Lawrence J. Henderson

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Lawrence Joseph Henderson (born June 3, 1878 in Lynn , Massachusetts , USA , † February 10, 1942 in Cambridge ) was an American chemist and biologist .

Life

Lawrence J. Henderson graduated from Harvard College in 1898. After completing his medical studies in 1902, he went to the University of Strasbourg for two years , where he worked as a postdoc with Franz Hofmeister . From 1904 to 1942 he was employed at Harvard University , among other things as a professor of biological chemistry (1919-1934) and professor of chemistry (1934-1942). In 1924 he founded the History of Science Society (HSS) together with George Sarton . In 1927 he founded the Fatigue Laboratory for physiological and sociological research on fatigue / exhaustion.

Henderson was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1912, the National Academy of Sciences in 1919, and the American Philosophical Society in 1921 . In 1932 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina .

His work

His research in the field of the body's own buffer systems and acid-base regulation (acid-base balance) led to the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation . In his classic work "The Fitness of the Environment" (1913) he studied the suitability of the environment for life. He then developed a teleological and holistic view of the order of nature (The Order of Nature, 1917). In his book "Blood" (1928) he used mathematical and graphic representations (nomograms) to show that the blood is a physico-chemical system and represents an adapted internal environment for the body. Finally, he applied Pareto's term "social system" in a modified form in sociology.

In his honor, the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University awards the Lawrence J. Henderson Prize each year .

Publications

  • The Fitness of the Environment. New York 1913.
  • The Order of Nature. Cambridge (Mass.) / London 1917.
  • Blood: A Study in General Physiology. New Haven / London 1928.
  • Pareto's General Sociology. Cambridge (Mass.) 1935.

literature

  • Garland E. Allen: Life Science in the Twentieth Century . John Wiley & Sons, New York et al. 1975.
  • Bernard Barber: Introduction. In: Bernard Barber (Ed.): LJ Henderson on the Social System . Selected Writings. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 1970, pp. 1-53.
  • WB Cannon : Biographical Memoir of Lawrence Joseph Henderson 1878-1942. In: National Academy Biographical Memoirs. 23, 1943, pp. 31-58.
  • Iris Fry: On the Biological Significance of the Properties of Matter: LJ Henderson's Theory of the Fitness of the Environment. In: Journal of the History of Biology. 29, 1996, pp. 155-196.
  • John Parascandola: Organismic and holistic concepts in the thought of LJ Henderson. In: Journal of the History of Biology. 4, Spring 1971, pp. 63-113.
  • Rudolf Windeln: LJ Henderson (1878–1942). In: Michel Weber, Will Desmond (Eds.): Handbook of Whiteheadian Process Thought. Volume 2, Ontos Verlag, Frankfurt / Lancaster 2008, pp. 409-415.

Web links

Wikisource: Lawrence Joseph Henderson  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Life data, publications and academic family tree of Lawrence Joseph Henderson at academictree.org, accessed on February 9, 2018.
  2. ↑ Member History: Lawrence J. Henderson. American Philosophical Society, accessed September 27, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Henderson, Lawrence J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Henderson, Lawrence Joseph (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American chemist and biologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 3, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Lynn , Massachusetts, USA
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1942
Place of death Cambridge