Arthur Lindo Patterson

Arthur Lindo Patterson (short: Lindo Patterson ) ( born July 23, 1902 in Nelson ( New Zealand); † November 6, 1966 in Philadelphia ) was an American crystallographer. In 1934 he discovered the Patterson method. During the first crystal structures were determined by mere trial and error, it was the first time made ​​possible by the Patterson method to systematically solve the phase problem of X-ray diffraction.

Patterson was born a British citizen in 1902 in New Zealand, where his father worked as a businessman. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Montreal ( Canada) and later to London. 1920 Lindo Patterson returned back to Canada and began his studies at McGill University in Montreal. First, his focus was on mathematics, but soon shifted to physics. His master's thesis he wrote about the production of hard X-rays, and here began his interest in the use of X-rays.

1924-1926 Patterson had the opportunity to conduct research in the laboratory of WH Bragg in London. There he learned the crystal structure analysis.

In 1926 he went to the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Fiber Chemistry in Berlin- Dahlem. Here he worked on the X-ray diffraction of cellulose fibers. In the weekly physical colloquia in Berlin, he also had the opportunity to meet with great scientists such as von Laue, Einstein, Planck, Nernst, Bethe, Hahn, Meitner, Pringsheim and Wigner.

In the autumn of 1927, Patterson returned to McGill and earned his doctorate there. In 1933 he went to MIT in Boston, where he again worked in the X-ray laboratory. During this time, 1934 was his first release for the Patterson method, which he himself called series. For the first time the method was then applied to potassium.

1936-1949 Patterson was an assistant professor of physics at Bryn Mawr College ( Pennsylvania). In 1945 he received the U.S. citizenship. In 1949 he went to Philadelphia ( Fox Chase Institute for Cancer Research ), where he dealt with the structures of natural products. There he remained until his death in 1966.