William Astbury
William Astbury | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Thomas Astbury 25 February 1898 Longton, England |
| Died | 4 June 1961 (aged 63) Leeds, England |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Known for | β-sheet Fiber diffraction X-ray diffraction of DNA |
| Awards | Actonian Prize (1935) Croonian Medal (1945) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics, Molecular biology |
| Institutions | University College London Royal Institution University of Leeds |
| Doctoral advisor | William Henry Bragg |
William Thomas Astbury FRS (25 February 1898 – 4 June 1961) was an English physicist and molecular biologist who made pioneering X-ray diffraction studies of biological molecules. His work on keratin provided the foundation for Linus Pauling's discovery of the α-helix. He also studied the structure for DNA in 1937 and made the first step in the elucidation of its structure.