Haldan Keffer Hartline: Visionary Neuroscientist and Nobel Laureate

Haldan Keffer Hartline (22 December 1903 – 17 March 1983) was an American physiologist. In 1967, Hartline was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with George Wald and Ragnar Granit.

Life and Career

He was born on 22 December 1903, in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, He received his undergraduate degree from Lafayette College in 1923 and went on to earn his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1927. Hartline’s research focused on the physiology of vision. He was particularly interested in understanding how the eye detects light and sends signals to the brain.

In the 1930s, he and his colleagues discovered that the retina contains two types of cells, rods, and cones, that are responsible for detecting light. They also found that different types of cones are responsible for detecting different colors. Hartline spent much of his career at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he served as a professor of biophysics and physiology.

Hartline also played a key role in the development of the Department of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, which has become a leading center for research in the field. Many of his former students and colleagues went on to make significant contributions to the field of physiology, further cementing Hartline’s legacy. He was also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to the field of physiology. He died on 17 March 1983, in Fallston, Maryland, US.

Award and Legacy

In 1967, Hartline was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with George Wald and Ragnar Granit, for their research on the neurophysiology of the retina. He was also awarded the National Medal of Science in 1968. In recognition of his contributions to the field, the Society for Neuroscience established the Haldan Keffer Hartline Award in 1992. This award is presented annually to a scientist who has made significant contributions to the study of the visual system.

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