Britton "Brit" Chance (July 24, 1913 – November 16, 2010) was an American biochemist, biophysicist, scholar, and inventor whose work helped develop

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

as a way to diagnose medical problems. He was "a world leader in transforming theoretical science into useful biomedical and clinical applications" and is considered "the founder of the biomedical photonics." He received the National Medal of Science in 1974. He also was an Olympic athlete who won a gold medal for the United States at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

in the 5.5 Metre Class.

Early life and education

Chance was born in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...

. His parents were Eleanor Kent and

Edwin Mickley Chance The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (died ...

, president of United Engineers and Constructors, Inc which built power plants. His father was also a mining engineer, chemist, and inventor who held a number of metallurgical patents and created a device that detected carbon monoxide in coal mines using a chemical reaction. Chance's paternal grandfather, Henry Martyn Chance, was a noted geologist and mining engineer who also had a medical degree. When he was a teenager, the family moved to

Haverford, Pennsylvania Haverford is an unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, approximately west of Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) open ...

. His family had a summer home in

Mantoloking, New Jersey Mantoloking is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 296, He also sailed in

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

and the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

. When he was 13 years old, he became a licensed as a

radiotelegraph Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies for t ...

operator and built his first powerful radio transmitter. He graduated from the

Haverford School , motto_translation = , address = 450 Lancaster Avenue , location = , region = , city = Haverford Township, Haverford , county = , state ...

in 1931. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he received a bachelor's degree in physical chemistry in 1935, and a

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in microbiology in 1936. While at Penn, he was a member of

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

and of the professional and scientific honorary societies

Alpha Chi Sigma Alpha Chi Sigma () is a professional fraternity specializing in the fields of the chemical sciences. It has both collegiate and professional chapters throughout the United States consisting of both men and women and numbering more than 70,000 mem ...

Sigma Tau Sigma Tau () was an American honor society in the field of engineering. History Sigma Tau was founded at the University of Nebraska on } by fourteen faculty members and students in the College of Engineering. Sigma Tau merged with Tau Beta Pi ...

, and

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

. He was also the business manager of ''The Pennsylvania Triangle,'' the student newspaper. As a graduate student he developed a microflow version of a

stopped-flow Stopped-flow is an experimental technique for studying chemical reactions with a half time of the order of 1 ms, introduced by Britton Chance and extended by Quentin Gibson (Other techniques, such as the temperature-jump method, are available for m ...

apparatus. Around the time he was 17, he invented an auto-steering device for ships, receiving a patent in 1937. He tested the device on a trip to the West Indies using his father's yacht in 1935. In March 1938, the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...

hired him to test the auto-steering device on a round trip from England to Australia on the ''MS New Zealand Star,'' a 20,000-ton refrigerator ship. In return, the company paid his tuition to

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. In 1938, Chance enrolled in Cambridge University. He came back to the United States to visit his parents but was unable to return to Cambridge and England because of World War II. He returned to the University of Pennsylvania and received a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degree in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

in 1940. In 1943, he received a second Ph.D. from Cambridge University in biology and physiology, followed by a D.Sc. from Cambridge in 1952.

Career

In 1941, Chance became an assistant professor of biophysics and physical biochemistry in the School of Medicine at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked for the

Radiation Laboratory The Radiation Laboratory, commonly called the Rad Lab, was a microwave and radar research laboratory located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was first created in October 1940 and operated until 31 ...

at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

which was working on the development of radar. He became a member of the Steering Committee and head of the Precision Circuits Section, supervising some 300 physicists. They developed radar technology that allowed blimps to spot German submarines, as well as a “ground position indicator” to allow more accurate bombing. He also developed analog electronic computers to calculate non-linear processes and helped develop

ENIAC ENIAC (; Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was the first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer, completed in 1945. There were other computers that had these features, but the ENIAC had all of them in one packa ...

, of the world's first general-purpose computer. After World War II, he received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

that allowed him to work in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

for two years with scientist

Hugo Theorell Axel Hugo Theodor Theorell (6 July 1903 – 15 August 1982) was a Swedish scientist and Nobel Prize laureate in medicine. He was born in Linköping as the son of Thure Theorell and his wife Armida Bill. Theorell went to Secondary School at Kate ...

at the

Nobel Institute The Norwegian Nobel Institute ( no, Det Norske Nobelinstitutt) is located in Oslo, Norway. The institute is located at Henrik Ibsen Street 51 in the center of the city. It is situated just by the side of the Royal Palace. History The institute ...

