In 1931 Florey had excelled to a position as Chair of Pathology at the University of Sheffield. In 1935 he returned to Oxford, and within weeks he set out to find a biochemist that would become a part of his research team. He found him at Cambridge.
In this book we are also introduced to Ernst Boris Chain who was, like Florey, not native to England. He was German, but he was also in four other languages. His grandparents were devout Jews how had immigrated to Germany from Bavaria. Learning, study and music was a faithful commitment and language in his family, and at a young age Ernst learned to play the piano proficiently, a love he would impart to his children in the future.
Eric Lax describes how when Chain was quite young (thirteen years old) his father died at a time when Germany was suffering economically, turning the family out of their home into a guest house to make ends meet. Despite having little money, education continued and he entered college to graduate with a degree in chemistry and physiology. He had a particular interest in enzymes, proteins that bring about chemical action. During his studies at the university his rivaled love for the piano, where his abilities excelled his abilities as a scientist, continued to make him wrestle with what he wanted …show more content…
Heatley was born January 10th, 1011 in Suffolk, England. He was the only surviving child of his parents. His father was a veterinarian and Norman would frequently accompany his father on his rounds to different farms. By watching his father and helping him he learned great dexterity and working on a small scale. These abilities would be helpful for solving the most difficult issue of how to extract penicillin from its multi-substance broth without rendering it