John Postgate (microbiologist)
John Postgate | |
|---|---|
In his laboratory | |
| Born | John Raymond Postgate 24 June 1922 London, England |
| Died | 22 October 2014 (aged 92) |
| Alma mater | University of Oxford (BA, DPhil) |
| Known for | Microbes and Man (1969) |
| Spouse | Mary Stewart (1948-d. 2008) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | Aspects of the metabolism of micro-organisms (1952) |
John Raymond Postgate (24 June 1922 – 22 October 2014), FRS was an English microbiologist and writer, latterly Professor Emeritus of Microbiology at the University of Sussex. Postgate's research in microbiology investigated nitrogen fixation, microbial survival, and sulphate-reducing bacteria. He worked for the Agricultural Research Council's Unit of Nitrogen Fixation from 1963 until he retired, by then its director, in 1987. In 2011, he was described as a "father figure of British microbiology".
His admired popularizing book on microbes in human culture, Microbes and Man, first published in 1969, remains in print.