Martin, Archer John Porter

Martin, Archer John Porter, 1910–2002, English biochemist, educated at Cambridge Univ. From 1938 to 1946 he carried on chemical research in the laboratories of the Wool Industries Association at Leeds, Yorkshire. In 1948 he joined the staff of the National Institute for Medical Research, London, where from 1953 to 1956 he was head of the physical chemistry division. After 1956 he was chemical consultant to the institute. A specialist in the development of chromatographic and other methods of chemical analysis, he was awarded jointly with R. L. M. Synge the 1952 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to paper partition chromatography, a method for separating and identifying chemical substances in a mixture.

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Martin, Archer John Porter 

Born Mar. 1, 1910, in London. British biochemist and physical chemist. Member of the Royal Society of London (1950).

Martin graduated from Cambridge University in 1932. In 1934 he began research there on methods for isolating vitamin E and nicotinic acid, for which he designed an efficient counter-current apparatus. Martin collaborated with R. L. M. Synge on the construction of an amino acid analyzer. Further research together led to the development of paper chromatography in 1944. From 1946 to 1948, Martin devoted his studies to the isolation and purification of penicillin. Subsequently, he worked at the National Institute for Medical Research in London on the isolation of biologically active substances and the development of gas-liquid chromatography. In 1965, Martin was appointed professor extraordinary at Technological University in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. In 1952 he and Synge shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work in developing chromatographic techniques.