Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr.
The American biochemist who cracked the code of hormone action, discovering the 'second messenger' system that revolutionized cellular communication.
1915–1974 (age 59)·American pharmacologist and biochemist·Birthday: November 19·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Earl Sutherland was a Midwesterner whose relentless curiosity in the lab unraveled one of physiology's great mysteries: how hormones, those chemical messengers coursing through our blood, actually instruct a cell. Working at Case Western Reserve University, he focused on the hormone epinephrine (adrenaline) and its effect on breaking down glycogen in the liver. Through a series of elegant and painstaking experiments, he and his team isolated a novel molecule, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP), proving it was the crucial intermediary—the 'second messenger'—that relayed the hormone's signal from the cell's surface to its internal machinery. This discovery was a seismic shift, providing a universal model for understanding not just hormones, but neurotransmitters, drugs, and sensory processes. A modest man who preferred the bench to the podium, Sutherland’s insight laid the entire foundation for the modern field of signal transduction, turning a black box into a map of intricate pathways.
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.
Earl was born in 1915, 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 Earl Was Born
The biggest hits of 1915
#1 Movie
The Birth of a Nation
Earl's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1915Born
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1920Started school
Women gain the right to vote in the US
Home: $3,395President: Woodrow Wilson"Swanee" — Al Jolson
1928Became a teenager
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1931Could drive
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1933Could vote
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1936Turned 21
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1945Turned 30
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
1955Turned 40
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1965Turned 50
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1974Died at 59
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
Key Achievements
- Awarded the 1971 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries concerning the mechanisms of hormone action.
- Isolated and identified cyclic AMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate), the first known 'second messenger' molecule.
- His work established the fundamental concept of signal transduction, explaining how extracellular signals effect intracellular change.
- Served as a professor at Vanderbilt University, where he continued his groundbreaking research after leaving Case Western.
Did You Know?
He served as a battalion surgeon in the U.S. Army during World War II before returning to research.
Sutherland was an avid fisherman and often said the patience required for the sport helped him in the laboratory.
His Nobel Prize medal was stolen in a 1992 burglary but was later recovered and donated to Vanderbilt University.
He initially pursued a medical degree but found his true calling in basic pharmacological research.
“I have always been more interested in the mechanism of things than in the cure of things.”
