Archer John Porter Martin (1 March 1910 – 28 July 2002) was a British chemist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the invention of partition

chromatography In chemical analysis, chromatography is a laboratory technique for the Separation process, separation of a mixture into its components. The mixture is dissolved in a fluid solvent (gas or liquid) called the ''mobile phase'', which carries it ...

with Richard Synge.

Early life

Martin's father was a GP. Martin was educated at

Bedford School Bedford School is a 7–18 Single-sex education, boys Public school (United Kingdom), public school in the county town of Bedford in England. Founded in 1552, it is the oldest of four independent schools in Bedford run by the Harpur Trust. Bed ...

, and Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Career

Working first in the

Physical Chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

Laboratory, he moved to the Dunn Nutritional Laboratory, and in 1938 moved to Wool Industries Research Institution in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. He was head of the

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

division of Boots Pure Drug Company from 1946 to 1948, when he joined the Medical Research Council. There, he was appointed head of the physical chemistry division of the

National Institute for Medical Research The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR became part of the new F ...

in 1952, and was chemical consultant from 1956 to 1959. He specialised in biochemistry, in some aspects of

vitamin Vitamins are Organic compound, organic molecules (or a set of closely related molecules called vitamer, vitamers) that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolism, metabolic function. Nutrient#Essential nutrients, ...

s E and B₂, and in techniques that laid the foundation for several new types of

. He developed

partition chromatography Partition chromatography theory and practice was introduced through the work and publications of Archer Martin and Richard Laurence Millington Synge during the 1940s. They would later receive the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for their invention ...

whilst working on the separation of

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although over 500 amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the 22 α-amino acids incorporated into proteins. Only these 22 a ...

s, and later developed gas-liquid chromatography. Amongst many honours, he received his Nobel Prize in 1952. After his retirement from the University of Sussex, he was visiting professor at both the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

in Texas and the EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) in Switzerland. He published far fewer papers than the typical Nobel winners—only 70 in all—but his ninth paper contained the work that would eventually win him the Nobel Prize. The

dropped him from its chemistry faculty in 1979 (when he was 69 years old) because he was not publishing enough.

Awards

Archer Martin shared the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the invention of partition

with Richard Synge. Archer Martin's 1954 paper with A. T. James, "Gas-Liquid Chromatography: A Technique for the Analysis and Identification of Volatile Materials” reported the discovery of gas-liquid chromatography. This publication was honoured by a Citation for Chemical Breakthrough Award from the Division of History of Chemistry of the

American Chemical Society The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...

presented in 2016 to the Francis Crick Institute. The research was actually performed at the

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it b ...

, which became the Francis Crick Institute in 2015. Martin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1950, and made a CBE in 1960.

Personal life

In 1943 he married Judith Bagenal (1918–2006), and together they had two sons and three daughters. In the last years of his life he suffered from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

References

External links

* * * Martin's Nobel lecture
The Development of Partition ChromatographyM Martin's Column's: Classic Kit
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Archer John Porter 1910 births 2002 deaths Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge English biochemists Scientists from London Nobel laureates in Chemistry British Nobel laureates People educated at Bedford School Fellows of the Royal Society English Nobel laureates English physical chemists National Institute for Medical Research faculty Commanders of the Order of the British Empire