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Ernest Baldwin, 1909–1969
Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 1970, Vol. 34, pp. 1 to 2. Pergamon Press. Printed in Great Britain
ERNEST BALDWIN, I909-I969 IT WAS with great regret that I learnt of Ernest Baldwin's death on 7 December 1969. This journal owes him a considerable debt since it was mainly with his help and encouragement that it started. In 1958 when it appeared possible that there could be a future for a journal based on Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology I approached various workers for support and while in general they were sympathetic, they were not prepared to do much about it. Ernest Baldwin, on the other hand, was both enthusiastic and helpful. He contributed towards starting the journal since he saw that the study of Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology would be greatly facilitated by having a journal specializing in the field. Even more important he realized that the future of the subject lay in the hands of the younger workers and that much would depend on providing a forum, and exciting their interest and enthusiasm for Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. I first became acquainted with Ernest Baldwin's book ComparativeBiochemistry (1937) whilst still at school and I was fascinated by the changes he described in the biochemistry of the various groups of animals as they made their way onto dry land and evolved through Prehistory. His book, which is now a classic, told the story in clear and vivid prose with a characteristic style of writing. Later when I went up to Cambridge, I heard him lecture and was even more impressed by the precision and correctness of his spoken English in contrast to many other lecturers whose style of lecturing could be summarized by the phrase, "To Err, Umm and Ahh is Human". The lectures to the Part I Biochemistry class at five o'clock in the evening were attended by science and medical students equipped with newspapers, tennis rackets and other paraphernalia of study. The students were noisy" and usually more keen to shout and stamp to show their approbation or odium than to listen. Ernest Baldwin controlled and calmed his audience by the simplicity, clarity and sincerity of his well-prepared and interesting lectures. He was an approachable person and in the practical class would take care and trouble over the dull as well as the intelligent student. He had a very kind manner and was always prepared to give time and assistance even when one knew there were other more pressing demands on his time. His textbook Dynamic Aspects of Biochemistry (1947) was a landmark in the teaching of Biochemistry. It provided a new and lucid interpretation of the metabolic interactions within the body and took Biochemistry out of the Age of Natural Products Chemistry into its new place in the twentieth century. The book was like a fresh breeze which removed half a century of organic smog and revealed the pathways working in sparkling symmetries. The preparation of this book and subsequent editions took up a great deal of his time and it is perhaps
2
OBITUARY
difficult for later generations brought up on Fruton & Simmons, White, Handler & Smith or Mahler & Cordes to realize the impact of Baldwin's book in 1947. Many of the ideas and methods of Dynamic Aspects have become incorporated into these later works thus indicating the value of the new approach. Ernest Baldwin's interest in Comparative Biochemistry was stimulated by the work of Gowland Hopkins on the pterines in the wings of Lepidoptera (Hopkins and Biochemistry, edited by J. Needham and E. Baldwin, 1944). He later developed his research into the phosphagens in both invertebrate and vertebrate tissues and this led to interesting conclusions concerning the evolutionary relationships between the Echinoderms and the Vertebrates. It also paved the way for the discovery of new groups of phosphagens. More recently his research interest on dehydration and its effects on the evolution and development of enzyme systems in urea and uric acid biosynthesis threw new light on the problems of evolution onto land and has stimulated research groups in other countries to follow up this problem of selection of enzymic pathways. In 1950 Ernest Baldwin was appointed Professor of Biochemistry at University College, London and developed the first undergraduate course in Biochemistry at University College. Today when students are demanding more skilled teachers, and when educationalists and politicians are coruscating on the more obscure and expensive methodologies of teaching, I realize that it was a privilege to have met and heard a teacher such as Ernest Baldwin. He knew that what was required was absolute devotion, and with his excellent knowledge of the subject and a willingness to give time to his students, he conveyed a personal interest, sympathy and encouragement as well as scientific information. To some extent our Scientific Society is biased away from the teacher. In other subjects credit is given to Rubinstein and Richter as well as Shostakovitch and Stravinsky; to Olivier as well as Beckett. The brilliant expositor and stimulator of interest in the subject is given similar credit to the originator. In Science, however, the brilliant teacher, nurturing the interest and enthusiasm of future scientists, is often treated as a second-class citizen. Our Scientific Community suffers from this attitude since many of the intellectually sharper young men take jobs in research institutes where there is time, money and facilities for research and they leave others to fulfil the routine of teaching. Even in universities this tendency to emphasize research has placed heavy demands on devoted academic staff and encouraged some to hide away in their laboratories, to escape the considerable demands and limited worldly rewards of teaching. Ernest Baldwin was not one to hide himself away, and by his personal contact and his writings was able to stimulate students both in his own department and throughout the world. His research work made him a founder of present day Comparative Biochemistry; his teaching and writing stimulated many students to become professional biochemists. These biochemists and this Journal are an indication of the impact that he made on the subject. G. A. KERKUT
FIG.
1. Ernest
Baldwin,
1950.
(Ramsey
& Muspratt,
Cambridge.)
-.
