Alec Stokes
Encyclopedia
Alexander Rawson Stokes, (27 June 1919 Macclesfield
- 5 February 2003) was a co-author of one of the three papers
published sequentially in Nature in March 1953 announcing the presumed
molecular structure of DNA. The first was authored by Francis Crick
and James Watson
, and the third by
Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling . The Nobel
Prize in Medicine was awarded in 1962 to Crick, Watson and Wilkins for this
work. In 1993, on the 40th anniversary of the publication of the molecular
structure of DNA, a plaque was erected in the Quad (courtyard) of the Strand
campus of King's College London
commemorating the contributions of
Franklin, Gosling, Stokes, Wilson and Wilkins to
DNA X-ray diffraction studies.
. He lectured in physics at
Royal Holloway College, London before joining John Randall
's Biophysics Research Unit at King's College London
in 1947. He has been credited as being the first person to demonstrate that the DNA molecule was
probably helical in shape. Maurice Wilkins wrote in his autobiography (page
160) that he asked Stokes to predict what a helical structure
would look like as an x-ray diffraction photograph, and that he was able to
determine this by the next day through mathematical calculations made during a
short train journey. Stokes continued to work on optical diffraction in large
biological molecules. His publications include the books
The Theory of the Optical Properties of Inhomogeneous Materials.
London: E. and F.N. Spon Ltd, (1963) and
The Principles of Atomic and Nuclear Physics C.J. Smith
and A.R. Stokes, London, Edward Arnold, (1972) ISBN 0-7131-2313-3.
Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
- 5 February 2003) was a co-author of one of the three papers
published sequentially in Nature in March 1953 announcing the presumed
molecular structure of DNA. The first was authored by Francis Crick
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
and James Watson
James Watson
James Watson is the name of:*James Watson , British film and television actor*James Watson , United States Senator from New York...
, and the third by
Rosalind Franklin and Raymond Gosling . The Nobel
Prize in Medicine was awarded in 1962 to Crick, Watson and Wilkins for this
work. In 1993, on the 40th anniversary of the publication of the molecular
structure of DNA, a plaque was erected in the Quad (courtyard) of the Strand
campus of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
commemorating the contributions of
Franklin, Gosling, Stokes, Wilson and Wilkins to
DNA X-ray diffraction studies.
Education
He received a first-class degree in the natural science tripos in 1940 at Trinity College Cambridge and then researched X-ray crystallography of Imperfect Crystals for his PhD in 1943 at the Cavendish LaboratoryCavendish Laboratory
The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the university's School of Physical Sciences. It was opened in 1874 as a teaching laboratory....
. He lectured in physics at
Royal Holloway College, London before joining John Randall
John Randall (physicist)
Sir John Turton Randall, FRS, FRSE, was a British physicist and biophysicist, credited with radical improvement of the cavity magnetron, an essential component of centimetric wavelength radar, which was one of the keys to the Allied victory in the Second World War. It is also the key component of...
's Biophysics Research Unit at King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
in 1947. He has been credited as being the first person to demonstrate that the DNA molecule was
probably helical in shape. Maurice Wilkins wrote in his autobiography (page
160) that he asked Stokes to predict what a helical structure
would look like as an x-ray diffraction photograph, and that he was able to
determine this by the next day through mathematical calculations made during a
short train journey. Stokes continued to work on optical diffraction in large
biological molecules. His publications include the books
The Theory of the Optical Properties of Inhomogeneous Materials.
London: E. and F.N. Spon Ltd, (1963) and
The Principles of Atomic and Nuclear Physics C.J. Smith
and A.R. Stokes, London, Edward Arnold, (1972) ISBN 0-7131-2313-3.
Further reading
- 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 (phone: 07092 060530).
- 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 USA and will be 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.
- Tait, Sylvia & James "A Quartet of Unlikely Discoveries" (Athena Press 2004) ISBN 1-84401-343-X.