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Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr., (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an AustralianBritish chemist who won the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions, becoming the only Nobel laureate born in New South Wales. Cornforth investigated enzymes that catalyse changes in organic compounds, the substrates, by taking the place of hydrogen atoms in a substrate's chains and rings. In his syntheses and descriptions of the structure of various terpenes, olefins, and
steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...
s, Cornforth determined specifically which cluster of hydrogen atoms in a substrate were replaced by an enzyme to effect a given change in the substrate, allowing him to detail the biosynthesis of cholesterol. For this work, he won a share of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975, alongside co-recipient Vladimir Prelog, and was knighted in 1977.


Early life and family

Born in Sydney, Cornforth was the son and the second of four children of English-born, Oxford-educated schoolmaster and teacher John Warcup Cornforth and Hilda Eipper (1887–1969), a granddaughter of pioneering missionary and Presbyterian minister Christopher Eipper. Before her marriage, Eipper had been a maternity nurse. Cornforth was raised in Sydney as well as
Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...
, in the north of New South Wales, where he undertook primary school education. At about 10 years old, Cornforth had noted signs of deafness, which led to a diagnosis of
otosclerosis Otosclerosis is a condition of the middle ear where portions of the dense enchondral layer of the bony labyrinth remodel into one or more lesions of irregularly-laid spongy bone. As the lesions reach the stapes the bone is resorbed, then harden ...
, a disease of the middle ear which causes progressive hearing loss. This left him completely deaf by the age of 20 but also fatefully influenced his career direction towards chemistry.


Education

Cornforth was educated at Sydney Boys' High School, where he excelled academically, passed tests in English, mathematics, science, French, Greek, and Latin, and was inspired by his chemistry teacher, Leonard ("Len") Basser, to change his career directions from law to chemistry. Cornforth graduated as the
dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...
of the class of 1933 at Sydney Boys' High School, at the age of 16. In 1934, Cornforth matriculated and studied at the University of Sydney, where he studied organic chemistry at the University of Sydney's School of Chemistry and from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Science with First-Class Honours and the
University Medal A University Medal is one of several types of award conferred by universities upon outstanding students or members of staff. The usage and status of university medals differ between countries and between universities. As award on graduation Many ...
in 1937. During his studies, his hearing became progressively worse, thus making listening to lectures difficult. At the time, he could not use hearing aids as the sound became distorted, and he did not significantly use
lip reading The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...
. While studying at the University of Sydney, Cornforth met his future wife, fellow chemist and scientific collaborator,
Rita Harradence Rita Harriet Harradence, Lady Cornforth (16 September 1915 − 6 November 2012) was an Australian biochemist who pioneered the synthesis of penicillamine and steroids, and the stereochemistry of molecules involved in the biosynthesis of cholester ...
. Harradence was a graduate of
St George Girls High School , motto_translation = God and Right , location = Victoria Street, Kogarah, St George region, Sydney, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = A ...
and a distinguished academic achiever who had topped the state in Chemistry in the New South Wales Leaving Certificate Examination. Harradence graduated with a Bachelor of Science with First-Class Honours and the University Medal in Organic Chemistry in 1936, a year ahead of Cornforth. Harradence also graduated with a
MSc MSC may refer to: Computers * Message Sequence Chart * Microelectronics Support Centre of UK Rutherford Appleton Laboratory * MIDI Show Control * MSC Malaysia (formerly known as Multimedia Super Corridor) * USB mass storage device class (USB MS ...
in 1937, writing a master's thesis titled "Attempts to synthesise the pyridine analogue of vitamin B1". In 1939, Cornforth and Harradence, independently of each other, each won one of two Science Research Scholarships (the
1851 Research Fellowship The 1851 Research Fellowship is a scheme conducted by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to annually award a three-year research scholarship to approximately eight "young scientists or engineers of exceptional promise". The fellowship ...
) from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, tenable overseas for two years. At the University of Oxford, Harradence was a member of Somerville College while Cornforth was at St. Catherine's College and they worked with Sir Robert Robinson, with whom they collaborated for 14 years. During his time at Oxford, Cornforth found working for and with Robinson stimulating, and the two often deliberated to no end until one had a cogent case against the other's counterargument. In 1941, Cornforth and Harradence both graduated with a
D.Phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in Organic Chemistry. At the time, there were no institutions or facilities at which a PhD in chemistry could be done in Australia.


