Walter Haworth
Encyclopedia
Sir Norman Haworth (19 March 1883, White Coppice
, Chorley
, Lancashire
– 19 March 1950, Barnt Green
, Worcestershire
) was a British
chemist
best known for his groundbreaking work on ascorbic acid
(vitamin C
) while working at the University of Birmingham
. He received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
"for his investigations on carbohydrate
s and vitamin C". The prize was shared with Swiss
chemist Paul Karrer
for his work on other vitamin
s.
Haworth worked out the correct structure of a number of sugars, and is known among organic chemists for his development of the Haworth projection
that translates three-dimensional sugar structures into convenient two-dimensional graphical form.
factory managed by his father, he studied for and successfully passed the entrance examination to Manchester University in 1903 to study chemistry. He made this pursuit in spite of active discouragement by his parents. He gained his first-class honors degree in 1906. After gaining his master's degree
under William Henry Perkin, Jr.
, he subsequently studied at the University of Göttingen earning his PhD
degree in Otto Wallach
's laboratory after only one year of study. A D.Sc. degree from the University of Manchester followed in 1911, after which he served a short time at the Imperial College of Science and Technology as Senior Demonstrator in Chemistry.
In 1912 Haworth became a lecturer at United College of University of St Andrews
in Scotland
and became interested in carbohydrate chemistry
, which was being investigated at St Andrews by Thomas Purdie (1843–1916) and James Irvine (1877–1952). Haworth began his work on simple sugars in 1915 and developed a new method for the preparation of the methyl ether
s of sugars using methyl sulfate and alkali (now called Haworth methylation). He then began studies on the structural features of the disaccharide
s. Haworth organized the laboratories at St Andrews University for the production of chemicals and drugs for the British government during World War I
(1914–1918).
He was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Armstrong College (Newcastle upon Tyne
) of Durham University
in 1920. The next year Haworth was appointed Head of the Chemistry Department at the college. It was during his time in the North East of England that he married Violet Chilton Dobbie.
In 1925 he was appointed Mason Professor of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham
(a position he held until 1948). Among his lasting contributions to science was the confirmation of a number of structures of optically active sugars: by 1928, he had deduced and confirmed, among others, the structures of maltose
, cellobiose
, lactose
, gentiobiose
, melibiose
, gentianose, raffinose
, as well as the glucoside
ring tautomeric structure of aldose sugars.
In 1933, working with the then Assistant Director of Research (later Sir) Edmund Hirst
and a team led by post-doctoral student Maurice Stacey (who in 1956 rose to the same Mason Chair), having properly deduced the correct structure and optical-isomeric nature of vitamin C, Haworth reported the synthesisis of the vitamin. Haworth had been given his initial reference sample of "water-soluble vitamin C" or "hexuronic acid" (the previous name for the compound as extracted from natural products) by Hungarian physiologist Albert Szent-György, who had codiscovered its vitamin properties along with Charles Glen King
, and had more recently discovered that it could be extracted in bulk from Hungarian paprika
. In honor of the compound's antiscorbutic properties, Haworth and Szent-Györgyi now proposed the new name of "a-scorbic acid" for the molecule, with L-ascorbic acid as its formal chemical name.
In 1977 the Royal Mail
issued a postage stamp (one of a series of four) featuring Haworth's achievement in synthesizing vitamin C and his Nobel prize.
He also developed a simple method of representing on paper the three-dimensional structure of sugars. The representation, using perspective, now known as a Haworth projection
, is still widely used in biochemistry.
He was knighted in 1947. He died suddenly on 19 March 1950, his 67th birthday.
White Coppice
White Coppice is a hamlet near Chorley, Lancashire, England. It was the most populated part of the township of Anglezarke in the 19th century. Close to the settlement in the early 19th century were quarries and small coal mines. The hamlet lies to the north of Anglezarke Reservoir in the Rivington...
, Chorley
Chorley
Chorley is a market town in Lancashire, in North West England. It is the largest settlement in the Borough of Chorley. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
– 19 March 1950, Barnt Green
Barnt Green
Barnt Green is a village and civil parish in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire, England, located immediately south of Birmingham, with a population at the 2001 census of 1,733.-Origins:...
, Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
best known for his groundbreaking work on ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid
Ascorbic acid is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. Ascorbic acid is one form of vitamin C. The name is derived from a- and scorbutus , the...
(vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
) while working at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. He received the 1937 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
"for his investigations on carbohydrate
Carbohydrate
A carbohydrate is an organic compound with the empirical formula ; that is, consists only of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, with a hydrogen:oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 . However, there are exceptions to this. One common example would be deoxyribose, a component of DNA, which has the empirical...
s and vitamin C". The prize was shared with Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
chemist Paul Karrer
Paul Karrer
Paul Karrer was a Swiss organic chemist best known for his research on vitamins. He and Walter Haworth won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1937.-Early years:...
for his work on other vitamin
Vitamin
A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. In other words, an organic chemical compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be synthesized in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet. Thus, the term is conditional both on...
s.
Haworth worked out the correct structure of a number of sugars, and is known among organic chemists for his development of the Haworth projection
Haworth projection
A Haworth projection is a common way of representing the cyclic structure of monosaccharides with a simple three-dimensional perspective.The Haworth projection was named after the English chemist Sir Norman Haworth....
that translates three-dimensional sugar structures into convenient two-dimensional graphical form.
Academic career
Having worked for some time from the age of fourteen in the local Ryland's linoleumLinoleum
Linoleum is a floor covering made from renewable materials such as solidified linseed oil , pine rosin, ground cork dust, wood flour, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a burlap or canvas backing; pigments are often added to the materials.The finest linoleum floors,...
factory managed by his father, he studied for and successfully passed the entrance examination to Manchester University in 1903 to study chemistry. He made this pursuit in spite of active discouragement by his parents. He gained his first-class honors degree in 1906. After gaining his master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
under William Henry Perkin, Jr.
William Henry Perkin, Jr.
William Henry Perkin, Jr. was an English organic chemist who was primarily known for his groundbreaking research work on the degradation of naturally occurring organic compounds.-Early life:...
, he subsequently studied at the University of Göttingen earning his PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
degree in Otto Wallach
Otto Wallach
Otto Wallach was a German chemist and recipient of the 1910 Nobel prize in Chemistry for his work on alicyclic compounds.-Biography:...
's laboratory after only one year of study. A D.Sc. degree from the University of Manchester followed in 1911, after which he served a short time at the Imperial College of Science and Technology as Senior Demonstrator in Chemistry.
In 1912 Haworth became a lecturer at United College of University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and became interested in carbohydrate chemistry
Carbohydrate chemistry
Carbohydrate chemistry is a subdiscipline of chemistry primarily concerned with the synthesis, structure, and function of carbohydrate structures. Due to the general structure of carbohydrates, their synthesis is often preoccupied with the selective formation of glycosidic linkages and the...
, which was being investigated at St Andrews by Thomas Purdie (1843–1916) and James Irvine (1877–1952). Haworth began his work on simple sugars in 1915 and developed a new method for the preparation of the methyl ether
Ether
Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...
s of sugars using methyl sulfate and alkali (now called Haworth methylation). He then began studies on the structural features of the disaccharide
Disaccharide
A disaccharide or biose is the carbohydrate formed when two monosaccharides undergo a condensation reaction which involves the elimination of a small molecule, such as water, from the functional groups only. Like monosaccharides, disaccharides form an aqueous solution when dissolved in water...
s. Haworth organized the laboratories at St Andrews University for the production of chemicals and drugs for the British government during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
(1914–1918).
He was appointed Professor of Organic Chemistry at the Armstrong College (Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
) of Durham University
Durham University
The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
in 1920. The next year Haworth was appointed Head of the Chemistry Department at the college. It was during his time in the North East of England that he married Violet Chilton Dobbie.
In 1925 he was appointed Mason Professor of Chemistry at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
(a position he held until 1948). Among his lasting contributions to science was the confirmation of a number of structures of optically active sugars: by 1928, he had deduced and confirmed, among others, the structures of maltose
Maltose
Maltose , or malt sugar, is a disaccharide formed from two units of glucose joined with an αbond, formed from a condensation reaction. The isomer "isomaltose" has two glucose molecules linked through an α bond. Maltose is the second member of an important biochemical series of glucose chains....
