max Neuberger (1877–1931), cloth merchant and businessman, and Bertha, née Hiller (1888–1974), both religious Jews. He studied medicine at the
University of Würzburg
The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...
where he was awarded a ''
summa cum laude'' medical degree.
He also took courses in chemistry there and also attended lectures given by
Karl Bonhöffer, the outstanding psychiatrist and neurologist. He also worked for a while in research in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
where he began a lifelong friendship with
Ernst Chain. Chain shared the 1945 Nobel prize with
Alexander Fleming and
Howard Florey for their work on
penicillin.
Education and career in England
Neuberger foresaw
Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's persecution of the Jews after he came to power in 1933, and, as with numerous other Jewish intellectuals (including
Chain), he fled to London. He received a PhD from the
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
(UCL) after attending UCL Medical School under
Professor Sir Charles Robert Harington FRS in 1936 and continued research there. At the start of the Second World War he moved to the Department of
Biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
at the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...
where he took on
Fred Sanger
Frederick Sanger (; 13 August 1918 – 19 November 2013) was an English biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice.
He won the 1958 Chemistry Prize for determining the amino acid sequence of insulin and numerous othe ...
as his PhD student. They published a paper together on the nitrogen content of potatoes. In 1942 he moved back to London to work at the
National Institute for Medical Research
The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC);
In 2016, the NIMR b ...
. During the war, he spent some time in India as a consultant in nutrition to the army. From 1950 to 1955 he was Head of Biochemistry at the National Institute for Medical Research. He then moved to St Mary's Hospital as Professor.
He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
in 1951,
as was his son,
Michael Neuberger
Michael Samuel Neuberger FRS FMedSci (2 November 1953 – 26 October 2013) was a British biochemist and immunologist.
Biography
Born in Kensington, Michael Samuel Neuberger was the fourth of five children of Albert Neuberger and Lilian Ida ...
, in 1993—a rare case of both father and son being
FRS. He was appointed a
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
in 1964. He was also a Fellow of the
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...
and the
Royal Society of Chemistry
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Instit ...
. Other awards include the Heberden medal of the
Royal Society of Medicine
The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London.
History
The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...
(1959), the Frederick Gowland Hopkins medal of the
Biochemical Society
The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences.
Structure
It currently has around 7000 members, two-thirds in the UK. It is affiliated with th ...
(1960) and of which he was elected an honorary member (1973). He was also a foreign honorary member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...
(1972). He received honorary doctorates from the
University of Aberdeen
, mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
, established =
, type = Public research universityAncient university
, endowment = £58.4 million (2021)
, budget ...
(1967), the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1968), and the
University of Hull
, mottoeng = Bearing the Torch f learning, established = 1927 – University College Hull1954 – university status
, type = Public
, endowment = £18.8 million (2016)
, budget = £190 million ...
(1981).
He married Lilian Ida Dreyfus in 1943 and was the father of
James Neuberger
James Max Neuberger (born 4 November 1949) is a consultant physician, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, part of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and professor of medicine at the University of Birmingham. He is one of the ...
,
David Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury
David Edmond Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury (; born 10 January 1948) is an English judge. He served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of Lo ...
,
Anthony Neuberger,
Professor of Finance,
University of Warwick
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020â ...
,
Michael Neuberger
Michael Samuel Neuberger FRS FMedSci (2 November 1953 – 26 October 2013) was a British biochemist and immunologist.
Biography
Born in Kensington, Michael Samuel Neuberger was the fourth of five children of Albert Neuberger and Lilian Ida ...
and Janet Neuberger. He was also the brother of Rabbi
Herman Neuberger.
See also
*
The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine
The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute (the British Institute of Preventive Medicine) in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, u ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neuberger, Albert
1908 births
1996 deaths
British Ashkenazi Jews
People from Haßfurt
Physicians from Würzburg
People from the Kingdom of Bavaria
Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom
Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom
University of Würzburg alumni
Alumni of University College London
Academics of the University of Cambridge
National Institute for Medical Research faculty
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
Fellows of the Royal Society
British chemists
British biochemists
Jewish scientists
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century British medical doctors
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
Physicians of St Mary's Hospital, London