Charles E. Clifton

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Charles E. Clifton
BornMarch 23, 1904
Etna, Ohio
DiedOctober 7, 1976(1976-10-07) (aged 72)
Santa Clara, California
CitizenshipUS
EducationOhio State University
University of Minnesota
Partner
Esther Ora Carlson
​
(m. 1932)​
Children2
Scientific career
Institutions
Thesis Potentiometric Studies of Sugar Oxidation: A Determination of Active Glucose  (1928)
Doctoral advisorJohn Mouk Ort

Charles Egolf Clifton (March 23, 1904–October 7, 1976) was an American microbiologist. He was a faculty member at Stanford University for forty years, authored two textbooks, and was the editor of the peer-reviewed journal the Annual Review of Microbiology for twenty-five years.

Early life and education

Charles Egolf Clifton was born on March 23, 1904, in Etna, Licking County, Ohio[1] to parents Lulu née Egolf and Allen Benton Clifton. He had one sister, Margaret Kuhn.[2] He graduated from the Ohio State University with a bachelor's degree in 1925 and a master's degree in physical chemistry in 1926.[1][3]

Clifton attended the University of Minnesota for his PhD, graduating in 1928.[4] He said that he received the first PhD in biophysics awarded in the US.[3]

Career

After graduating, Clifton worked at Kodak's research laboratories for several months.[3] Clifton was an instructor at the University of Minnesota before getting hired by Stanford University in 1929 to teach bacteriology.[5] In 1936 and 1937, he took a sabbatical leave from Stanford to do research at Cambridge University with Marjory Stephenson and in Delft, Netherlands with Albert Kluyver.[6][3] World War II labor shortages caused him to agree to teach microbiology courses at San Jose State University.[3] His research included new ways to manufacture penicillin. He also authored the textbooks An Introduction to the Bacteria and An Introduction to Bacterial Physiology. He was a member of several scientific societies, including the American Society of Microbiologists, the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, and Sigma Xi. From 1969 to his death in 1976, he was a professor emeritus in the Department of Medical Microbiology at Stanford.[7]

He was the first editor of the peer-reviewed journal the Annual Review of Microbiology, which was first published in 1947. He remained editor through 1972 and was succeeded by Mortimer P. Starr.[8]

Personal life and death

Charles Clifton married Esther Ora née Carlson of Bruce, South Dakota, on September 7, 1932.[1] He and Esther had two sons, Charles Jr. and John.[7] During the 1950s, he had two major surgeries; while recovering from the second surgery, he began painting with watercolors as a hobby.[3] He also enjoyed gardening.[7] He died on October 7, 1976, in Santa Clara, California.[9][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c America's Young Men. Vol. 3. Richard Blank Publishing Company. 1938. p. 114.
  2. ^ "Mrs. A. B. Clifton". The Newark Advocate. Newark, Ohio. 27 May 1963. p. 33.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Clifton, Charles E. (1966). "Microbiology—Past, Present, and Future". Annual Review of Microbiology. 20: 1–13. doi:10.1146/annurev.mi.20.100166.000245. PMID 5330232.
  4. ^ "256 degrees awarded at graduation". The Minneapolis Star. 20 December 1928. p. 11.
  5. ^ "Stanford Faculty Members Named". The Chico Enterprise. Chico, California. 15 August 1929. p. 3.
  6. ^ "Class Personals". Ohio State University Monthly. Ohio State University. October 1938.
  7. ^ a b c d "Memorial Resolution: Charles E. Clifton" (PDF). Stanford University. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  8. ^ "Annual Review of Microbiology". Nature. 157 (3986): 367. 1946. Bibcode:1946Natur.157Q.367.. doi:10.1038/157367a0. S2CID 4069894.
  9. ^ Charles E. Clifton, Sacramento, CA: California Death Index, 1940-1997
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