A plaque to remember the life and work of Frederick Hopkins

A plaque commemorating the life and work of the eminent biochemist Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861 to 1947) will be unveiled at his former Cambridge home on Friday. The plaque will be displayed on the exterior of 71 Grange Road, Cambridge, where Hopkins lived with his family for many years. It has been designed and made by the present owner of the house, Mark Bury FRSA, a distinguished engraver, designer and lettercutter. Hopkins' grandson, Nicolas Hawkes, and one of his great grand-daughters will be present at the ceremony to unveil the plaque. Hopkins is best remembered for his discovery with Christiaan Eijkman of vitamins, for which they were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1929. The discovery of vitamins was a significant step towards greater public understanding about the importance of balanced nutrition and helped virtually eradicate diseases such as rickets. Born in Eastbourne, Sussex, Hopkins published his first scientific paper, on the Bombardier Beetle, in The Entomologist at the age of 17.