Richard Alan Morton FRS was the Johnston Professor of Biochemistry at University of Liverpool from 1944 until 1966. He was a pioneer in the application of spectroscopy to biological molecules. His research group were the first to identify vitamin A₂ and related compounds. They were also among the first to characterise several isoprenoids including ubiquinone, polyprenol and others.

Early life and education

Richard Alan Morton was the child of Welsh-speaking parents in Liverpool. His middle name was initially Alun. He attended the co-educational Oulton Secondary School in Liverpool. He left school in 1917 to work in a pharmacy and then joined the army towards the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He became ill with

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

. From 1919 he studied chemistry at the University of Liverpool, graduating with B. Sc. first class in 1922. He then undertook doctoral research supervised by Edward Charles Cyril Baly into the application of optical spectroscopy. Selig Hecht was a post-doctoral fellow with Baly's group at this time, interested in applications of spectroscopy in biology, and this developed Morton's interest in this new application.

Career

He remained at this university for his entire career apart from spending 1931 on sabbatical as visiting professor at Ohio State University in the USA. From 1924 until 1944 he was a special lecturer in spectroscopy in the Chemistry Department. He was then appointed to the Johnston Chair of Biochemistry in the Department of Biochemistry in 1944 until he retired in 1966. He continued to be active in science after his retirement. His research focused initially on the application of spectroscopy to determining the structure of chemical compounds. From 1926 his work developed the use of

absorption spectroscopy Absorption spectroscopy is spectroscopy that involves techniques that measure the absorption of electromagnetic radiation, as a function of frequency or wavelength, due to its interaction with a sample. The sample absorbs energy, i.e., photons ...

with biological molecules that absorbed light, allowing their concentration to be estimated in solutions. This technology, in collaboration with Ian Heilbron's interest in a therapy for

rickets Rickets, scientific nomenclature: rachitis (from Greek , meaning 'in or of the spine'), is a condition that results in weak or soft bones in children and may have either dietary deficiency or genetic causes. Symptoms include bowed legs, stun ...

, led him to discover the vitamin A₂ and several related compounds. His research group became focused on fat-soluble vitamins and was also among the first to identify

ubiquinone Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10 ), also known as ubiquinone, is a naturally occurring Cofactor (biochemistry), biochemical cofactor (coenzyme) and an antioxidant produced by the human body. It can also be obtained from dietary sources, such as meat, fish, ...

and the

polyprenol Polyprenols are natural long-chain isoprenoid alcohols of the general formula H-(C5H8)n-OH, where n is the number of isoprene units. Any prenol with more than 4 isoprene units is a polyprenol. Polyprenols play an important function, acting as nat ...

family of compounds. From 1955 until 1965 the focus of his group's research was isoprenoids. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was involved in studies to understand the requirements of vitamin A by people that gave him a new interest in nutrition. After the war he organised meetings for industrial scientists around Merseyside about the use of spectroscopy He was the chair of the government's Committee on Food Additives from 1963 to 1968.

Publications

Morton was the author or co-author of 282 scientific publications and several books. These included: * RA Morton (1975) ''Biochemical Spectroscopy'', two volumes * RA Morton (1969) ''The Biochemical Society: its history and activities 1911-1969'' *R A Morton (1942) ''Absorption spectra of Vitamins and Hormones'' He was also the author of publications in Welsh including: * (1965) Agweddau cemegol ar weled (Chemical aspects of sight) ''Y Gwyddonydd'' 3 issue 2

Honours and awards

In 1929 he was awarded the

Meldola Medal and Prize The Meldola Medal and Prize was awarded annually from 1921 to 1979 by the Chemical Society and from 1980 to 2008 by the Royal Society of Chemistry to a British chemist who was under 32 years of age for promising original investigations in chemistr ...

by the

Chemical Society The Chemical Society was a scientific society formed in 1841 (then named the Chemical Society of London) by 77 scientists as a result of increased interest in scientific matters. Chemist Robert Warington was the driving force behind its creation. ...

. In 1950 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1966In 1969 he was elected a member of the

American Society for Nutrition The American Society for Nutrition (ASN) is an American society for professional researchers and practitioners in the field of nutrition. ASN publishes four journals in the field of nutrition. It has been criticized for its financial ties to the ...

. In 1966 he was made an Honorary Member of the

Biochemical Society The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences. It was founded in 1911 and acquired the existing '' Biochemical Journal'' the following year. T ...

. In 1971 the University of Liverpool named a new student hostel Morton House after him. He was awarded honorary degrees by the

University of Wales The University of Wales () is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff – the university was the first universit ...

(1966),

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

(1967) and the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; , ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The university ...

(1964). In 1978 the Biochemical Society established the annual Morton Lecture in his memory for contribution to lipid biochemistry.

Personal life

In 1926 he and Myfanwy Heulwen Roberts were married. They had one child together. He attended the Welsh Presbyterian Chapel in Garston and was involved with the Welsh community in Liverpool throughout his life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Richard Alan 1899 births 1977 deaths British biochemists Spectroscopists Alumni of the University of Liverpool Academics of the University of Liverpool Welsh-speaking academics