Robert F. Furchgott
Born	Robert Francis Furchgott June 4, 1916 Charleston, South Carolina
Died	May 19, 2009(2009-05-19) (aged 92) Seattle, Washington
Citizenship	American
Nationality	United States
Fields	biochemistry
Institutions	SUNY Downstate Medical Center 1956–2009 Washington University in St. Louis 1949–1956 Cornell University 1940–1949
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1998
Spouse	Lenore Mandelbaum (1941–1983; her death; 3 children) Margaret Gallagher Roth (?–2006; her death)
Signature

Robert Francis Furchgott (June 4, 1916 – May 19, 2009) was a Nobel Prize-winning American biochemist who contributed to the discovery of nitric oxide as a transient cellular signal in mammalian systems.

Early life and education[edit]

Furchgott was born in Charleston, South Carolina, to Arthur Furchgott (December 1884 – January 1971), a department store owner, and Pena (Sorentrue) Furchgott.^{[citation needed]} He graduated with a degree in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1937),^{[citation needed]} and went on to earn a Ph.D in biochemistry at Northwestern University (1940),^{[citation needed]} immediately joining a medical faculty thereafter.

Career[edit]

Furchgott was faculty member of Cornell University Medical College from 1940 to 1949,^{[citation needed]} of Washington University School of Medicine from 1949 to 1956,^{[citation needed]} and State University of New York Downstate Medical Center from 1956 to 2009, as professor of pharmacology.^{[citation needed]}

In 1978, Furchgott discovered a substance in endothelial cells that relaxes blood vessels, calling it endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF).^{[citation needed]} By 1986, he had worked out EDRF's nature and mechanism of action,^{[citation needed]} and determined that EDRF was in fact nitric oxide (NO),^{[citation needed]} an important compound in many aspects of cardiovascular physiology.^{[citation needed]} This research is important in explaining a wide variety of neuronal, cardiovascular, and general physiologic processed of central importance in human health and disease.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of nitric oxide as a new cellular signal—shared in 1998 with Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]} —Furchgott also received a Gairdner Foundation International Award (1991) for his groundbreaking discoveries,^{[citation needed]} and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1996), the latter also with Ferid Murad. ^[8]

Personal life[edit]

Furchgott, who was Jewish,^[9] lived for most of his married and career life in Woodmere, NY (Long Island). He was married to Lenore Mandelbaum (February 1915 – April 1983)^[10] from 1941 until she died aged 68. They had three daughters: Jane, Susan and Terry. His daughter, Susan, was a prolific artist in the San Francisco counter culture and a co-founder of the Kerista Commune (she was also known as "Even Eve" and "Eve Furchgott"). Robert Furchgott later married Margaret Gallagher Roth, who died March 14, 2006.^[11] He served as a professor emeritus at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. In 2008 he moved to Seattle's Ravenna neighborhood. Furchgott died on May 19, 2009^[12] in Seattle. He is survived by his three daughters, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

See also[edit]

• List of Jewish Nobel laureates

Further reading[edit]

• Anon. (2009) "Obituary: Robert Furchgott," The Telegraph (online), May 26, 2009, see,^[13] accessed 11 August 2015.
• Raju, T N (2000), "The Nobel chronicles. 1998: Robert Francis Furchgott (b 1911), Louis J Ignarro (b 1941), and Ferid Murad (b 1936).", Lancet (Jul 22, 2000) 356 (9226), p. 346, doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(05)73635-7, PMID 11071225 
• Rabelink, A J (1998), "Nobel prize in Medicine and Physiology 1998 for the discovery of the role of nitric oxide as a signalling molecule", Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde (Dec 26, 1998) 142 (52), pp. 2828–30, PMID 10065255 
• Laufs, U; Erdmann, E (1998), "Nitric oxide as a signal molecule in the cardiovascular system. Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1998", Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. (Dec 18, 1998) 123 (51–52), pp. 1562–5, doi:10.1055/s-0029-1237297, PMID 9893684 
• Hansson, G K; Jörnvall, H; Lindahl, S G (1998), "The Nobel Prize 1998 in physiology or medicine. Nitrogen oxide as a signal molecule in the cardiovascular system", Ugeskrift for Læger (Dec 21, 1998) 160 (52), pp. 7571–8, PMID 9889673 
• Nielsen, T T; Sørensen, K E (1998), "Discovery of "endogenous nitroglycerin", NO, as cellular signal molecule", Ugeskrift for Læger (Dec 21, 1998) 160 (52), p. 7567, PMID 9889670 
• Mitka, M (1998), "1998 Nobel Prize winners are announced: three discoverers of nitric oxide activity", JAMA (Nov 18, 1998) 280 (19), p. 1648, doi:10.1001/jama.280.19.1648, PMID 9831980 
• Hansson, G K; Jörnvall, H; Lindahl, S G (1998), "1998 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine. Nitric oxide as a signal molecule in the cardiovascular system", Lakartidningen (Oct 21, 1998) 95 (43), pp. 4703–8, PMID 9821753 

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• The Robert F. Furchgott Society
• Furchgott's autobiography (until 1998, at nobelprize.org)
• His laboratory's webpage

1998 Nobel Prize laureates Chemistry Walter Kohn (United States) John A. Pople (United Kingdom) Literature José Saramago (Portugal) Peace John Hume (Ireland) David Trimble (United Kingdom) Physics Robert B. Laughlin (United States) Horst Ludwig Störmer (Germany) Daniel Chee Tsui (United States) Physiology or Medicine Robert F. Furchgott (United States) Louis J. Ignarro (United States) Ferid Murad (United States) Economic Sciences Amartya Sen (India) Nobel Prize recipients 1990 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 2000 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15