Derek Richter
| Derek Richter | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
14 January 1907 Bath, Somerset |
| Died | 15 December 1995 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Psychiatrist, chemist, neuropsychiatrist |
Derek Richter (14 January 1907 – 15 December 1995), English neuroscientist, was one of the founding fathers of the science of brain chemistry. Identifying monoamine oxidase and demonstrating its function in the brain early in his career, he became a prime mover in his field. In 1968 he was involved in the foundation of the British Brain Research Organization (BRA). Prior to this he helped to establish the Mental Health Research Fund, later renamed The Mental Health Foundation,(1949). He also established the Journal of Neurochemistry (1956), of which he was one of the chief editors from 1956 to 1969. He was involved in the foundation of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) (1960), of which he became secretary-general, and the International Society for Neurochemistry (ISN) (1967). After leading a research unit at Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital (1947–1960), he became director of the Medical Research Council Neuropsychiatric Research Unit in Carshalton (1960–1971). Throughout his life he promoted international collaboration in research.
Richter was born in Bath, Somerset, third child of Charles A Richter, co-founder of the family firm, Bath Cabinet Makers. From Oundle School he won a scholarship to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a first-class honour's degree in Chemistry. At Munich University he worked under Nobel Prize-winning Heinrich Wieland. In 1931 he gained a PhD (magna cum laude) for the autoxidation of aldehydes.
He then moved to Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins Biochemical Laboratory at Cambridge alongside Nobel laureates Ernst Chain, Richard Synge, Frederick Sanger, Hans Krebs and Archer Martin. This was a defining period, working with on monoamines that have great physiological interest.
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