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Daniel KoshlandAmerican biochemist
Date of Birth: 30.03.1920
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Daniel E. Koshland: Biochemical Luminary and Philanthropist
- Academic and Research Career
- Editorial Contributions and Impact
- Awards and Recognition
- Philanthropy and Legacy
Daniel E. Koshland: Biochemical Luminary and Philanthropist
Early Life and EducationDaniel E. Koshland Jr. was born on July 30, 1920, in Manhattan, New York City. He was the son of Daniel E. Koshland Sr., president of Levi Strauss Company, and Eleanor (née Haas) Koshland. His father was a grandson of Simon Koshland, a German immigrant who settled in the American West during the Gold Rush.
Koshland Jr. attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor's degree in inorganic chemistry in 1937. He volunteered for service in World War II in 1941 but was not deployed overseas due to poor eyesight. Before joining the Manhattan Project at the University of Chicago, he briefly worked at Shell Chemical Company.
Academic and Research Career
Koshland Jr. earned a doctorate from Harvard University in 1949. He held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Chicago and the Brookhaven National Laboratory. From 1958 to 1965, he taught at the Rockefeller University in New York City.
In 1965, Koshland Jr. joined the University of California, Berkeley, as a professor of biochemistry. He became department chair in 1973. His research focused on enzymology, and he published over 400 scientific papers.
Editorial Contributions and Impact
Koshland Jr. served as editor of the prestigious scientific journal "Science" from 1985 to 1995. He made significant contributions to the field of enzymology and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Awards and Recognition
Koshland Jr. received numerous awards for his scientific work, including the National Medal of Science (1990), the Albert Lasker Award (1998), the S. Lewis Rosenthiel Award (1984), and the Pauling Award (1975).
Philanthropy and Legacy
According to Forbes, Koshland Jr. was quite wealthy and a generous philanthropist. He donated funds to establish a science center at Haverford College in Pennsylvania and a science museum at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. He also supported the Weizmann Institute's scholarship fund for doctoral students in Rehovot, Israel.
Koshland Jr. was a leader in the Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, where the Koshland Lectures were established. He married immunologist Marian Elliott Koshland in 1945, and they had five children: Helen, Phyllis, Gail, James, and Douglas. He later married Yvonne Cyr San Jule in August 2000. Daniel E. Koshland Jr. passed away on April 22, 2007, leaving behind a legacy of scientific brilliance and philanthropy.
