Todd, Alexander (1907-1997), also known as Lord Todd, was a British biochemist, who contributed to the understanding of the protein composition of cells. For this work, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1957.
Todd’s two doctoral theses focused on the chemistry of bile acids and the chemistry of natural pigments. From the late 1930’s until the mid-1940’s, Todd investigated nucleotides and nucleosides, compounds out of which the nucleic acids deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) are built (see Cell ). He discovered that nucleotides were formed by sugar molecules and phosphate groups that attached themselves to four known chemical bases of DNA. He synthesized three important compounds, adenosine triphosphate, flavin adenine dinucleotide and uridine triphosphate, between 1949 and 1954. Todd’s work in this field prepared the way for the model of DNA devised by British biologist Francis Crick and American biologist James D. Watson. See Crick, Francis H. C. ; Heredity (The chemistry of genes) ; Watson, James Dewey .
Todd’s other work includes exploring the structure of such substances as vitamins B12 and B1 and E; alkaloids (alkaline substances containing nitrogen) including those derived from marijuana; various mold products; and plant and insect pigments.
Alexander Robertus Todd was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 2, 1907, and studied at Glasgow University. He also studied at the universities of Frankfurt-am-Main in Germany and Oxford in England. He held posts at Edinburgh University and the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, and in 1937 became reader in biochemistry at the University of London. He became professor at the University of Manchester in 1938, and at Cambridge University in 1944, where he later became master of Christ’s College. Todd was knighted in 1954. He was created Baron Todd of Trumpington in 1962. In 1983, he wrote an autobiography, A Time to Remember: The Autobiography of a Chemist. Lord Todd died on Jan. 10, 1997.
