Guy Geoffrey Frederick Newton (1919 – 1969) was a British

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

and biochemist. He was the co-discoverer of

cephalosporin C Cephalosporin C is an antibiotic of the cephalosporin class. It was isolated from a fungus of the genus ''Acremonium'' and first characterized in 1961. Although not a very active antibiotic itself, synthetic analogs of cephalosporin C, such as ce ...

. Newton was born in St. Ives, Cambridgeshire, the son of Bernard Newton a gentleman farmer of Fairfield Bury, St Ives and his wife Antoinette Gerard. He was educated at

Oundle School Oundle School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils 11–18 situated in the market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. The school has been governed by the Worshipful Company of Grocers of the City ...

and

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

. He rowed at Cambridge and in 1949 was runner up in the

Double Sculls Challenge Cup The Double Sculls Challenge Cup is a rowing event for men's double sculls at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing clubs. Two clubs may combine to ma ...

at Henley Royal Regatta, partnering Humphrey Warren. Newton was described as "an outstanding young organic chemist with a passion for Aston Martin cars".Wolfgang K. Joklik ''The Story of Penicillin: The View from Oxford in the Early 1950s"
/ref> During the 1950s at the

Sir William Dunn School of Pathology The Sir William Dunn School of Pathology is a department within the University of Oxford. Its research programme includes the cellular and molecular biology of pathogens, the immune response, cancer and cardiovascular disease. It teaches undergra ...

, Newton and

Edward Abraham Sir Edward Penley Abraham, (10 June 1913 – 8 May 1999) was an English biochemist instrumental in the development of the first antibiotics penicillin and cephalosporin. Early life and education Abraham was born on 10 June 1913 at 47 Sout ...

discovered, purified and established the structure of cephalosporin C, the first of the cephalosporin family of antibiotics. This compound and the ring structure on which it was based were patented, and both Newton and Abraham set up trusts out of the royalties that they received. The Guy Newton Research Fund and the other trusts are dedicated to the support of medical, biological and chemical research in the Dunn School, Lincoln College and the University of Oxford .

References

* * * 1919 births 1969 deaths Organic chemists People educated at Oundle School Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge British biochemists {{UK-biochemist-stub