Hans Krebs

German-British biochemist (1900-1981)

Sir Hans Adolf Krebs (German pronunciation: [ˈhans ˈaːdɔlf ˈkʁeːps] (audio speaker iconlisten), /krɛbz, krɛps/; 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981)[1][2][3][4] was a German Jewish scientist who became a naturalised British citizen. He was a physician and biochemist.[5]

Hans Krebs
Born(1900-08-25)25 August 1900
Died22 November 1981(1981-11-22) (aged 81)
NationalityGerman, British
Alma materUniversity of Göttingen
University of Freiburg
University of Berlin
University of Hamburg
Known forDiscovery of the urea cycle and the citric acid cycle
AwardsNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1953)
Scientific career
FieldsInternal medicine, biochemistry
InstitutionsKaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology
University of Hamburg
Cambridge University
University of Sheffield
University of Oxford

Krebs researched metabolism. He is famous because he discovered the urea cycle and the citric acid cycle (also called the Krebs Cycle). Krebs won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for this, in 1953.[6]

Early years

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Krebs was born in Hildesheim, Germany. His mother was Alma Davidson. His father was Georg Krebs. Georg Krebs was an ear, nose, and throat doctor.

Education

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Krebs studied medicine at the University of Göttingen and the University of Freiburg from 1918–1923. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Hamburg in 1925. Next, he studied chemistry in Berlin for one year. In Berlin, he helped Otto Warburg at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Biology until 1930.

Career

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Krebs worked as a doctor in the Altona hospital and at the University of Freiburg. At the University of Freiburg he researched the urea cycle.

Because he was Jewish, Krebs could not be a doctor in Germany. In 1933 he moved to England. He worked at Cambridge with Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins. In Cambridge he researched biochemistry. In 1945 he became a Professor (teacher) at the University of Sheffield.

In 1954 he became a professor in Oxford. After his retirement, Krebs continued work at the Radcliffe Infirmary until his death. He was a fellow of Trinity College in Oxford.

Honors

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In 1953 Krebs received the Nobel Prize in Physiology for his "discovery of the citric acid cycle".[7] He was knighted in 1958.

Krebs was elected Honorary Fellow of Girton College, Cambridge University in 1979.

Personal life

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In 1938, Krebs married Margaret Cicely Fieldhouse. They had three children: two boys and a girl: John, Paul and Helen. His son John Krebs was an ornithologist and member of the House of Lords.

Krebs died in Oxford, England in 1981.[8]

Timeline

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References

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  1. Kornberg, H.; Williamson, D. H. (1984). "Hans Adolf Krebs. 25 August 1900 – 22 November 1981". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 30: 350–385. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1984.0013. PMID 11616005.
  2. Weber, George (2001). "Sir Hans A. Krebs Centenary Lecture: cancer and clinical targeting". Advances in Enzyme Regulation. 41 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1016/S0065-2571(00)00026-1. PMID 11417529.
  3. Gibbons, Marion Stubbs, Geoff (2000). "Hans Adolf Krebs (1900–1981)...His Life and Times". IUBMB Life. 50 (3): 163–166. doi:10.1080/152165400300001462. PMID 11142342. S2CID 26393428.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Raju, Tonse NK (1999). "The Nobel Chronicles". The Lancet. 353 (9164): 1628. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)75758-5. PMID 10334294. S2CID 54354255.
  5. Stubbs M. & Gibbons G. 2000 (2000). "Hans Adolf Krebs (1900-1981)...his life and times". IUBMB Life. 50 (3): 163–6. doi:10.1080/152165400300001462. PMID 11142342. S2CID 26393428.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. Raju T.N. 1999 (May 1999). "The Nobel chronicles. 1953: Hans Adolf Krebs (1900-81) and Fritz Albert Lipmann (1899-1986)". The Lancet. 353 (9164): 1628. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(05)75758-5. PMID 10334294. S2CID 54354255.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. Biography - Hans Adolf Krebs Archived 2005-01-21 at the Wayback Machine Nobel Prize
  8. *Plaque to Krebs on his Iffley home Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine Oxfordshire Blue Plaques