CHEMIST

Maclyn McCarty

1911 - 2005

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Maclyn McCarty (June 9, 1911 – January 2, 2005) was an American geneticist, a research scientist described in 2005 as "the last surviving member of a Manhattan scientific team that overturned medical dogma in the 1940s and became the first to demonstrate that genes were made of DNA." He had worked at Rockefeller University "for more than 60 years." 1994 marked 50 years since this work's release. McCarty devoted his life as a physician-scientist to studying infectious disease organisms, and was best known for his part in the monumental discovery that DNA, rather than protein, constituted the chemical nature of a gene. Uncovering the molecular secret of the gene in question — that for the capsular polysaccharide of pneumococcal bacteria — led the way to studying heredity not only through genetics but also through chemistry. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Maclyn McCarty has received more than 111,023 page views. His biography is available in 23 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 22 in 2019). Maclyn McCarty is the 460th most popular chemist (down from 453rd in 2019), the 5,567th most popular biography from United States (up from 5,798th in 2019) and the 85th most popular American Chemist.

Memorability Metrics

  • 110k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.75

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 23

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.32

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.68

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among CHEMISTS

Among chemists, Maclyn McCarty ranks 460 out of 602Before him are Benjamin List, Geneviève Thiroux d'Arconville, Walther Kossel, Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, Carl Remigius Fresenius, and James Crafts. After him are Friedrich Accum, Takamine Jōkichi, Zdenko Hans Skraup, Isabella Karle, Johan Kjeldahl, and James Smithson.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1911, Maclyn McCarty ranks 205Before him are Antonio Guzmán Fernández, Ronald Neame, Carl Keenan Seyfert, Gustav Wetterström, Kick Smit, and Lee Falk. After him are Antonio Sastre, Mary Blair, Bel Kaufman, Masayuki Mori, Luise Rinser, and Robert Marchand. Among people deceased in 2005, Maclyn McCarty ranks 188Before him are Mario David, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Dorothy Stang, Marc Lawrence, Fei Xiaotong, and Song Renqiong. After him are Aušra Augustinavičiūtė, Donald Watson, Luther Vandross, Eugene McCarthy, Nirmal Verma, and Barrington Moore Jr..

Others Born in 1911

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Others Deceased in 2005

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Maclyn McCarty ranks 5,567 out of 20,380Before him are Henry Clay Frick (1849), Gary Peacock (1935), Travis Barker (1975), Alfred Blalock (1899), Darlene Cates (1947), and Marvelous Marvin Hagler (1954). After him are Bruce Kulick (1953), J. Lawton Collins (1896), Adriana Caselotti (1916), Pearl White (1889), George Bancroft (1882), and Jude Ciccolella (1947).

Among CHEMISTS In United States

Among chemists born in United States, Maclyn McCarty ranks 85Before him are Eric Betzig (1960), Roy J. Plunkett (1910), Myrtle Bachelder (1908), James B. Conant (1893), Donella Meadows (1941), and James Crafts (1839). After him are Isabella Karle (1921), Michael Behe (1952), Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856), Karen Wetterhahn (1948), Robert Jarvik (1946), and Wallace Smith Broecker (1931).