Wendell Meredith Stanley

Wendell Meredith Stanley ( born August 16, 1904 in Ridgeville, Indiana, † June 15, 1971 in Salamanca, Spain ) was an American chemist, biochemist and virologist.

Stanley first unambiguous proof of viruses, as he was able to crystallize the tobacco mosaic virus. Previously it was only known that there had to be very small pathogens that could not be filtered from the usual bacterial filters. About his findings he reported on 28 June 1935 at the U.S. journal Science.

In 1946, he and John Howard Northrop received the shared Nobel Prize for Chemistry for her portrayal of enzymes and virus proteins in a pure form, while James Batcheller Sumner received the award for his discovery of crystallisability of enzymes.