British biochemist
Alexander Robertus Todd, Baron Todd (2 October 1907 – 10 January 1997) was a Britishbiochemist whose research on the structure andsynthesis ofnucleotides ,nucleosides , and nucleotidecoenzymes gained him theNobel Prize for Chemistry in 1957.
Early life and education [ edit ] Todd was born atCathcart in outerGlasgow , the elder son of Alexander Todd, JP,[ 1] Glasgow Subway , and his wife, Jane Lowry.[ 2]
He attendedAllan Glen's School and graduated from theUniversity of Glasgow with a bachelor's degree (BSc) in 1928. He received a doctorate (Dr Phil.nat.) fromGoethe University Frankfurt in 1931 for his thesis on the chemistry of thebile acids .
Todd was awarded an1851 Research Fellowship from theRoyal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 ,[ 3] Oriel College, Oxford , he received another doctorate (DPhil) in 1933.
Todd held posts with theLister Institute , theUniversity of Edinburgh (staff, 1934–1936) and theUniversity of London , where he was appointedReader in biochemistry.
In 1938, Alexander Todd spent six months as a visiting professor atCalifornia Institute of Technology , eventually declining an offer of faculty position.[ 4] [ 5] Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry and director of the Chemical Laboratories of theUniversity of Manchester in 1938, where he began working on nucleosides, compounds that form the structural units of nucleic acids (DNA andRNA ).
In 1944, he was appointed to the1702 Chair of Chemistry in theUniversity of Cambridge , which he held until his retirement in 1971.[ 6] adenosine triphosphate (ATP) andflavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD). Todd served as a visiting professor at theUniversity of Chicago in Autumn 1948[ 7] University of Sydney in 1950.[ 4] [ 8] [ 9]
In 1955, he helped elucidate the structure ofvitamin B12 , although the final formula and definite structure was determined byDorothy Hodgkin and her team, and later worked on the structure and synthesis ofvitamin B1 andvitamin E , theanthocyanins (the pigments of flowers and fruits) from insects (aphids, beetles) and studiedalkaloids found incannabis . He served as chairman of theGovernment of the United Kingdom 's advisory committee onscientific policy from 1952 to 1964.
He is credited as the first person to synthesizeH4-CBD andH2-CBD fromCannabidiol byhydrogenation as early as 1940.[ 10]
He received the 1957 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his work on nucleotides and nucleotide co-enzymes.”
Elected aFellow ofChrist's College, Cambridge in 1944, he served asMaster from 1963 to 1978. Lord Todd became the firstChancellor of the newUniversity of Strathclyde in 1965, and a visiting professor atHatfield Polytechnic (1978–1986). Among his many honours, including over 40 honorary degrees, he was elected aFellow of the Royal Society in 1942, a member of the United StatesNational Academy of Sciences in 1955,[ 11] American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1957,[ 12] American Philosophical Society in 1965.[ 13] President of the Royal Society from 1975 to 1980, The Queen awarded himthe Order of Merit in 1977.[ 14]
In 1981, Todd became a founding member of theWorld Cultural Council .[ 15]
Personal life and death [ edit ] In 1937, Todd married Alison Sarah Dale (d. 1987), daughter of Nobel Prize winnerHenry Hallett Dale , who like Todd, served as President of theRoyal Society of London . They had a son and two daughters:
Alexander Henry Todd (b. 1939), educated atOriel College, Oxford , MasterSalters' Company (1999/2000), m. 1stly 1967 (div 1981) Joan Margaret Koester, m. 2ndly Patricia Mary Harvey Jones, daughter of Brigadier Alan Harvey JonesCBE TD Somerford Booths ,Cheshire ; Helen Jean Todd (b. 1941), m. 1963 Philip Edgar Brown, and has two sons and a daughter; Hilary Alison Todd (b. 1946).[ 16] Todd died in Cambridge on 10 January 1997 at the age of 89 following a heart attack.[citation needed
