Dorothy Hodgkin
1910–1994 — England
Era: Modern
Brilliance: 9/10 | Stewardship: 8/10 | Composite Index: 72
X-ray crystallography of penicillin and insulin. Nobel Prize.
"I was captured for life by chemistry and by crystals."
Biography
Dorothy Hodgkin revolutionized chemistry by using Xray crystallography to decode the structures of lifesaving molecules like penicillin, vitamin B12, and insulin. Her groundbreaking work earned her the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, making her the third woman and only woman to win it solo.
Key Facts
- Only woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry solo (1964)
- Determined the structure of vitamin B12 after 8 years of painstaking calculations
- Her penicillin structure work during WWII helped mass-produce the life-saving antibiotic
- Spent 35 years mapping insulin's structure, completing it at age 59
- Mentored Margaret Thatcher in chemistry at Oxford before Thatcher became Prime Minister
She used X-rays to see molecules and saved millions of lives
Total BrainCoins: 0
Cast BrainCoins for Dorothy Hodgkin