Career

After his arrival at Oxford and during World War II, Cornforth significantly influenced the work on penicillin, particularly in purifying and concentrating it. Penicillin is usually very unstable in its crude form; as a consequence of this, researchers at the time were building upon
Howard Florey Howard Walter Florey, Baron Florey (24 September 189821 February 1968) was an Australian pharmacologist and pathologist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945 with Sir Ernst Chain and Sir Alexander Fleming for his role in ...
's work on the drug. In 1940, Cornforth and other chemists measured the yield of penicillin in arbitrary units to understand the conditions that favoured penicillin production and activity, and he contributed to the writing of ''The Chemistry of Penicillin''. In 1946, the Cornforths, who had by now married, left Oxford and joined the Medical Research Council (MRC), working 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 NIM ...
(NIMR), where they continued on earlier work in synthesising sterols, including cholesterol. The Cornforths' collaboration with Robinson continued and flourished. In 1951, they completed, simultaneously with Robert Burns Woodward, the first total synthesis of the non-aromatic steroids. At the NIMR, Cornforth collaborated with numerous biological scientists, including
George Popják George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...
, with whom he shared an interest in cholesterol. Together, they received the Davy Medal in 1968 in recognition of their distinguished joint work on the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway to polyisoprenoids and steroids. While working at the MRC, Cornforth was appointed a professor at the
University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...
and was employed there from 1965 to 1971. In 1975, Cornforth was awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, alongside Vladimir Prelog. In his acceptance speech, Cornforth said: Also in 1975, he moved to the University of Sussex in
Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
as a Royal Society Research Professor. Cornforth remained there as a professor and was active in research until his death.


Personal life

In 1941, the year in which they graduated from the University of Oxford, Cornforth married Rita Harriet Harradence (b. 1915), with whom he had one son, John, and two daughters, Brenda and Philippa. Cornforth had met Harradence after she had broken a Claisen flask in their second year at the University of Sydney; Cornforth, with his expertise of glassblowing and the use of a blowpipe, mended the break. Rita Cornforth died on 6 November 2012, at home with her family around her, following a long illness. On an important author or paper that was integral to his success, Cornforth stated that he was particularly impressed by the works of German chemist Hermann Emil Fischer. Cornforth died in Sussex on 8 December 2013. at the age of 96. Cornforth is survived by his three children and four grandchildren. He was a
sceptic Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
and an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
.


Honours and awards

Cornforth was named the
Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
in 1975, jointly with Maj. Gen.
Alan Stretton Major General Alan Bishop Stretton, (30 September 1922 – 26 October 2012) was a senior Australian Army officer. He came to public prominence through his work in charge of cleanup efforts at Darwin in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracy on Chris ...
. In 1977, Cornforth was recognised by his alma mater, the University of Sydney, with the award of an honorary
Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
. Cornforth's other awards and recognitions follow: * Davy Medal (1968) * Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1953 * Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE; 1972) *
Nobel Prize in Chemistry ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "M ...
(1975) * Royal Medal (1976) * Knight Bachelor (1977) * Corresponding
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists. Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...
(1977) * Foreign member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (since 1978) *
Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...
(1982) * Companion of the Order of Australia (AC; 1991) *
Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or gov ...
(2001) Cornforth's certificate of election for the Royal Society reads:


Tribute

On September 7, 2017, Google celebrated his 100th birthday with a Google Doodle.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornforth, John 1917 births 2013 deaths Academics of the University of Sussex Academics of the University of Warwick Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford Australian chemists Organic chemists Australian atheists Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Nobel laureates Australian of the Year Award winners Australian people of English descent Australian people of German descent Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Australian Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences Nobel laureates in Chemistry People educated at Sydney Boys High School Scientists from Sydney People from Armidale People from Oxford People from Sussex People from Warwick Recipients of the Centenary Medal Recipients of the Copley Medal Royal Medal winners University of Sydney alumni Deaf people from Australia Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom