Robert Hill FRS | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Robert Hill FRS | |
| Born | Robert Hill (1899-04-02)2 April 1899[3] Leamington Spa,Warwickshire, United Kingdom |
| Died | 15 March 1991(1991-03-15) (aged 91) |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Known for | |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry |
| Notable students | Frederick Whatley David Alan Walker (postdoc)[1][2] |
Robert HillFRS[3] (2 April 1899 – 15 March 1991), known asRobin Hill, was a Britishplant biochemist who, in 1939, demonstrated the 'Hill reaction' ofphotosynthesis, proving thatoxygen isevolved during thelight requiring steps of photosynthesis.[5][6][7] He also made significant contributions to the development of theZ-scheme[8][9] of oxygenic photosynthesis.[4][10][11][12][13][14][15]
Hill was born in New Milverton, a suburb ofLeamington Spa,Warwickshire. He was educated atBedales School, where he became interested inbiology andastronomy (he published a paper onsunspots in 1917),[citation needed] andEmmanuel College, Cambridge, where he readNatural Sciences. During theFirst World War he served in the Anti-gas Department of theRoyal Engineers.[16]
In 1922, he joined the Department of Biochemistry at Cambridge, where he was directed to researchhaemoglobin. He published a number of papers on haemoglobin, and in 1926 he began to work withDavid Keilin on thehaem containingproteincytochrome c. In 1932, he commenced work on plant biochemistry, focusing on photosynthesis and the oxygen evolution ofchloroplasts, leading to the discovery of the 'Hill reaction'.
From 1943, Hill's work was funded by theAgricultural Research Council (ARC), although he continued to work in the Cambridge Biochemistry Department. Hill continued to receive most of his recognition for his earlier work on photosynthesis, and beginning in the late 1950s, his work concentrated on the energetics of photosynthesis. In collaboration with Fay Bendall, he made his second great contribution to photosynthesis research with the discovery of the 'Z scheme' of electron transport.
Hill retired from the ARC in 1966, although his research at Cambridge continued until his death in 1991. In his later years Hill worked on the issue of the application of thesecond law of thermodynamics to photosynthesis.
He was an expert onnatural dyes and cultivated plants such as madder and woad. He painted watercolours using pigments he himself extracted.[3] In the 1920s, he developed a fish-eye camera and used it to take stereoscopic whole-sky images, recording cloud patterns in three dimensions.
The Robert Hill Institute at theUniversity of Sheffield, from which he received anhonorary degree in 1990, was named after him.[17] Hill was elected aFellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1946, his certificate of election reads:
Distinguished for his research on Haemoglobin and Photosynthesis. He was the first to demonstrate the reconstruction of haemoglobin from its components:globin andhaematin. This was the first case of the splitting and reconstruction of aconjugated protein. He determined the properties anddissociation curve ofmyoglobin which explain the physiological function of the pigment. He also determined the structure and properties of several haematin compounds thereby aiding the study of their catalytic activities. He discovered a new approach to the biochemical study of photosynthesis which enabled him to demonstrate and to measure the evolution of oxygen by isolatedchloroplasts exposed to light in the complete absence ofCO2. This remarkablephotochemical reaction was found by him to have the same properties as "light reaction" obtained with intact green cells in presence of CO2, and it led him to formulate an interesting working hypothesis of the mechanism of photosynthesis.[18]
He was awarded theRoyal Medal in 1963, and theCopley Medal in 1987.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
