Oswald T. Avery and the Copley Medal of the Royal Society
1996; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 39; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/pbm.1996.0044
ISSN1529-8795
Autores Tópico(s)History and advancements in chemistry
ResumoOSWALD T. AVERY AND THE COPLEY MEDAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY ALEXANDER G. BEARN* In all celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of the famous 1944 paper ofAvery, MacLeod, and McCarty on the chemical nature of the transforming substance [1], reference is frequently made to the Copley Medal of the Royal Society, awarded to Avery in 1945. It may be of some historic interest, therefore, to enquire into die nature of the Copley Medal and the reasons given by the Society in awarding it to Avery, since the Society is sometimes credited for having rapidly recognized the signal importance of Avery's work. The Copley Medal has long been regarded as "the highest scientific distinction that the Royal Society has to bestow" [2] . It was made possible by the legacy of 100 pounds from Sir Godfrey Copley, Bart, F.R.S., in 1709. The prize was originally intended to be laid out in experiments for the benefit of the Society. In 1736, Martin Folkes, subsequently President of the Society, suggested that "a medal or other honorary prize should be bestowed on the person whose experiment should be best approved, by which means he apprehended a laudable emulation might be excited among men of genius to try their invention, whom, in all probability, may never be moved for the sake of lucre" [2]. The terms of the prize were modified in 1831, when it was resolved that a medal be awarded "to the living author of such philosophical research, either published or communicated to the Society as may appear to the Council to be deserving of that honour." The weight of the medal was fixed at "1 oz, 2 dwts of fine gold." The awardees have included Benjamin Franklin in 1753, Joseph Priestly in 1772, Sir Humphry Davy in 1805, The author acknowledges the assistance of Mary Sampson Archivist/The Royal Society and the advice and encouragement of Maclyn McCarty. *The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021. Note: The correspondence regarding Avery and the Royal Society are to be found in the Dale Papers [93HD.6.12-24]© 1996 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. 0031-5982/96/3901-0945 $01.00 550 Alexander G. Beam ¦ Oswald T. Avery Charles Darwin in 1864, Ivan Petrovich Pavlov in 1915, Albert Einstein in 1925, and Niels Bohr in 1938. More recently, the prize was awarded to Peter Medawar in 1969, Frederick Sanger in 1977, Cesar Milstein in 1989, and James D. Watson in 1993. Indeed, luminaries from all branches of science and from many countries have been accorded this honor [3, 4]. At a meeting ofthe Council of the Society on 17June 1943, preliminary consideration was given to the award of the Copley Medal for 1943. Avery was among five of the names suggested for the receipt of the Medal. Other suggestions included the well-known physiologist Sir Joseph Barcroft and the American physicist, later Nobel Prize Winner, Percy W. Bridgman [5] . In the event, Avery was not recommended for the Copley Medal. On 15 June 1944, however, four months after the publication of Avery's epochmaking paper (co-authored by MacLeod and McCarty) entitled "Studies on the Chemical Nature of the Substance Inducing Transformation of Pneumococcal Types" in the Journal ofExperimental Medicine [1], Avery was among the five scientists proposed by Sir Henry Dale and seconded by Sir Thomas Lewis for the Copley Medal. The citation was brief and followed closely the write-up ofPaul G. Fildes: "His pioneer work on immunity, with special reference to the relationship ofchemical composition and structure on the immunological specificity of naturally-occurring antigens of bacterial origin" [6]. But again, Avery failed to be awarded the Medal. Just two months earlier, on 20 April, Avery was "recommended as a proper person to be placed on the list of Foreign Members of the Royal Society." His 21 backers included Henry Dale, A. V. Hill, and Thomas Lewis, as well as the microbiologists Percival Hartley and Paul Fildes. Interestingly , Avery's nomination contained no mention of the transformation paper. The official citation for his election, almost certainly prepared by Fildes, was quite general and was for "his pioneer work on the bacteriology and on...
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