UoN celebrates 70th anniversary of the discovery of hydrogen bonds in DNA

The discovery of the hydrogen bonds in DNA was made by Nottingham postgraduate student, J. Michael Creeth in 1947. He made the discovery in the Nucleic Acid Laboratory at what was then called University College Nottingham. 

Dr Creeth’s research was published in the Journal of the Chemical Society on 1 January 1947 and his discovery paved the way for the double helix model developed by Watson and Crick six years later.

On Friday 10 November we will mark the 70th anniversary of the publication of his research with a one-day event attended by 16 members of the Creeth family. The event will take place in the Trent Building where the discovery was made and will last from 8:30am until 5pm.

The event will consist of a series of talks from leading academics in the field, a commemoration lead by Dr Creeth’s last post-doctoral research assistant and UoN’s own Prof Stephen Harding, and a plaque unveiling by the Creeth family.