Norman Ralph Davidson (April 5, 1916 – February 14, 2002) was an Americanmolecular biologist notable for advancinggenome research, member of theNational Academy of Sciences, received aNational Medal of Science from U.S. PresidentBill Clinton, was a professor atCaltech.[1][2][3][4] TheNew York Times 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".[1]TheLos Angeles Times called him "a groundbreaking Caltech chemical biologist".[5]PresidentBill Clinton cited the scientist for "breakthroughs in chemistry and biology which have led to the earliest understanding of the overall structure of genomes".[5]
Davidson was born in Chicago. He received B.S. degree in chemistry at theUniversity of Chicago in 1937, and received another B.S. degree at theUniversity of Oxford in 1939 as a Rhodes Scholar. In 1941 he received his Ph.D. degree in chemistry from theUniversity of Chicago.[2] Davidson was married to enamel artistAnnemarie Davidson.