_-FIG.
2. Ernest
Baldwin,
1934.
i..
- -._-
ERNEST BALDWIN, I909-I969 IT WAS with great regret that I learnt of Ernest Baldwin's death on 7 December 1969. This journal owes him a considerable debt since it was mainly with his help and encouragement that it started. In 1958 when it appeared possible that there could be a future for a journal based on Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology I approached various workers for support and while in general they were sympathetic, they were not prepared to do much about it. Ernest Baldwin, on the other hand, was both enthusiastic and helpful. He contributed towards starting the journal since he saw that the study of Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology would be greatly facilitated by having a journal specializing in the field. Even more important he realized that the future of the subject lay in the hands of the younger workers and that much would depend on providing a forum, and exciting their interest and enthusiasm for Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. I first became acquainted with Ernest Baldwin's book ComparativeBiochemistry (1937) whilst still at school and I was fascinated by the changes he described in the biochemistry of the various groups of animals as they made their way onto dry land and evolved through Prehistory. His book, which is now a classic, told the story in clear and vivid prose with a characteristic style of writing. Later when I went up to Cambridge, I heard him lecture and was even more impressed by the precision and correctness of his spoken English in contrast to many other lecturers whose style of lecturing could be summarized by the phrase, "To Err, Umm and Ahh is Human". The lectures to the Part I Biochemistry class at five o'clock in the evening were attended by science and medical students equipped with newspapers, tennis rackets and other paraphernalia of study. The students were noisy" and usually more keen to shout and stamp to show their approbation or odium than to listen. Ernest Baldwin controlled and calmed his audience by the simplicity, clarity and sincerity of his well-prepared and interesting lectures. He was an approachable person and in the practical class would take care and trouble over the dull as well as the intelligent student. He had a very kind manner and was always prepared to give time and assistance even when one knew there were other more pressing demands on his time. His textbook Dynamic Aspects of Biochemistry (1947) was a landmark in the teaching of Biochemistry. It provided a new and lucid interpretation of the metabolic interactions within the body and took Biochemistry out of the Age of Natural Products Chemistry into its new place in the twentieth century. The book was like a fresh breeze which removed half a century of organic smog and revealed the pathways working in sparkling symmetries. The preparation of this book and subsequent editions took up a great deal of his time and it is perhaps
2
OBITUARY
difficult for later generations brought up on Fruton & Simmons, White, Handler & Smith or Mahler & Cordes to realize the impact of Baldwin's book in 1947. Many of the ideas and methods of Dynamic Aspects have become incorporated into these later works thus indicating the value of the new approach. Ernest Baldwin's interest in Comparative Biochemistry was stimulated by the work of Gowland Hopkins on the pterines in the wings of Lepidoptera (Hopkins and Biochemistry, edited by J. Needham and E. Baldwin, 1944). He later developed his research into the phosphagens in both invertebrate and vertebrate tissues and this led to interesting conclusions concerning the evolutionary relationships between the Echinoderms and the Vertebrates. It also paved the way for the discovery of new groups of phosphagens. More recently his research interest on dehydration and its effects on the evolution and development of enzyme systems in urea and uric acid biosynthesis threw new light on the problems of evolution onto land and has stimulated research groups in other countries to follow up this problem of selection of enzymic pathways. In 1950 Ernest Baldwin was appointed Professor of Biochemistry at University College, London and developed the first undergraduate course in Biochemistry at University College. Today when students are demanding more skilled teachers, and when educationalists and politicians are coruscating on the more obscure and expensive methodologies of teaching, I realize that it was a privilege to have met and heard a teacher such as Ernest Baldwin. He knew that what was required was absolute devotion, and with his excellent knowledge of the subject and a willingness to give time to his students, he conveyed a personal interest, sympathy and encouragement as well as scientific information. To some extent our Scientific Society is biased away from the teacher. In other subjects credit is given to Rubinstein and Richter as well as Shostakovitch and Stravinsky; to Olivier as well as Beckett. The brilliant expositor and stimulator of interest in the subject is given similar credit to the originator. In Science, however, the brilliant teacher, nurturing the interest and enthusiasm of future scientists, is often treated as a second-class citizen. Our Scientific Community suffers from this attitude since many of the intellectually sharper young men take jobs in research institutes where there is time, money and facilities for research and they leave others to fulfil the routine of teaching. Even in universities this tendency to emphasize research has placed heavy demands on devoted academic staff and encouraged some to hide away in their laboratories, to escape the considerable demands and limited worldly rewards of teaching. Ernest Baldwin was not one to hide himself away, and by his personal contact and his writings was able to stimulate students both in his own department and throughout the world. His research work made him a founder of present day Comparative Biochemistry; his teaching and writing stimulated many students to become professional biochemists. These biochemists and this Journal are an indication of the impact that he made on the subject. G. A. KERKUT
FIG.
1. Ernest
Baldwin,
1950.
(Ramsey
& Muspratt,
Cambridge.)
-.
_-FIG.
2. Ernest
Baldwin,
1934.
i..
- -._-