William Harrington
Johns Hopkins University
September 25, 1920 - October 31, 1992
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Scientific Discipline: Biochemistry Membership Type:
Member
(elected 1976)
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William F. Harrington developed modern concepts regarding the structure and function of fibrous proteins, myosin, and collagen. Using hydrodynamic measurements and electron microscopy, he illustrated how the metabolic energy of muscle cells is converted into mechanical force; enhancing our understanding of the contractile mechanism.
Harrington received his B.S. and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley and worked as a research biochemist there until 1953. After completing his postgraduate work at the University of Cambridge and the Carlsberg Laboratory in Copenhagen, he became an Assistant professor of biophysical chemistry at Iowa State College in 1955. In 1956 he was a biochemist at the National Heart Institute. From 1960 to 1983, Harrington was a professor of biology, head of the department of biology, and director of the McCollum-Pratt Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
