Ernest Hubert Francis Baldwin (29 March 1909 – 7 December 1969) was an English

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of "biological che ...

, textbook author and pioneer in the field of comparative biochemistry. Born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east of t ...

, Baldwin attended the Crypt Grammar School followed by St. John's College, Cambridge. He completed the

natural sciences tripos The Natural Sciences Tripos (NST) is the framework within which most of the science at the University of Cambridge is taught. The tripos includes a wide range of Natural Sciences from physics, astronomy, and geoscience, to chemistry and biology, w ...

, specialising in

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 ...

for Part II. He won a

1851 Exhibition scholarship The 1851 Research Fellowship is a scheme conducted by the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 to annually award a three-year research scholarship to approximately eight "young scientists or engineers of exceptional promise". The fellowshi ...

for 1933–1935, remaining at Cambridge to study biochemistry. His main influence there was the eminent biochemist

Frederick Gowland Hopkins Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (20 June 1861 – 16 May 1947) was an English biochemist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929, with Christiaan Eijkman, for the discovery of vitamins, even though Casimir Funk, a P ...

; he also worked with

Joseph Needham Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham (; 9 December 1900 – 24 March 1995) was a British biochemist, historian of science and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science and technology, ini ...

and

Dorothy Needham Dorothy Mary Moyle Needham FRS (22 September 1896 – 22 December 1987) was an English biochemist known for her work on the biochemistry of muscle. She was married to biochemist Joseph Needham. Early life and education Dorothy Mary Moyle wa ...

.S. P. Datta.
Baldwin, Ernest Hubert Francis (1909–1969), biochemist
, ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed October 3, 2007.

Career

While at St. John's College and inspired by the broad biochemical interests of Hopkins and the Needhams, in 1937 Baldwin published ''An Introduction to Comparative Biochemistry'', an influential introductory textbook that went through four editions, the last in 1964. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Baldwin worked as an Air Warden. By 1946 Baldwin had advanced to the position of lecturer in biochemistry at Cambridge. In 1947, he published the first edition (of five) of ''Dynamic Aspects of Biochemistry'', a widely used (and translated) textbook that won the 1952 European Cortina-Ulisse Prize. Baldwin's research at St. John's from 1940 to 1949 focused on the roundworm ''

Ascaris lumbricoides ''Ascaris lumbricoides'' is a large parasitic worm that causes ascariasis in humans. A roundworm of genus '' Ascaris'', it is the most common parasitic worm in humans. An estimated one-sixth of the human population is at some point infected by a ...

''. He also spent the summer of 1948 at the

Marine Biological Laboratory The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution that was independent ...

, studying phosphagen in invertebrates. In 1949, Baldwin was Joint Honorary Secretary and member of the Congress and Executive Committees, active in the organisation of the First International Congress of Biochemistry, in Cambridge. In 1950, Baldwin moved to

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, as chair of biochemistry. In addition to developing a biochemistry curriculum and managing new laboratory facilities, Baldwin's main areas of research at University College were comparative biochemistry, particularly in relation to

nitrogen metabolism The nitrogen cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which nitrogen is converted into multiple chemical forms as it circulates among atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. The conversion of nitrogen can be carried out through both biologi ...

and ureotelic metabolism. With

M. B. Donald Maxwell Bruce Donald FRIC FIChemE FRHistS (1897 - 6 January 1978) was a Ramsay professor of chemical engineering at University College London and a historian specialising in mining. Early career Donald studied at the Royal College of Science an ...

, Ramsay professor of Chemical engineering, Baldwin set up a joint diploma, later a master's programme in biochemical engineering at UCL. His work was well regarded, especially abroad, and he held visiting professorships at the

Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and Earth science research, public servi ...

and the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. Baldwin alumni include

Frederick Sanger Frederick Sanger (; 13 August 1918 – 19 November 2013) was an English biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. He won the 1958 Chemistry Prize for determining the amino acid sequence of insulin and numerous other pr ...

Personal life and death

Ernest Baldwin was born in Gloucester to Hubert Charles Baldwin, organist and music teacher, and Nellie Victoria Baldwin (née Hailes). In 1933 he married Pauline Mary Edwards, and they had two children, Nicola and Nigel St. John. Baldwin died of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

in 1969 after a prolonged struggle with myotonic muscular dystrophy.

List of works

* * ''An Introduction to Comparative Biochemistry'' (1937). Second edition, 1940; third edition 1948; fourth edition, 1964. * ''Dynamic Aspects of Biochemistry'' (1947). * ''The Nature of Biochemistry'' (1947) .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Ernest English biochemists 1969 deaths People educated at The Crypt School, Gloucester Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge 1909 births