Donald Elliot Nicholson (1916 – 2012) was a British scientist, best known for devising the charts of Biochemical cycles which have become a commonplace in the offices of clinical and bioscience staff worldwide.

Education and career

The son of a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

minister, Nicholson was born in Leek, Staffordshire.

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, 27 July 2012
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, 29 May 2012
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/ref> He had two brothers, including a twin, Kenneth. He attended

Kingswood School (''In The Right Way Quickly'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent , religious_affiliation = Methodist , president = , head_label = Headmaste ...

in Bath prior to obtaining a degree in colour chemistry from

Huddersfield Technical College Kirklees College is a further education college with two main centres in the towns of Dewsbury and Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. History The college was formed on 1 August 2008 after the Dewsbury College Dissolution order approved ...

in 1936.

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 , ...

, 2012
Online
/ref> He worked as a researcher with fluorine compounds at his alma mater prior to earning his PhD through the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1940 or 1941. During

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, he was involved in the production of sulfanilamide. He became a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

at Leeds School of Medicine after the war, working with tubercle bacillus and

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toxins. Thereafter, he assumed a career role as a Lecturer at that school in 1950, becoming a Senior Lecturer in 1964.

The Metabolic Pathways Chart

The subject of bacterial metabolism was a challenging one for students in the 1950s, as the field had been rapidly expanding since the mapping of the first metabolic pathway in 1940. Nicholson had himself struggled in school and was sympathetic to challenged students. He decided to create a chart that would allow students to better understand the connections in body metabolism. His first chart, completed in 1955, was printed by the architect's department at Leeds. The high demand among students led him in 1960 to a small biochemical firm who agreed to a higher print run, using colour to distinguish the different pathways. He was much heartened when he went to Oxford for a lecture by the Nobel Prizewinner Professor Hans Krebs and Krebs began the lecture by displaying a Nicholson chart. The chart had as of 2012 been published in over a million copies in 22 editions, including updates by Nicholson to incorporate new findings over the years. It has also been reproduced in many textbooks. Nicholson also created an "Inborn Errors of Metabolism" map for medical students, who felt the Nicholson Chart too focused on biochemistry for clinical medicine. Due to his wife's phobia of electrical devices, Nicholson did not digitise his maps until he bought his first computer after her death in 1996. He donated the copyright of his work to the

International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) is an international non-governmental organisation concerned with biochemistry and molecular biology. Formed in 1955 as the International Union of Biochemistry (IUB), the union ...

. However, he continued working on his charts for the rest of his life; at the time of his death, he was working on a version using Flash Animation.

Private life

Nicholson and his wife Celia had three children. In addition to his career in science, he served as a Methodist lay preacher for many years, from 1939. He also served as a

prison visitor A prison visitor is a person who visits prisons to befriend and monitor the welfare of prisoners in general, as distinct from a person who visits a specific prisoner to whom they have a prior connection. Prisons may also have a visiting committee. ...

Honors

The

University of Huddersfield , mottoeng = Thus not for you alone , established = 1825 – Huddersfield Science and Mechanics' Institute1992 – university status , type = Public , endowment = £2.47 million (2015) , chancellor = George W. Buckley , vice_chancell ...

awarded Nicholson an Honorary D.Sc. The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology appointed him a Special Life Members, one of only two at the time of his death in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholson, Donald English biochemists 1916 births 2012 deaths People from Leek, Staffordshire English Methodists