Sir Lawrence Bragg at the RI (1953–1966) and the Determination of the First Three-Dimensional Structure of an Enzyme at the DFRL (1965)

The transformation in the affairs of the Royal Institution (RI) and the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory (DFRL) when W. L. Bragg became the new Director there in 1953 is described. He resuscitated the moribund research efforts and injected fresh impetus into the lecture programmes mounted by the RI. In particular, he recruited a powerful team of protein crystallographers (notably D. C. Phillips, A. C. T. North, R. Poljak, Louise Johnson, and C. C. Blake), as well as strong technical backup from instrumental experts like U. Arndt. In the space of a dozen years, this team of co-workers solved the first ever structure of an enzyme, known as lysozyme, which had been discovered by Alexander Fleming in the 1920s. This was a major breakthrough, and it stimulated similar work elsewhere. The chapter also discusses what has happened to the DFRL subsequently. It is now in abeyance, and the reasons for this situation are outlined.