Herbert Wilson

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For other uses, see Herbert Wilson (disambiguation).

Herbert R. Wilson
University of St. Andrews, University of Stirling

Herbert Rees Wilson

FRSE (20 March 1929 – 22 May 2008) was a physicist, who was one of the team who worked on the structure of DNA at King's College London, under the direction of Sir John Randall
.

Biography

Early life

He was born the son of a sea captain at Nefyn on the Llŷn Peninsula and educated at Nefyn school and Pwllheli Grammar School. He entered Bangor University, where he gained a first class honours degree in physics in 1949 and a PhD in 1952 under the supervision of professor Edwin Owen.[2]

College education

Having received a

double helix model
, their studies showed that DNAs from different sources (including biologically active transforming principle) had essentially the same structure, and confirmed that the phosphate groups were on the outside of the molecule.

Scientific discoveries and achievements

Three papers were published in Nature, April 1953, to announce a structure for DNA. Maurice Wilkins,

James Watson
. The 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was subsequently jointly awarded to Francis Crick, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins.

In his autobiography The Third Man of The Double Helix, Maurice Wilkins does not specifically credit Stokes, Wilson and several other co-authors of his papers in Nature.[3][4] Whether this was deliberate on his part or just rather poor sub-editing by OUP is debatable. It is most likely to have been a matter of expedience, as there were more than five co-authors on several of his later papers on the subject published in Nature or, later, in the Journal of Molecular Biology.[5][6][7][8] Nevertheless, both he and Alex Stokes are now recognized at King's College as two of the eight key researchers that contributed to the discovery of the structure of the A-DNA crystalline structure.

Following the publication of the double helical structure in 1953, Wilson participated in the refinement of the DNA structure in Wilkins' group. In 1957 Professor Wilson was appointed Lecturer in Physics at Queen's College, Dundee, then at

Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
.

As a Welshman Herbert was honoured in 2003 at the

Gorsedd of Bards
.

After suffering from terminal cancer, Wilson died on 22 May 2008. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, and two grandchildren; his son Neil predeceased him in 1996.

Books and articles by Herbert R. Wilson, FRS

Books

  • Herbert R. Wilson. 1966. Diffraction of X-rays by Proteins, Nucleic Acids and Viruses.,[9][10] London: Arnold publs.

Original articles

  • Wilkins, M.H.F., Stokes, A.R. and H.R. Wilson.(1953). Nature, 171, 737.
  • Wilkins, M.H.F., Seeds, W.E., Stokes, A.R. and H.R. Wilson.(1953). Nature, 171, 759.
  • Wilkins, M.H.F., Zubay, G. and H.R. Wilson. (1959). J. Mol. Biol., 1, 179.
  • H.R. Wilson. (with Feughelman, M., & Langridge, R. et al.).(1955). Nature, 175, 834.
  • H.R. Wilson. (with Langridge, R. et al.). (1960). J. Mol. Biol., 2, 19.
  • H.R. Wilson. (with Langridge, R, et al.). (1960). J. Mol. Biol., 2, 38.
  • H.R. Wilson. (with Fuller, W. et al.). (1965). J. Mol. Biol., 12, 60.

Books featuring Herbert R. Wilson

  • Chomet, S. (Ed.), D.N.A. Genesis of a Discovery, 1994, Newman- Hemisphere Press, London; NB a few copies are available from Newman-Hemisphere at 101 Swan Court, London SW3 5RY.
  • Wilkins, Maurice, The Third Man of the Double Helix: The Autobiography of Maurice Wilkins
    ISBN 0-19-860665-6
    .
  • Ridley, Matt; "Francis Crick: Discoverer of the Genetic Code (Eminent Lives)" was first published in June 2006 in the US and then in the UK September 2006, by HarperCollins Publishers; 192 pp,
    ISBN 0-06-082333-X
    . [This short book is in the publisher's "Eminent Lives" series.]
  • Contributed book: Mathematical and Experimental Biophysicists: Biographies and Related Fields, (Bci2, ed.), pp. 382, 31 January 2010, v.7. in Wikipedia
  • Tait, Sylvia & James "A Quartet of Unlikely Discoveries" (Athena Press 2004)
    ISBN 1-84401-343-X

Notes

  1. ^ England and Wales Register of Births, Q1, 1929 (subscription required)
  2. ^ "WILSON, HERBERT REES (1929–2008), scientist". Dictionary of Welsh Biography. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  3. ^ Wilkins M.H.F., Stokes, A.R. and H.R. Wilson. 1953. Nature, 171, 737
  4. ^ Wilkins M.H.F., Seeds W.E., Stokes A.R. and H.R. Wilson. 1953. Nature, 171, 759
  5. ^ H.R. Wilson. (with Feughelman M., & Langridge R. et al). 1955. Nature, 175, 834
  6. ^ H.R. Wilson. (with Langridge R. et al). 1960. J. Mol. Biol., 2, 19
  7. ^ H.R. Wilson. (with Langridge R. et al). 1960. J. Mol. Biol., 2, 38
  8. ^ H.R. Wilson. (with Fuller W. et al). 1965. J. Mol. Biol., 12, 60
  9. ^ Cited in Physical Chemistry of Food Processes, Vol.1, p.204 (1992), New York, N.Y.: Van Nostrand-Reinhold
  10. ^ Cited in a recently contributed book: Mathematical and Experimental Biophysicists: Biographies and Related Fields, (Bci2, ed.), pp.382, 31 January 2010, v.7. in Wikipedia

External links

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