. Their work resulted in seven papers in the ''

Journal of Biological Chemistry The ''Journal of Biological Chemistry'' (''JBC'') is a weekly peer-reviewed scientific journal that was established in 1905., jbc.org Since 1925, it is published by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. It covers research in ...

''. It also let to Theorell winning the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

in 1955. In 1949, he became a professor of biophysics at the

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine The Perelman School of Medicine, commonly known as Penn Med, is the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1765, the Perelman School of Medicine is the oldest medi ...

and was appointed the second director of the Eldridge Reeves Johnson Foundation for Research in Medical Physics, a position he held until 1983. He was then appointed E. R. Johnson Professor of Biophysics and Physical Biochemistry (later renamed as Biochemistry and Biophysics) in 1964 and University Professor in 1977. Early in his career, Chance worked on enzyme structure and function, developing methods to study the pre-steady-state phase of reactions. He invented the now standard

device to measure the existence of the enzyme-substrate complex in enzyme reaction. He is considered the founder of biomedical photonics, which is now a research field covering biology, medicine, and physics. Starting in the late 1980s, he developed various

near-infrared spectroscopy Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a spectroscopic method that uses the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum (from 780 nm to 2500 nm). Typical applications include medical and physiological diagnostics and research incl ...

and

photon diffusion Photon diffusion is a situation where photons travel through a material without being absorbed, but rather undergoing repeated scattering events which change the direction of their path. The path of any given photon is then effectively a random wa ...

imaging methods. He was also a pioneer in the numerical simulations of biochemical reactions and

metabolic pathways In biochemistry, a metabolic pathway is a linked series of chemical reactions occurring within a cell. The reactants, products, and intermediates of an enzymatic reaction are known as metabolites, which are modified by a sequence of chemical reac ...

. In the 2000s, he developed molecular imaging beacons for cancer detection and diagnosis, predicting cancer aggressiveness in muscles, breast tissue, and the brain. Chance became an emeritus professor at the

in 1983. He became the president of the Medical Diagnostic Research Foundation in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1995. He was visiting distinguished chair professor at

National Cheng Kung University National Cheng Kung University (NCKU; ) is a public research university located in Tainan, Taiwan. The university is best known for engineering, computer science, medicine, and planning and design. As a top university in Taiwan, NCKU has played ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, from 2009 to 2010.

Publications

Chance published about 392 articles with 28947 citations (''h'' = 92) as of 19 May 2022. The following is a selection of his key papers: * Chance, B. and Theorell, H. "Studies on liver alcohol dehydrogenase 2. The kinetics of the compound of horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase and reduced diphosphopyridine nucleotide." ''

Acta Chemica Scandinavica ''Acta Chemica Scandinavica'' was a peer-reviewed Nordic scientific journal in the fields of chemistry. The journal was established in 1947 and was jointly managed during 53 years from beginning of 1947 until end of 1999 by the chemical societ ...

.'' 5 (7-8): 1127-1144 (1951) * Chance, B. and Williams, G. R. "Respiratory enzymes in oxidative phosphorylation. I. Kinetics of oxygen utilization." ''

.'' 217 (1) 383-393 (1955) * Chance, B. and Williams, G.R. "The respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation." ''Advances in Enzymology and Related Subjects of Biochemistry.'' 17: 65-134 (1956) * Chance, B; Ito, T. and Nishimura, M. "Studies on bacterial photophosphorylation 3. A sensitive and rapid method of determination of photophosphorylation." '' Biochimica et Biophysica Acta.'' 59 (1): 177-182 (1962) * Chance, B. "Energy-linked reaction of calcium with mitochondria." ''

.'' 240 (6): 2729-2728 (1965) * Chance, B., Boveris, A. "Mitochondrial generation of hydrogen-peroxide – General properties and effect of hyperbaric-oxygen." ''

Biochemical Journal The ''Biochemical Journal'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal which covers all aspects of biochemistry, as well as cell and molecular biology. It is published by Portland Press and was established in 1906. History The journal was established i ...

