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ALFRED NEWTON RICHARDS (1876-1966)* DETLEV W. BRONKî One hundred years ago there began the life of an American biologist who contributed greatly to the advance of science and scientific institutions . His wisdom, devotion to science, and warm friendships enriched the lives of countless others in many countries. Newton Richards once said of a friend, "Born to a family devoted to things of the mind and spirit, you were early nurtured in ideals of learning and service." He must have been thinking of himself too, for, like the friend, he lived his boyhood in a parson's home in which material possessions were meager, books and scholarly discourse abundant, self-discipline expected. From that Presbyterian parsonage in which he was born in 1876, Richards carried away lifelong love of good literature, a humble spirit that was tolerant of others but dissatified with his own achievements, an insatiable curiosity disciplined by a well-trained mind, and habits of precise thought and phrase. He often told me of being unhappy when at the age of 17 he left his austere parents in that humble home to enter Yale College. He was deeply conscious of the financial sacrifice his family was making in order that he could continue his education so much desired by his mother, who had been a teacher. He had neither the resources nor the social experience that would have qualified him for the joys of undergraduate days that were then so characteristic of college life outside the classroom and laboratory. The pleasures of intercollegiate athletics, fraternities, and senior honorary societies he did not have. Those of us who later knew his gay spirit and love ofjovial friendships can understand how much he missed during his college years because of his frugal, humble youth. In later years, however, Richards spoke with deep affection for his simple home and his parents who nurtured his love of learning. He was grateful for his unbroken years in rural Stamford, New York, in the foothills of the Catskills, where the roots of his character and intellectual *This article is based on material the author assembled for the 1971 Year Book of the American Philosophical Society. He was indebted to Mabel Bright and Helen Bronk for extending and confirming his recollections. tThe Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, New York 10021. Dr. Bronk died November 17, 1975. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine · Spring 1976 ] 413 ideals grew deep without the spreading distractions of an affluent boyhood . Among Richards's happiest recollections of undergraduate years at Yale was his friendship with Russell H. Chittenden, professor of physiological chemistry, who did much to inspire and initiate his scientific career. After graduation in 1897, he remained at Yale to study in the laboratory of Chittenden with whom he wrote his first scientific paper; it was published in the very first volume of theAmericanJournal of Physiology [I]. It was a fortunate year "that was the beginning of any independence of thought or action which I may have since developed." Fortunate, too, because, at the end of the year, Chittenden was asked by the president of Columbia University to reorganize the Department of Chemistry in the College of Physicians and Surgeons. As a visiting lecturer, Chittenden invited Richards to accompany him as one of two young assistants to do the work of the department and carry on his research; he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 1901. Thus began 10 years in New York that were profoundly significant in Richards's career and momentous in the development of medical science. During this year which is the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Rockefeller University, it is timely to recall that Richards was one of the first Rockefeller Institute Scholars appointed in 1901 under John D. Rockefeller's initial gift of $200,000 for scholarships and fellowships. This preceded by a year the appointment of Simon Flexner as first director of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research and the opening of the institute's first temporary laboratories in 1904. He was ever grateful for that scholarship which enabled him to survive the precarious beginning of his scientific career. Many years later, when he was a trustee of the Rockefeller...

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