Famous 19th Century Biochemists

Apart from being the first to discover nucleic acid, Swiss biochemist Friedrich Miescher also isolated protamine, a protein associated with nucleic acid. Born to a scientifically rich family, he initially wished to become a doctor, but rendered partially deaf due to typhoid, he later chose physiological chemistry.

Austro-Hungarian-American biochemist Gerty Cori is best-known for discovering the course of catalytic conversion of glycogen with her husband Carl Ferdinand Cori for which they jointly won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. With this Gerty became the third woman to win a Nobel in science and the first to win it in this category.

Frederick Gowland Hopkins was an English biochemist whose discovery of vitamins earned him the prestigious 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He also received other prestigious awards like the Royal Medal and Copley Medal. He is also credited with discovering the amino acid tryptophan. From 1930 to 1935, Frederick Gowland Hopkins served as the President of the Royal Society.

Yellapragada Subbarow was an Indian biochemist who is credited with developing methotrexate, an immune-system suppressant and chemotherapy agent which is widely used to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer. He also helped American plant physiologist Benjamin Duggar discover chlortetracycline, the world's first tetracycline antibiotic.

John James Rickard Macleod was a Scottish biochemist and physiologist. Even though his research covered diverse topics in physiology and biochemistry, he is best remembered for his work in carbohydrate metabolism. He played a major role in the discovery and isolation of insulin, for which he shared the 1923 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine with Frederick Banting.  

A Lithuanian Jew, Phoebus Levene moved with his family to the U.S. in the wake of anti-Semitic attacks. While he initially studied medicine, Levene later focused on biochemistry. Known for his path-breaking research on nucleic acids, he worked at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research for over three decades.

Albrecht Kossel was a German biochemist whose work in ascertaining nucleic acids' chemical composition earned him the prestigious Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1910. Kossel is also remembered for conducting prominent research into protein's composition. His work influenced several other important researchers like Henry Drysdale Dakin, Edwin B. Hart, Friedrich Miescher, and Felix Hoppe-Seyler.

Nobel Prize-winning chemist Edward Calvin Kendall is best known for his work on isolating thyroxine, or the thyroid hormone, and for crystallizing glutathione. He also revolutionized medical science by curing rheumatoid arthritis with cortisone, the steroid hormone he discovered. He was also associated with the Mayo Foundation and Princeton University.

Heinrich Otto Wieland was a German chemist known for his research into bile acids, for which he won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He studied under prominent chemist and professor Johannes Thiele at the University of Munich. He had a brilliant academic career and worked actively to protect Jewish students after the passage of the Nuremberg Laws.

French chemist Anselme Payen is known for co-discovering the first enzyme diastase, and for discovering the carbohydrate cellulose. He broke the Dutch monopoly for borax by developing a method to synthesize borax from soda and boric acid; developed a method to determine nitrogen and methods for refining sugar; and invented a decolorimeter.

In 1929, German-born Swedish biochemist Hans von Euler-Chelpin was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with Arthur Harden, for their studies on the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes. An alumnus of the Berlin University, he worked as a general and organic chemistry professor at Stockholm University and was later also appointed the director of its new biochemical institute.

John Jacob Abel was a biochemist and pharmacologist who established the pharmacology department at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. While at Hopkins, he made several important medical advancements. He made significant contributions in the field of hormone extraction and founded the Journal of Biological Chemistry. He was a recipient of the Conne Medal and the Kober Medal. 

 John Howard Northrop became interested in enzymes while conducting research on fermentation processes of acetone and ethyl alcohol for U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Service during WWI and established that enzymes obey laws of chemical reactions. He later isolated and crystallized pepsin, trypsin and chymotrypsin and bacteriophage and also determined their chemical nature; he earned 1946 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for it.

Arthur Harden was a British biochemist best remembered for winning the prestigious 1929 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his investigations into the fermentative enzymes and fermentation of sugar. He shared the award with German-born Swedish biochemist Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin. Arthur Harden is also remembered as a Biochemical Society's founding member.

Lafayette Mendel was a biochemist who collaborated with fellow biochemist Thomas B. Osborne to study the roles of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, lysine, and tryptophan in nutrition. A brilliant man, he was appointed full professor of physiological chemistry at Yale University when he was just 31. Later on, he was appointed Sterling Professor of Physiological Chemistry.