.'' 134 (3): 707-716 (1973) * Chance, B.; Sies, H. and Boveris, A. "Hydroperoxide metabolism in mammalian organs." ''

Physiological Reviews ''Physiological Reviews'' is a journal published quarterly by the American Physiological Society which has been published since 1921. The editor in chief of the journal is Sadis Matalon (University of Alabama at Birmingham). The journal's first ...

.'' 59 (3): 527-605 (1979) * Chance, B. and Yodh, A. "Spectroscopy and imaging with diffusing light." ''

Physics Today ''Physics Today'' is the membership magazine of the American Institute of Physics. First published in May 1948, it is issued on a monthly schedule, and is provided to the members of ten physics societies, including the American Physical Society. I ...

.'' 48 (3): 34-40 (1995)

Professional affiliations

Chance was elected to the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 1950. He became a resident member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

in 1958, and served on President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's Science Advisory Committee from 1959 to 1960. He was elected as a foreign member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special ...

in Medical Sciences in 1968, the

Wistar Institute The Wistar Institute () is an independent, nonprofit research institution in biomedical science, with expertise in oncology, immunology, infectious disease and vaccine research. Located on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania, Wistar was ...

in 1969, the

German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

in 1971, 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 1981, and The International Society for Optical Engineering in 2007. He was also became a

Fellow of the American Physical Society The American Physical Society honors members with the designation ''Fellow'' for having made significant accomplishments to the field of physics. The following lists are divided chronologically by the year of designation. * List of American Physic ...

in 2007, and a Fellow in Institute for Corean-American Studies. He was a Harvey Lecturer at the

New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health ...

in 1954, a Phillips Lecturer at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

in 1956 and 1965, and a Pepper Lecturer at the

in 1957. In 1986, he gave the keynote address at the 152nd national meeting of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. He was a 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, and ...

, the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all d ...

, the

Institute of Radio Engineers The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical a ...

, and the Society of Biological Chemists. He cofounded the

Biophysical Society The Biophysical Society is an international scientific society whose purpose is to lead the development and dissemination of knowledge in biophysics. Founded in 1958, the Society currently consists of over 7,500 members in academia, government, an ...

and the ''Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences''. He was also vice president of the

, chairman of the

, president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics, president of the International Society of Oxygen Transport to Tissue, president for the Society for Free Radical Research International, and a board member of the International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study.

Awards

President's Certificate of Merit The President's Certificate of Merit was created June 6, 1946 by Executive Order 9734 signed by US President Harry Truman, "for award by the President or at his direction to any civilian who on or after December 7, 1941'' (see Attack on Pearl Harbor ...

, 1950 *

Paul-Lewis Award in Enzyme Chemistry The Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry, formerly known as the Paul-Lewis Award in Enzyme Chemistry was established in 1945. Consisting of a gold medal and honorarium, its purpose is to stimulate fundamental research in enzyme chemistry by scientists ...

, Division of Biological Chemistry of the

, 1950 * Morlock Award, Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, 1961 * Genootschapps Medaille, Dutch Biochemical Society,

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, 1965 * Harrison Howe Award, Rochester Section,

, 1966 *

Franklin Medal The Franklin Medal was a science award presented from 1915 until 1997 by the Franklin Institute located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. It was founded in 1914 by Samuel Insull Samuel Insull (November 11, 1859 – July 16, 1938) was a Bri ...

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

, 1966 *

John Price Wetherill Medal The John Price Wetherill Medal was an award of the Franklin Institute. It was established with a bequest given by the family of John Price Wetherill (1844–1906) on April 3, 1917. On June 10, 1925, the Board of Managers voted to create a silver ...

, 1966 * Award for Excellence (Life Sciences),

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, 1968 * Philadelphia Section Award,

, 1969 * Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics,

Netherlands Academy of Science and Letters ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

,1970 * Nichols Award, New York Section,

, 1970 *

Canada Gairdner International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...

Gairdner Foundation The Gairdner Foundation is a non-profit organization devoted to the recognition of outstanding achievements in biomedical research worldwide. It was created in 1957 by James Arthur Gairdner to recognize and reward the achievements of medical resea ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

,1972 *

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

,1974 * Semmelweis Medal,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, 1974 * Award for Significant Contributions; Field of Biochemical Instruments, ISCO,1976 * Kappa Delta Elizabeth Winston Lanier Award,

American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) is an orthopedic organization. Founded at Northwestern University in 1933, as of 2015 AAOS had grown to include about 39,000 members.AAOMembersPage accessed June 27, 2015 The group provides edu ...

