Ernest Earl Lockhart
Encyclopedia
Early life and education
Ernest Earl Lockhart was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
(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
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. E.E. Lockhart was educated in the Boston public schools, at the Chauncey Hall School, and then at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, where he earned three degrees, culminating with a 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...
in biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
in 1938.
Career and achievements
Following a year of study on fellowship at the Biochemical Institute in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, E.E. Lockhart served as the physiologist on Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "flag officers" or "flag ranks"...
Richard Evelyn Byrd
Richard Evelyn Byrd
Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., USN was a naval officer who specialized in feats of exploration. He was a pioneering American aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics...
’s United States Antarctic Service Expedition
United States Antarctic Service Expedition
The United States Antarctic Service Expedition , often referred to as Byrd’s third Antarctic Expedition, was an expedition jointly sponsored by the United States Navy, State Department, Department of the Interior and The Treasury...
of 1939-1941 to the South Pole
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
. For this service he received a special medal authorized by the Congress of the United States. A memorable experience on the expedition was a four-month, 400-mile field trip by dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
team. He was the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
operator for his four-man party. Mount Lockhart
Mount Lockhart
Mount Lockhart is a prominent northerly projection from the main massif of the Fosdick Mountains 4 miles northeast of Mount Avers, in the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. Discovered by the Byrd Antarctic Expedition on a flight on December 5, 1929...
, a mountain in the Fosdick
Fosdick Mountains
The Fosdick Mountains is an East-West trending mountain range with marked serrate outlines, standing along the south side of Balchen Glacier at the head of Block Bay, in the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land....
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
Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
technology and nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
. 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 City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1965, he became assistant research director of the Coca Cola Company in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, where he lived until his retirement in 1978. Earl was a co-founder of the International Life Sciences Institute
International Life Sciences Institute
The International Life Sciences Institute is a nonprofit [501c3] science organization founded in 1978 and headquartered in Washington, DC. It is a member organization whose members are primarily food and beverage, agricultural, chemical, and pharmaceutical companies...
, 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 Cape CodCape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
home in West Dennis, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, 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
Bass River (Massachusetts)
Bass River is an estuary and village in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, United States. The estuary separates the towns of Yarmouth and Dennis at the central, southern sections of the towns. At its widest and most southerly point, it opens to and meets Nantucket Sound...
river, on September 10, 2006, the ninety-fourth anniversary of his birth. Condolences may be sent to PO Box 720, Summerfield, NC 27358.