J. D. Bernal

John Desmond Bernal (1901-1971) was an Irish-born scientist (from Nenagh, County Tipperary), known for pioneering X-ray crystallography. He was also as a communist activist; this has been brought forward as a reason why he was never awarded the Nobel Prize. He was educated at Bedford School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After graduating he started research under Sir William Bragg at the Davy-Faraday Laboratory in London.

Related Topics:
1901 - 1971 - Nenagh - County Tipperary - X-ray crystallography - Communist - Nobel Prize - Bedford School - Emmanuel College, Cambridge - Sir William Bragg

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It was in his research group in Cambridge that Dorothy Hodgkin started her research. Other prominent scientists who studied with him include Rosalind Franklin, Aaron Klug and Max Perutz.

Related Topics:
Cambridge - Dorothy Hodgkin - Rosalind Franklin - Aaron Klug - Max Perutz

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He was later Professor of Physics at Birkbeck College, University of London and a Fellow of the Royal Society. As well as practising science, he is famous as a populariser of science with works such as The Social Function of Science (1939) and Science in History (1954).

Related Topics:
Physics - Birkbeck College, University of London - Fellow of the Royal Society - 1939 - 1954

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He was also prominent in political life, particularly in the 1930s after having left the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1933. (According to a biographer, he did not so much withdraw from the CPGB, but lost his card and didn't renew it.)

Related Topics:
1930s - Communist Party of Great Britain - 1933

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In 1939, he published "The Social Function of Science," probably the earliest text on the sociology of science.

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He is known also as joint inventor of the Mulberry Harbour. A fictional portrait of him appears in the novel The Search, an early work of C. P. Snow.

Related Topics:
Mulberry Harbour - C. P. Snow

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After helping orchestrate D-Day, JD Bernal landed on Normandy on D-Day + 1. His extensive knowledge of the area stemmed from a combination of research in English libraries and personal experience having visited the area on previous holidays. The Navy had temporarily assigned him the rank of commander such that he wouldn't stand out as a civilian amongst the invasion forces. However, the members of his unit were less than convinced as he directed a vehicle using the terms "right" and "left" instead of "port" and "starboard."

Related Topics:
D-Day - Normandy

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He is also famous for having firstly proposed in 1929 the so-called Bernal sphere, a type of space habitat intended as a long-term home for permanent residents.

Related Topics:
1929 - Bernal sphere - Space habitat

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Martin Bernal, author of Black Athena, is his son with Margaret Gardiner.

Related Topics:
Martin Bernal - Black Athena - Margaret Gardiner

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