Harry Erwin Nursten (August 1927 – 20 December 2011) was a British

food chemist Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples. It is similar to biochemist ...

, specialising in flavour chemistry at the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Reading.

Biography

Harry Erwin Nursten was born in Czechoslovakia in August 1927, son of Sergius Nursten and Helene. The family managed to escape to England shortly before the

Second World War 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 ...

. In the 1939 England and Wales Register the parents (“Nursem”) were living at Corringham Court, Golders Green; Sergius was listed as “Dental surgeon (seeking work).” The family settled in Ilkley, Yorkshire, where Harry attended

Ilkley Grammar School Ilkley Grammar School (IGS) is a co-educational, state comprehensive secondary school in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, that specialises in humanities and sciences. In 2011 it gained academy status. History Early years The earliest recor ...

and gained his Higher School Certificate in 1944. He went to the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

where he read colour chemistry and dyeing, followed by a PhD in colour chemistry, awarded in 1949. In the summer of that year Nursten was one of a group of volunteers harvesting at

Windlestone Hall Windlestone Hall is a mid-16th century Elizabethan country house, heavily rebuilt in 1821 to form a Greek revival stately home, situated near Rushyford, County Durham, England. It is a Grade II* Listed building. As of 2022 it is back in private f ...

. Also there was Jean Frobisher, Harry's fellow student and bridge partner at Ilkley Grammar School, and now a welfare worker. They were married on 23 December 1950 at St Paul's Church,

Esholt Esholt is a village between Shipley and Guiseley, in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated east of Shipley town centre , south-west of Guiseley Main Street , north of Bradford City Cent ...

. After more research at Leeds, Nursten taught dyeing and textile chemistry at Nottingham Technical College. He returned to Leeds in 1955 as a lecturer in the Procter Department of Leather Science. Following two sabbaticals 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 ...

and

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

, he moved into the area of food and flavour science. In 1976, he was appointed Chair of Food Science at the University of Reading. Following the merger of the National College of Food Technology and the Department of Food Science, he became Head of Department of one of the biggest Food Science Departments in the UK. In 1992, the year he retired, Nursten ensured that the

Hugh Macdonald Sinclair Hugh Macdonald Sinclair, Royal College of Physicians, FRCP (4 February 1910 – 22 June 1990) was a medical doctor and researcher into human nutrition. He is most widely known for claiming that what he called "lifestyle diseases, diseases of civil ...

endowment Endowment most often refers to: *A term for human penis size It may also refer to: Finance *Financial endowment, pertaining to funds or property donated to institutions or individuals (e.g., college endowment) *Endowment mortgage, a mortgage to b ...

was used to set up a new centre for human

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

research at the University of Reading. Harry Nursten died in Reading on 20 December 2011. His wife, Jean Patricia Nursten, is a noted Professor of social work, and author.

Some publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nursten, Harry E. British chemists People educated at Ilkley Grammar School Academics of the University of Reading People from Ilkley Alumni of the University of Leeds Food chemists 1927 births 2011 deaths