The Royal Society launched a Local Heroes Scheme to mark 350 years since its foundation in 1660 and the Thackray Museum is a recipient of one of these prestigious awards. Our Local Hero is William Astbury, Fellow of the Royal Society and Professor of Biomolecular Structure at the University of Leeds. Our project, Hair Splitting Images – How William Astbury’s X-Ray Vision Changed the World is at the Thackray Museum from 26 June 2010 until 2 January 2011 in partnership with Leeds University Library (in conjunction with the University’s History of Science, Technology and Medicine Museum Project).
Astbury established a Textile Physics Research Laboratory at the University of Leeds in 1928 and his work was crucial to the development of the textile industry. His expertise in X-Ray diffraction photography and his analysis of the images created to deduce molecular structures proved to be highly significant. His team took the first X-Ray diffraction image of DNA in 1938 in his Leeds laboratory, paving the way for the demonstration of its double helical structure in 1953.
The project’s objectives are to:
- bring overdue recognition to the achievements of William Astbury FRS (1898-1961), one of the ‘fathers’ of molecular biology
- give public access to documents and objects held at Leeds University and by the family. Objects earmarked for exhibition include the sample of Mozart’s hair on which Astbury carried out X-Ray analysis and the actual X-Ray diffraction camera he used in his laboratory
- create public understanding of him as a scientist and as a personality. Astbury encouraged the public to take an interest in his work through popular talks, lectures and newspaper articles. The museum is planning for a Leeds Civic Trust ‘Blue Plaque’ to be affixed to Astbury’s home
- enable young people to explore at first hand Astbury’s contribution to the development of molecular biology and his legacy to medical research
Planned activities for young visitors include making pin-hole cameras and even DNA! The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology at the University of Leeds, which carries out international research in all aspects of structural molecular biology, will deliver exciting talks to make a highly complex subject more readily accessible to museum visitors of all ages.
A series of Science Clubs and Arts Workshops are planned, including talks by noted scientists and guided visits to the University of Leeds’ molecular biology laboratories to find out about the latest ‘cutting-edge’ research.
This exhibition is kindly supported by the Royal Society’s 350th Anniversary Local Heroes Scheme, the British Society for the History of Science and the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.
[Thackray Museum - see http://www.thackraymuseum.org/]
Jim Garretts
Senior Curator
Thackray Museum, Leeds
