Frederick Hopkins

Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861 - 1947) was an English biochemist, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1929 with Christiaan Eijkman for the discovery of vitamins.

Hopkins was born in Eastbourne in Sussex on June 30 1861, and studied at the University of London and the medical school at Guy's Hospital (King's College London). He became biochemistry professor at Cambridge University in 1914, where his students included neurochemistry pioneer Judah Hirsch Quastel.

He was awarded the 1929 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (together with Christiaan Eijkman) for his discovery that certain trace substances -- now known as vitamins -- are essential for the maintenance of good health. He also discovered that muscle contraction can lead to the accumulation of lactic acid.

Hopkins was knighted in 1925.

Reference

• Thomas, N.J.T. 1998. The Life and Scientific Work of Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins