Walter Jennings Jones (April 28, 1865 – February 28, 1935) was an American biochemist and a professor at
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
who was among the early investigators of the composition of the nucleic acids including the presence of nucleotides, sugar and phosphate. He also noted the presence of thermostable enzymes that could break the nucleic acids by breaking the inter-nucleotide bonds. He published his results in the 1920 book ''Nucleic Acids: Their Chemical Properties and Physiological Conduct''.
Early life
Jones was born in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
to Zeanette Jane (née Bohen) and Levin Jones, both devout Methodists. His father was a ship chandler of his business at the Light Street Wharf in Baltimore. His father died when he was thirteen. Jones's middle name was after a physician friend of the family and he rarely used it. He was educated at local schools, and joined the City College, Baltimore in 1879 and graduated in the spring of 1884. He joined
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...
in 1884 and received his
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
in 1888 with studies in chemistry, and minors in mineralogy and geology. He received a PhD in 1891, studying under
Ira Remsen
Ira Remsen (February 10, 1846 – March 4, 1927) was an American chemist who discovered the artificial sweetener saccharin along with Constantin Fahlberg. He was the second president of Johns Hopkins University.
Early life
Ira Remsen was bor ...
.
Career
Jones worked as an acting professor of natural science at Wittenberg College, Springfield, Ohio. In September 1892, Jones started work at
Purdue University
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...
but moved back to Baltimore. In March 1896 he became an assistant in physiological chemistry under John J. Abel at Johns Hopkins. He served in that role until 1899 when he became an associate in physiological chemistry and toxicology. In 1902, he became an assistant professor of physiological chemistry and toxicology. He served in that role until 1908. In 1908, Jones became a full professor of physiological chemistry when the Department of Physiological Chemistry was established. He served in that role until 1923. From 1923 to 1927, Jones served as DeLamar Professor of Physiological Chemistry, a role named after school benefactor De Lamar.
In 1899 he visited Germany and was inspired by the work of
Albrecht Kossel
Ludwig Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel (; 16 September 1853 – 5 July 1927) was a German biochemist and pioneer in the study of genetics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1910 for his work in determining the ch ...
which led to a focus on the study of nucleic acids. Among the works that Jones did was to come to the conclusion that some nucleic acids had a five carbon sugar (in yeast) and that animals they had a six carbon sugar. This was a period when the contemporary model of tetranucleotides was proposed by Jones' rival P.A. Levene. Another discovery was thermostable enzymes capable of breaking the inter-nucleotide bonds, now known to be
ribonuclease A
Pancreatic ribonuclease family (, ''RNase'', ''RNase I'', ''RNase A'', ''pancreatic RNase'', ''ribonuclease I'', ''endoribonuclease I'', ''ribonucleic phosphatase'', ''alkaline ribonuclease'', ''ribonuclease'', ''gene S glycoproteins'', ''Ceratit ...
.
Personal life
Jones married Grace Crary Clarke, daughter of Reverend George Clarke of
Ocean Grove, New Jersey
Ocean Grove is a unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Neptune Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States.
Jones lived at Hopkins Apartments. He died on February 28, 1935, at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Baltimore.