Frederick Sanger (1918–2013)

need financial support because both his mother and father had died when he was an undergraduate leaving him financially independent. As a Quaker and conscientious objector he was exempted from military service and could begin research immediately, even though the country was at war. He studied the metabolism of lysine under the direction of Albert Neuberger. Fred had a very high regard for Neuberger, writing much later that he was the person who really taught him how to do research. After gaining his PhD in 1943, Fred was funded by a Beit Memorial Fellowship and offered space by Professor Chibnall, the new Head of Biochemistry on the retirement of F.G. Hopkins. Chibnall encouraged Fred to work on methods for determining the amino-terminal groups of insulin and gave him the freedom to do his own research. After trying out several reagents unsuccessfully, Fred used a new, coloured reagent, Frederick (Fred) Sanger, who died on 19 th November 2013, was one of the most influential scientists of the 20 th century. A committed molecular biologist, he spent all his academic life in Cambridge devising methods for sequencing proteins and nucleic acids. He twice won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry: once in 1958 for protein sequencing, and then again in 1980 for sequencing nucleic acids. The impact of his work was enormous. He opened up the field of protein chemistry in the 1950s, stimulating studies of the sequences, structures and functions of many proteins and enzymes. In 1977, he devised an ingenious DNA sequencing method that has revolutionized molecular biology and made it possible to completely sequence the 3 X 10 9 nucleotides of the human genome. Moreover, he confirmed the genetic code, showed that the code was not always the same, and discovered overlapping genes. Fred Sanger was a modest, reserved man, but to his colleagues and friends he always had vision. He was a pioneer and a leader. Fred Sanger was born in Gloucestershire in 1918, the second son of Frederick Sanger Snr MD, a family doctor, and Cicely, nee Crewdson. He was brought up a Quaker, educated at the Downs preparatory school, Malvern and then at Bryanston, a liberal public school that encouraged pupils to work independently. At Bryanston, Fred was taught biology, chemistry and physics by enthusiastic teachers. He enjoyed his school, did well academically and particularly liked practical work in chemistry. Following in his father's footsteps, he then …