Archibald Vivian Hill: Pioneer of Muscle Physiology and Advocate for Human Rights

Archibald Vivian Hill (1886–1977), born in Bristol, England, was a trailblazer in muscle physiology and biophysics. His groundbreaking research into the mechanisms of muscle contraction and energy metabolism garnered him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1922, an honor he shared with Otto Meyerhof. Hill's concept of "oxygen debt" remains foundational in understanding the physiological processes underlying physical activity.

Hill's academic foundation was laid at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he initially studied mathematics before gravitating toward physiology. His mathematical background allowed him to apply quantitative methods to physiological problems, a novel approach at the time. During World War I, he contributed significantly to the war effort by enhancing anti-aircraft targeting systems and studying the effects of physical exertion on soldiers, paving the way for modern exercise physiology.

After the war, Hill's work at University College London further advanced the understanding of muscle function. His experiments elucidated how heat production in muscles corresponds to energy release during contraction, and he clarified the role of lactic acid in muscle fatigue. These discoveries bridged the gap between biophysics and biochemistry, influencing both scientific research and practical applications in sports medicine.

Hill's influence extended beyond the laboratory. A staunch humanitarian, he opposed the Nazi regime, using his position to aid persecuted scientists, including physicist Max Born. Hill played a key role in the Academic Assistance Council (now the Council for At-Risk Academics), helping refugee scholars find safety and academic positions abroad.

As a teacher, Hill inspired countless students, emphasizing critical thinking and scientific rigor. His interdisciplinary approach continues to shape modern physiology, with the fields of biophysics and sports science building on his foundational work.

Hill's legacy endures as a testament to the power of science not only to advance knowledge but also to champion human rights and social justice. His contributions to physiology and his unwavering commitment to aiding others ensure his place as a pivotal figure in both science and society.
Archibald Vivian Hill: Pioneer of Muscle Physiology and Advocate for Human Rights

Sir Henry Hallet Dale: English pharmacologist and physiologist

Henry Hallet Dale (9 June 1875 – 23 July 1968) received the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine in 1936 with Otto Loewi for their research which proved chemical synaptic transmission in the peripheral nervous system. Sir Henry Hallet Dale can undisputedly be accoladed as one of the greatest British pharmacologists of the twentieth century. His work was pivotal in laying down the principles of chemical neurotransmission.

Henry Dale was born in 1875, and he died in 1968. His career in physiology thus spanned more than seven decades and epitomises many of the transitions that the subject went through, between the end of the nineteenth and the middle of the twentieth century.

Henry Dale was born in London and attended the Leys School in Cambridge before completing his undergraduate course in natural sciences at Trinity College. He worked under John Langley as a Coutts-Trotter student from 1889 to 1900 before completing his medical degree at Saint Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1903.

After Cambridge and medical qualification at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London, Dale was fortunate to be awarded a very rare postgraduate scholarship, the George Henry Lewes Studentship in Physiology. After consultation with Michael Foster, Dale elected to hold the George Henry Lewes Studentship in the Physiology Department of University College London.

On University College London Ernest H. Starling’s recommendation, Dale was offered a position as a pharmacologist on the staff of Wellcome Physiological Research Laboratories.

At the suggestion of Henry Wellcome, Dale’s initial research was on the physiological effects of the fungus ergot, in which he discovered that extracts reversed the effect of adrenaline and the action of sympathetic nerves. By 1910 his work on noradrenaline established that it had a stronger stimulating and weaker inhibitory activity than adrenaline.

By 1936 Dale and co-workers had confirmed that neurotransmitters were secreted at all peripheral synapses.

In 1914, Dale became a member of the scientific staff of the Medical Research Committee, which 6 years later became the Medical Research Council. He was appointed director of the Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology of the National Institute for Medical Research in 1928 and retired in 1942.
Sir Henry Hallet Dale: English pharmacologist and physiologist

Erlanger, Joseph (1874-1965)

Erlanger is a US physiologist who, in collaboration with Herbert Gasser, developed techniques for recording nerve impulses using a cathode ray oscilloscope.

In 1944 they shared the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for demonstrating that different fibers in the same nerve cord can have different functions.

Erlanger qualified at the University of California and the John Hopkins Medical School (1899), where he worked for a seven years. He was appointed professor of physiology at the University of Wisconsin (1906-1910) and there began a successful collaboration with his student Gasser. Erlanger moved to the Washington University, St. Louis (1910-46), and Gasser joined him soon after.

There they studied various means of applying electronics to physiological research. They devised a method of applying electric responses occurring in an individual nerve fiber and were able to record them using the oscilloscope.

An amplified impulse produced a characteristics wave form on the screen, which could then be studied. In 1932 Erlanger and Gasser found that the fibers within a nerve conduct impulses at different rate, depending on fibers thickness, and that each fiber has a different threshold of excitability. Different fibers produced different wave forms on the screen, indicating that different types of impulses were being passed.

Russell Henry Chittenden (1856-1943)

He is American physiologist who discovered the glucose polymer glycogen in muscle and who determined the daily protein requirements of a human being.

His family was not well off, but he managed to study at Yale University which was near his home, by working as a technician in the chemistry laboratory and assisting with lecture demonstration.

For his bachelor’s degree he was asked to investigate why scallops taste sweeter when reheated from a previous meal than when freshly cooked. This project led to discovery of glycogen and glycine in the muscle tissue.

In 1880, Chittenden received his PhD and in 1882 he started his career as the Professor of Physiological Chemistry in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University.

In collaboration with the German physiologist Wilhelm Freidrich Kuhne (1837-1900), the two studied the enzymatic splitting of proteins, which has contributed to the understanding of the complexity of protein molecules.

Chittenden helped to establish biochemistry as a discipline in its own right.
Russell Henry Chittenden (1856-1943)