, 1986 * Senior Investigator Award,

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

, 1986 * Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to Medicine,

College of Physicians A college of physicians is a national or provincial organisation concerned with the practice of medicine. {{Expand list, date=February 2011 Such institutions include: * American College of Physicians * Ceylon College of Physicians * College of Phy ...

, 1987 * Max Delbruck Prize in Biological Physics,

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

, 1987 * Gold Medal,

International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine The International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine is a "multi-disciplinary nonprofit association that promotes innovation, development, and application of magnetic resonance Magnetic resonance is a process by which a physical excit ...

, 1988 * J. Henry Wilkinson Award, International Society for Clinical Enzymology, 1989 * Benjamin Franklin Medal for Distinguished Achievement in the Sciences,

, 1990 * Christopher Columbus Discovery Award in Biomedical Research,

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

, 1992 *

John Scott Award John Scott Award, created in 1816 as the John Scott Legacy Medal and Premium, is presented to men and women whose inventions improved the "comfort, welfare, and happiness of human kind" in a significant way. "...the John Scott Medal Fund, establish ...

City of Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, 1992 * Honor Award,

American College of Sports Medicine The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, is a sports medicine and exercise science membership organization. Founded in 1954, ACSM holds conferences, publishes books and journals, and offers certific ...

, 1999 * Liberty Award, Institute for Corean-American Studies, 2005 * Lifetime Achievement Award, International Society for Optical Engineering, 2005 * Gold Medal,

American Roentgen Ray Society The American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) is the first and oldest radiology society in the United States. It was founded in 1900, in the early days of X-ray and radiation study. Headquartered in Leesburg, Virginia, the society publishes a monthly p ...

, 2006 * Distinguished Achievement Award,

American Aging Association The American Aging Association is a non-profit, tax-exempt biogerontology organization of scientists and laypeople dedicated to biomedical aging studies and geroscience, with the goal of slowing the aging process to extend the healthy human lifes ...

, 2006 *

Friendship Award The Chinese Government's Friendship Award () is the People's Republic of China's highest award for "foreign experts who have made outstanding contributions to the country's economic and social progress". The award was first established in 1950s, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, 2008 * Molecular Imaging Achievement Award, Society for Molecular Imaging, 2008 * International Science and Technology Cooperation Award, 2009

Honors

* The Stellar-Chance Laboratories at the

were named after him in 1995. * He received honorary MDs from

Karolinska Institute The Karolinska Institute (KI; sv, Karolinska Institutet; sometimes known as the (Royal) Caroline Institute in English) is a research-led medical university in Solna within the Stockholm urban area of Sweden. The Karolinska Institute is consist ...

in 1962,

University of Düsseldorf A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in 1991,

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

in 1993,

University of Copenhagen The University of Copenhagen ( da, Københavns Universitet, KU) is a prestigious public university, public research university in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1479, the University of Copenhagen is the second-oldest university in ...

in 1995, and

University of Rome Tor Vergata Tor Vergata University of Rome, also known as the University of Rome II ( it, Università degli Studi di Roma "Tor Vergata"), is a public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. Located in the southeastern suburb of Rome, the ...

in 1997. * He received honorary D.Sc degrees Medical College of Ohio in 1974,

Semmelweis University Ignaz Philipp Semmelweis (; hu, Semmelweis Ignác Fülöp ; 1 July 1818 – 13 August 1865) was a Hungarian physician and scientist, who was an early pioneer of antiseptic procedures. Described as the "saviour of mothers", he discovered that t ...

in 1976,

Hahnemann Medical College Drexel University College of Medicine is the medical school of Drexel University, a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The medical school represents the consolidation of two medical schools: the first U.S. medical school ...

in 1977,

in 2008,

in 1985, and

University of Helsinki The University of Helsinki ( fi, Helsingin yliopisto, sv, Helsingfors universitet, abbreviated UH) is a public research university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but founded in the city of Turku (in Swedish ''Åbo'') in 1640 as the ...

in 1990. * The International Society on Oxygen Transport to Tissue established The Britton Chance Award in honor of his long-standing commitment, interest, and contributions to the science and engineering aspects of oxygen transport to tissue and to the society. *

SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering SPIE (formerly the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, later the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers) is an international not-for-profit professional society for optics and photonics technology, founded in 1955. It ...

established Britton Chance Biomedical Optics Award, presented annually to recognize outstanding contributions to the field of biomedical optics. * He was an honorary president of the International Society of Oxygen Transport to Tissue.