, cellobiose
Cellobiose
Cellobiose is a disaccharide with the formula [HOCH2CHO3]2O. Cellobiose consists of two glucose molecules linked by a β bond. It can be hydrolyzed to glucose enzymatically or with acid. Cellobiose has eight free alcohol groups, one acetal linkage and one hemiacetal linkages, which give rise to...
, lactose
Lactose
Lactose is a disaccharide sugar that is found most notably in milk and is formed from galactose and glucose. Lactose makes up around 2~8% of milk , although the amount varies among species and individuals. It is extracted from sweet or sour whey. The name comes from or , the Latin word for milk,...
, gentiobiose
Gentiobiose
Gentiobiose is a disaccharide composed of two units of D-glucose joined with a β linkage. It is a white crystalline solid that is soluble in water or hot methanol. Gentiobiose is incorporated into the chemical structure of crocin, the chemical compound that gives saffron its color. It is a...
, melibiose
Melibiose
Melibiose is a reducing disaccharide formed by an alpha-1,6 linkage between galactose and glucose . It can be formed by invertase mediated hydrolysis of raffinose, which produces melibiose and fructose. Melibiose can be broken down into its component saccharides, glucose and galactose, by the...
, gentianose, raffinose
Raffinose
Raffinose is a trisaccharide composed of galactose, fructose, and glucose. It can be found in beans, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, asparagus, other vegetables, and whole grains. Raffinose can be hydrolyzed to D-galactose and sucrose by the enzyme α-galactosidase , an enzyme not found in the...
, as well as the glucoside
Glucoside
A glucoside is a glycoside that is derived from glucose. Glucosides are common in plants, but rare in animals. Glucose is produced when a glucoside is hydrolysed by purely chemical means, or decomposed by fermentation or enzymes....
ring tautomeric structure of aldose sugars.
In 1933, working with the then Assistant Director of Research (later Sir) Edmund Hirst
Edmund Hirst
Sir Edmund Langley Hirst CBE FRS FRSE , was a British chemist.He held the Forbes Chair of Organic Chemistry at Edinburgh University and was head of department there from 1959 to 1964....
and a team led by post-doctoral student Maurice Stacey (who in 1956 rose to the same Mason Chair), having properly deduced the correct structure and optical-isomeric nature of vitamin C, Haworth reported the synthesisis of the vitamin. Haworth had been given his initial reference sample of "water-soluble vitamin C" or "hexuronic acid" (the previous name for the compound as extracted from natural products) by Hungarian physiologist Albert Szent-György, who had codiscovered its vitamin properties along with Charles Glen King
Charles Glen King
Charles Glen King was an American biochemist who was a pioneer in the field of nutrition research and who isolated vitamin C at the same time as Albert Szent-Györgyi...
, and had more recently discovered that it could be extracted in bulk from Hungarian paprika
Paprika
Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum . In many European languages, the word paprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot...
. In honor of the compound's antiscorbutic properties, Haworth and Szent-Györgyi now proposed the new name of "a-scorbic acid" for the molecule, with L-ascorbic acid as its formal chemical name.
Recognition
Haworth is commemorated at Birmingham University in the Haworth Building, which houses most of the Birmingham University School of Chemistry. The School has a Haworth Chair of Chemistry, from 2007 held by Professor Nigel Simpkins.In 1977 the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
issued a postage stamp (one of a series of four) featuring Haworth's achievement in synthesizing vitamin C and his Nobel prize.
He also developed a simple method of representing on paper the three-dimensional structure of sugars. The representation, using perspective, now known as a Haworth projection
Haworth projection
A Haworth projection is a common way of representing the cyclic structure of monosaccharides with a simple three-dimensional perspective.The Haworth projection was named after the English chemist Sir Norman Haworth....
, is still widely used in biochemistry.
He was knighted in 1947. He died suddenly on 19 March 1950, his 67th birthday.