Alan Hodgkin
He mapped the electrical language of the nervous system, revealing how neurons fire with ionic currency.
1914–1998 (age 84)·English physiologist and biophysicist·Birthday: February 5·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Sir Alan Hodgkin, with his collaborator Andrew Huxley, cracked one of biology's fundamental codes: the mechanism of the nerve impulse. Working with the giant axon of the Atlantic squid in the late 1930s and 1940s, they performed elegant, precise experiments that seemed more akin to physics than physiology. Their work established that a nerve signal is a self-regenerating wave driven by the flow of sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane. They didn't just describe it; they quantified it, creating a mathematical model that predicted nerve behavior with astonishing accuracy. This Hodgkin-Huxley model, for which they shared the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, became a cornerstone of neuroscience and biophysics. It provided the first complete account of how electrical activity in animals is generated, a discovery that illuminated everything from muscle contraction to brain function and paved the way for modern neurology and pharmacology.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Alan was born in 1914, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1914
Alan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1914Born
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1919Started school
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Became a teenager
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1930Could drive
Pluto discovered
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,510President: Herbert Hoover"Body and Soul" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front
1932Could vote
Amelia Earhart flies solo across the Atlantic
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Night and Day" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Grand Hotel
1935Turned 21
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1944Turned 30
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1954Turned 40
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1964Turned 50
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1974Turned 60
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1984Turned 70
Apple Macintosh introduced
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $59,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"When Doves Cry" — PrinceBest Picture: Amadeus
1994Turned 80
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
1998Died at 84
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
Key Achievements
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1963 with Andrew Huxley and John Eccles for discoveries concerning nerve cell membranes.
- Co-created the Hodgkin-Huxley model, a mathematical formulation that explains the initiation and propagation of action potentials.
- Served as President of the Royal Society from 1970 to 1975.
- Was awarded the Order of Merit, one of the UK's highest honors, in 1973.
Did You Know?
Much of his pivotal research was delayed by World War II, during which he worked on radar and aviation medicine.
He conducted his famous squid axon experiments at the Marine Biological Association laboratory in Plymouth, UK.
Hodgkin was a keen birdwatcher and served as President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
He built some of his own electronic equipment for his groundbreaking experiments.
“The progress of science depends on new techniques, new discoveries and new ideas, probably in that order.”