Sailing and Olympics

Chance won many sailing championships through the

Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association Barnegat can refer to: Places Canada * Barnegat, Alberta, a locality in Canada United States * Barnegat (CDP), New Jersey, a census-designated place within Barnegat Township, New Jersey * Barnegat Bay in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States * ...

from the late 1930s to the 1950s, including coming in first place for Class E Sloops in the first-ever Barnegat Bay Regatta in 1938. In the 1950s and 1960s, he completed in the United States Olympic sailing trials and also chaired the national governing body of sailing. In March 1952, he won the Giovannelli Cup with his sailboat ''Complex'' in a regatta off of Lido Dabaro, Italy. For the

, 5.5-meter class was a new category. Chance earned a spot on the United States Olympic team for the 5.5-meter class because he was the only entry in the trials; he had a 5.5-meter craft, ''Complex II,'' custom built as soon as the new Olympic category was announced. His crew consisted of friends and former crewmates from the

Mantoloking Yacht Club Mantoloking is a borough in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough had a total population of 296,Michael Schoettle and twins Edgar White and Sumner White. In July 1952 in

Helsinki, Finland Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city' ...

, the US team won an Olympic Gold medal in the 5.5 Metre Class, with Chance serving as helmsman and captain of the ''Complex II''. They won three of seven races in the competition, but only won the gold because, in the seventh race, Chance blocked Norway's Peder Lunde’s wind, putting him out of contention. In 1955, he was elected treasurer of the

United States Olympians United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, the organization of former Olympic athletes. In 1956, he came in first place in

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

, winning the Edward Prince of Wales Trophy. In 1961, his team won the 5.5 Meter Class in the international Baltic Regatta sponsored by the U.S.S.R. He also won the 5.5 Metre Class World Championship in 1962 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, sailing ''Complex III'' "with superb helmsmanship and clever sailing tactics" Chance was inducted into the Barnegat Bay Sailing Hall of Fame in 2004. In an interview he said, “I wouldn’t be without sailing. That would be unendurable for me.”

Personal

Chance married seventeen-year-old Jane Earle on March 4, 1938. The two spent their three-month-long honeymoon on a ship bound for Australia, testing one of his inventions for British General Electric Co. Before divorcing, they had four children: Eleanor Chance, Britton Chance Jr., Jan Chance, and Peter Chance. His daughter Jan Change O'Malley was named

US Sailor of the Year The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

(now called US Sailing’s Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year) in 1969, 1970, and 1977 by

US Sailing The United States Sailing Association (US Sailing) is the national governing body for sailing in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Bristol, Rhode Island, US Sailing is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US Sailing offers t ...

. His son Britton was a naval architect who designed sailboats for the Olympics and the

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

. He married Lilian Streeter Lucas in November 1956. They had 4 children: Margaret Chance, Lilian Chance, Benjamin Chance, and Samuel Chance. However, they also divorced. In February 2010, he married his research associate and biochemist, Shoko Nioka, Ph.D. in Taiwan in a traditional Chinese ceremony. At the age of 97, Chance died in the

Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the flagship hospital of Penn Medicine and is located in the University City section of West Philadelphia. It is consistently ranked as one of the top hospitals in the United States. Histor ...

in Philadelphia in November 2010.

References

External links

100 Greatest Discoveries - Biology

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chance, Britton 1913 births 2010 deaths People from Mantoloking, New Jersey Alumni of the University of Cambridge American biochemists American biophysicists Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Foreign Members of the Royal Society Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences National Medal of Science laureates University of Pennsylvania alumni University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Pennsylvania Department of Biology faculty American physical chemists Haverford School alumni Winners of the Heineken Prize Members of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina Olympic gold medalists for the United States in sailing American male sailors (sport) Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Sailors at the 1952 Summer Olympics – 5.5 Metre Members of the National Academy of Medicine Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Fellows of the American Physical Society