John Cornforth
Australian-British chemist (1917–2013) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sir John Warcup Cornforth Jr.,[3] AC, CBE, FRS, FAA (7 September 1917 – 8 December 2013) was an Australian–British chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1975 for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions,[4][5] becoming the only Nobel laureate born in New South Wales.[2][6][7]
John Cornforth | |
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Born | John Warcup Cornforth Jr. (1917-09-07)7 September 1917 |
Died | 8 December 2013(2013-12-08) (aged 96) Sussex, England |
Nationality | Australian |
Citizenship | Australian British |
Alma mater |
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Known for | Stereochemistry of enzyme-catalysed reactions Cholesterol total synthesis Cornforth reagent Cornforth rearrangement |
Spouse | Rita Harradence |
Awards |
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Scientific career | |
Fields | Organic chemistry |
Institutions | |
Thesis | Synthesis of analogues of steroid hormones (1941) |
Doctoral advisor | Robert Robinson |
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 steroids, 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.[8] 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.[9]