Sir Frederick Hopkins
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1929
Born: 20 June 1861, Eastbourne, United Kingdom
Died: 16 May 1947, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Prize motivation: “for his discovery of the growth-stimulating vitamins”
Prize share: 1/2
Work
People and animals need basic nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats to live and function properly. However, when Frederick Hopkins began looking into the issue, there were several indications that we also need other substances. When he fed young rats only pure nutrients, their growth stopped, but all it took was a small amount of milk for them to start growing again. The conclusion reported around 1910 was that these unknown substances are necessary in small amounts for life processes. The substances came to be known as vitamins.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
