Ernest Earl Lockhart (September 10, 1912 – July 26, 2006) was a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

and

explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

Early life and education

Ernest Earl Lockhart was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

( USA) on September 10, 1912. He grew up in the Hyde Park section of Boston; Lockhart was the youngest of three children of Clinton Daniel Lockhart and Celeste Althea Westhaver, who both emigrated from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. E.E. Lockhart was educated in the Boston public schools, at the Chauncy Hall School, and then at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern t ...

, where he earned three degrees, culminating with a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

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 ...

in 1938.

Career and achievements

Following a year of study on fellowship at the Biochemical Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, E.E. Lockhart served as the

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

Richard Evelyn Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

’s United States Antarctic Service Expedition of 1939-1941 to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

. For this service he received a special medal authorized by the

Congress of the United States The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. A memorable experience on the expedition was a four-month, 400-mile field trip by dog team. He was the

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

operator for his four-man party.

Mount Lockhart Mount Lockhart () is a prominent northerly projection from the main massif of the Fosdick Mountains northeast of Mount Avers, in the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land Marie Byrd Land (MBL) is an unclaimed region of Antarctica. With an area of ...

, a mountain in the Fosdick range, is named after him. Upon his return home, E.E. Lockhart began a career of research and teaching at M.I.T. in the field of

food Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ...

technology and

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficien ...

. In 1955 he left M.I.T. to become research director at the Coffee Brewing Institute, a trade organization located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. In 1965, he became assistant research director of the Coca Cola Company in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

, where he lived until his retirement in 1978. Earl was a co-founder of the International Life Sciences Institute, a worldwide foundation that seeks to improve the well-being of the general public through the advancement of science.

Later life and death

Ernest Earl Lockhart retired to his

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mon ...

home in West Dennis,

, where he and his wife Helen lived for his remaining twenty-seven years. He died at his home on July 26, 2006, at the age of 93. A family ceremony in his honor was held on the nearby Bass River, on September 10, 2006, the ninety-fourth anniversary of his birth.

References

Mount Lockhart

The Tech, Tuesday October 18, 1949

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockhart, Ernest Earl 1912 births 2006 deaths American biochemists American food chemists People from Hyde Park, Boston People from Barnstable County, Massachusetts Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Chapel Hill – Chauncy Hall School alumni