Todd was honoured as a Nieuwland Lecturer at theUniversity of Notre Dame in 1948,[ 17] Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1954,[ 4] [ 18] University of California, Berkeley , in 1957.[ 4] [ 19]
Knighted as Sir Alexander Todd in 1954[ 20] Life Peer on 16 April 1962, being createdBaron Todd ofTrumpington in theCounty of Cambridge .[ 21]
Lord Todd, Master of theWorshipful Company of Salters (1961/62) and thenMaster of Christ's College (1963–78), is commemorated by ablue plaque erected by theRoyal Society of Chemistry at theDepartment of Chemistry in the University of Cambridge .[ 22]
Coat of arms of Alec Todd Coronet Coronet of a Baron Crest In front of an Open Book Proper bound Or a Fox passant guardant Gules. Escutcheon Gules a Chevron between in chief two Foxes' Masks and in base a Serpent embowed biting the tail Or. Supporters Dexter an Ounce andSinister a Fox each Sable bezanty and gorged with a Ducal Coronet with Chain reflexed over the back Or pendant from the Coronet by a like chain an Escutcheon Blue celeste.Motto Faire Sans Dire Orders Suspended below theShield by itsribbon , theinsignia of theOrder of Merit : Other elements AsMaster Salter and then asMaster of Christ's College, Cambridge , Lord Toddimpaled his arms of office (dexter ) with his familyarms (sinister ):[ 23] [ 24]
^ www.nrscotland.gov.uk ^ Brown, Daniel M.; Kornberg, Hans (2000). "Alexander Robertus Todd, O. M., Baron Todd of Trumpington. 2 October 1907–10 January 1997".Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society .46 (–1):517– 532.doi :10.1098/rsbm.1999.0130 .JSTOR 770414 . ^ 1851 Royal Commission Archives ^a b c d "Lord Todd – Biographical" .www.nobelprize.org . Retrieved27 January 2018 .^ Kay, Lily E. (3 December 1992).The Molecular Vision of Life: Caltech, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Rise of the New Biology ISBN 978-0-19-028161-8 ^ Archer, Mary D. ; Haley, Christopher D. (2005),The 1702 chair of chemistry at Cambridge: transformation and change , Cambridge University Press,ISBN 0-521-82873-2 ^ Todd, Alexander (17 November 1983).A Time to Remember: The Autobiography of a Chemist . Cambridge University Press. p. 110.ISBN 0-521-25593-7 ^ Conn, Eric E. (2008). "Our Work with Cyanogenic Plants".Annual Review of Plant Biology .59 (1):1– 19.Bibcode :2008AnRPB..59....1C .doi :10.1146/annurev.arplant.59.032607.092924 .PMID 17988213 . ^ "ChemNEWS (FACULTY OF SCIENCE)" (PDF) .The University of Sydney .[permanent dead link ] ^ Jacob, A.; Todd, A. R. (1940)."119. Cannabis indica. Part II. Isolation of cannabidiol from Egyptian hashish. Observations on the structure of cannabinol" .Journal of the Chemical Society (Resumed) :649– 653.doi :10.1039/JR9400000649 . ^ "Alexander R. Todd of Trumpington" .www.nasonline.org . Retrieved3 October 2022 .^ "Alexander Robertus Todd" .American Academy of Arts & Sciences . Retrieved3 October 2022 .^ "APS Member History" .search.amphilsoc.org . Retrieved3 October 2022 .^ "No. 47362" .The London Gazette ^ "About Us" .World Cultural Council . Retrieved8 November 2016 .^ www.burkespeerage.com ^ Todd, Alexander R (1949).Vitamins, coenzymes and nucleotides; a series of lectures presented at the University of Notre Dame on October 22, 25 and 27, 1948 . Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame.OCLC 6142088 . ^ "Postdoc T.Y. Shen Honors his Wife | MIT Department of Chemistry" .chemistry.mit.edu . Archived fromthe original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved27 January 2018 .^ "Nucleotide Co-Enzymes: A Study in Synthesis | Berkeley Graduate Lectures" .gradlectures.berkeley.edu . Retrieved27 January 2018 .^ "No. 40227" .The London Gazette ^ "No. 42651" .The London Gazette ^ www.alumni.christs.cam.ac.uk ^ www.college-of-arms.gov.uk ^ Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage . 1985.
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