Norman Ralph Davidson (April 5, 1916 – February 14, 2002) was an American

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interact ...

notable for advancing

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding g ...

research, member of the National Academy of Sciences, received a

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 ...

from U.S. President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, was a professor at

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

.New York Times:Norman Davidson, 85, Major Figure In Advancing Genome Research, February 22, 2002
/ref>Caltech Molecular Biologist Norman Davidson Dies
/ref>National Academies Press, Biographical Memoirs, Norman Davidson, by Henry A. Lester and Ahmed Zewail
/ref>Caltech:My career in Molecular Biology
/ref> The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called Davidson "major figure in advancing genome research ... whose groundbreaking work in molecular biology led to the earliest understanding of the overall structure of genomes". The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' called him "a groundbreaking Caltech chemical biologist".LA Times: Norman Davidson, 85; DNA Research Pioneer, Obituaries, February 19, 2002
/ref> President

cited the scientist for "breakthroughs in chemistry and biology which have led to the earliest understanding of the overall structure of genomes".

Career and life

Davidson was born in Chicago. He received B.S. degree in chemistry at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1937, and received another B.S. degree at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in 1939 as a Rhodes Scholar. In 1941 he received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the

. Davidson was married to enamel artist Annemarie Davidson.

Awards and distinctions

* In 1996, the

by President Clinton * A founding member of the advisory council to the Human Genome Project * The 1980 California Scientist of the Year * The Robert A.

Welch Award in Chemistry The Welch Award in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Robert A. Welch Foundation, based in Houston, Texas, to encourage and recognise basic chemical research for the benefit of mankind. The award, which has been given since 1972, is one of the ...

(1989) * The Dickson Prize in Science (1985) * The Peter Debye Award by the American Chemical Society (1971)Jewish Recipients of the Peter Debye Award in Physical Chemistry
/ref> * A member of the National Academy of Sciences for 42 years * A fellow 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 ...

since 1984 * An honorary doctorate from the University of Chicago

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Norman 1916 births 2002 deaths American biologists 20th-century American chemists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences 20th-century biologists American expatriates in the United Kingdom University of Chicago alumni