Professor Russell Henry Chittenden taught physiological chemistry at Yale University (1882-1922) and served as director of Sheffield Scientific School, Yale University (1898-1922).
1 volume, 274 p. on 1 microfilm reel. Reproduced by Yale University Library, New Haven, Connecticut, 1971.
Presented by Joint Committee for a Survey of Sources on the History of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and accessioned, 1979(1979 1378mf).
Original in Yale University Library, New Haven, Connecticut.
Russell Henry Chittenden is generally regarded as the father of American biochemistry, having led at Yale the country's first biochemistry department (circa 1870s-1920s). A protege of the German biochemist Willy Kuhne, Chittenden continued his mentor's research program on the action of proteolytic enzymes, at the same time adapting the work at the New Haven laboratory to local and national needs. Chittenden's research program, tied to the region's agricultural chemistry and nutrition, was noted for work on toxicology and on protein requirements in humans. During World War I, Chittenden was a member of a committee in charge of nutrition and food supply to the Allies. His strongest impact was in professional and administrative activities, especially as the president of the American Physiological Society, as member of editorial boards of journals such as the American Journal of Physiology, the Journal of Experimental Medicine, and the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and as a prolific writer. Chittenden's autobiographical account documents his contributions within a broader context of the rise of biochemistry in America.
