Charles Tanford | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1921-12-29)December 29, 1921 |
| Died | October 1, 2009(2009-10-01) (aged 87) |
| Education | B.A. in Chemistry,New York University PhD,Princeton University |
| Alma mater | New York University |
| Known for | Hydrophobic effect |
| Spouse | Lucia L. Brown (div. 1968) |
| Partner | Jacqueline A. Reynolds |
| Awards | Guggenheim fellowship,Alexander von Humboldt Foundation fellowship, Merck Award for Molecular Biology, distinguished Eastman Professorship atOxford University; the Charles-Tanford-Proteinzentrum in his name atHalle (Saale), Germany |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry, protein chemistry |
| Institutions | Oak Ridge, Tennessee (Manhattan Project),University of Iowa,Duke University |
Charles Tanford (December 29, 1921 – October 1, 2009) was a German-born proteinbiochemist. He died inYork, England, on October 1, 2009.[1][2]
Charles Tanford was born inHalle, Germany in 1921 to Majer and Charlotte Tannenbaum. His parents, who were Jewish, fled to England in 1929 anticipating the coming rule of theNazi Party, and changed their name to Tanford.[1] At the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, Tanford was sent to New York to live with relatives. Despite Tanford's attempts to persuade them to leave, many of his relatives stayed behind in Germany and subsequently were murdered inthe Holocaust.[1] While in the United States, Tanford earned a B.A. in chemistry fromNew York University in 1943 and worked on theManhattan Project inOak Ridge.[1]
In 1947, Tanford received his Ph.D. in Chemistry atPrinceton University, working oncombustion. He is credited with contributing to the "Tanford-Pease Theory of burning velocity".[1] After graduating from Princeton, Tanford spent two years atHarvard University in the laboratory ofE. J. Cohn andJohn Edsall, where he changed his research focus to protein biochemistry.
Tanford was hired as an assistant professor by theUniversity of Iowa, where, in 1954, he was then promoted to associate professor and, again, in 1959, to full professor.[1] In 1960, Tanford joined the faculty atDuke University as a professor of biochemistry. In 1970, he was named James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry. He moved to the Department of Physiology in 1980, where his research efforts were concentrated on the movement ofions acrosscell membranes together with his collaborators Dr. E. A. Johnson and Dr. Jacqueline Reynolds.[1]
In 1994 Tanford recalled, "I had been stimulated byWalter Kauzmann to move into protein chemistry and that made it logical that 'large molecules' should be my domain."[3] His postdoctoral research was concerned withphysical chemistry inspired byKai Linderstrom-Lang. He wrote, "What I had been taught was the more elegant process of using equations: equations that linked thermodynamic properties, dielectric constant and dipole moment, binding equilibria, and a host of other possibilities to revealing molecular characteristics." His book onmacromolecules,The Physical Chemistry of Macromolecules (1961)[4] took ten years to write, andpeer review "came only after submission of the final manuscript, and when it came it was a disaster. There were 2 reviewers and their criticism was scathing; I had got it all wrong, they said, and the book was declared effectively unpublishable...John Wiley & Sons reluctantly agreed to publish...the book was in fact a success..."[5]
In 1973 Tanford publishedThe Hydrophobic Effect, which covered proteins in all their various guises including those within cell membranes.[6] Although he popularized the termhydrophobic effect, he attributed the origin of this concept to G. S. Hartley[7] and the later efforts of Walter Kauzmann.[8] Tanford gave great credit to thegiants upon whose shoulders he stood.[1]
Among other topics Tanford studied protein titration curves[9] and protein denaturation, in both cases as applied to lysozyme.[10][11] He also published important work on protein hydration[12] and on the viscosity of solutions of proteins.[13]
In 1981, Tanford became a founding member of theWorld Cultural Council.[14]
Developing the theme ofproteins as autonomous effectors, likerobots, Charles and his partner Jacqueline Reynolds wroteNature's Robots: A history of proteins, published byOxford University Press in 2001.
Tanford retired in 1988 but remained James B. DukeProfessor Emeritus in the Department of Cell Biology until his death in 2009.[1]
In recognition of his scientific contributions, he was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences[15] and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences.[1] He was also awarded fellowships from theGuggenheim[16] andAlexander von Humboldt Foundations (1984). He received the Merck Award for Molecular Biology. He was distinguished Eastman Professorship at Oxford.[1]
On August 28, 2017, the Charles-Tanford-Proteinzentrum[17] was opened in Halle (Saale), city of his birth, by Prof. Dr.Johanna Wanka, Federal Minister of Science and Education.
While at Harvard, he married Lucia L. Brown. They had three children, Vicki, Alex and Sarah. Charles was divorced in 1968, and soon thereafter began a professional and personal relationship with Dr. Jacqueline A. Reynolds, a fellow biochemist, that would last until his death. Dr. Reynolds and Tanford's blended family include Jackie's children, Tom Reynolds (d.2000), Ben Reynolds, Deborah Reynolds Jackson, and Rebecca Reynolds Newton.[1]
He and Reynolds retired in 1988 toEasingwold, England, a remote Georgian market town inNorth Yorkshire. There, he began a second career writing about the history of science primarily for lay readers.[18][19] He and Reynolds published two travel booksA Travel Guide to the Scientific Sites of the British Isles: A Guide to the People, Places and Landmarks andThe Scientific Traveler: a Guide to the People, Places and Institutions of Europe. They were also frequent contributors to the British scientific magazineNature.[1]
Throughout his life, Tanford was known for conversation, walking, wine, good food, travel, cricket, hiking, Switzerland, France, classical music, murder mysteries and birds.[20][21]
| Preceded by None | Honorary President of the World Cultural Council 1984 – 1987 | Succeeded by |
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