Background
Ragnar Arthur Granit was born October 30 1900 in Finland.
neurophysiologist winner of the nobel prize
Ragnar Arthur Granit was born October 30 1900 in Finland.
Grad., Swedish Normallyceum, Helsinki, Finland, 1919; Magazine phil., Helsinki University; MD, Helsinki University, 1927; DSc (hon.), Helsinki University; DSc (hon.), University Oslo; DSc (hon.), University Oxford; DSc (hon.), Loyola University; MD (hon.), University Pisa; MD (hon.), University G├╢ttingen, others
The first post of Granit was privatdocent in Physiology at the University of Helsinki in 1929, and on his return from abroad he gathered around him a group of enthusiastic young researchers, together with whom he continued his investigation of retinal functioning and of the mechanisms of colour vision in particular. The first important observation of his period in Helsinki was undertaken in collaboration with Per-Olof Therman (1910-72). It demonstrated that when confronted by a stimulus, the cells of the retina can function not only as receptors but also as inhibitors. Other notable achievements during his time in Helsinki were studies in collaboration with Moses Zewi (b.1909) on the functioning of rhodopsin (also called visual purple), and above all the work done together with Gunnar Svaetichin (1915 -1981)
After his move to Stockholm, Granit continued his studies on the physiology of vision, and some of those who had worked in his research group in Helsinki also moved with him. However, most of the studies done in Stockholm constituted extensions or refinements.He studied the functioning of muscles and the various parts of the reflex arcs that regulate muscle tension, and his work opened up a completely new field of research in which studies have since continued around the world. However, it was specifically for his findings concerning the eyes primary physiological and chemical series of events associated with vision that Granit, together with Haldan Hartline and George Wald, received the 1967 Nobel Prize.
Some of his major lectures are: The Thomas Young Oration of the Physical Society, London, 1945; The Silliman Lectures of Yale University, 1954; The Sherrington Memorial Lecture of the Royal Society of Medicine, London, 1967; The Sherrington Lectures, Liverpool, 1970.
During his career, he was appointed to different posts.
Ragnar Granit also received numerous distinctions and awards from different universities and research institutes in Finland and around the world. Has has honorary degrees from Oslo University, Doctor of Medicine, 1951, Oxford University, D. Sc , 1956, Hong Kong University, D. Sc., 1961, Loyola University, Chicago, 1969, Pisa University, 1970; Catedrático honorary from San Marco University, Lima, University of Santiago de Chile and the National University, Bogotá, in 1958. He is a Member or Foreign Member of the Society Scient. Fenn., 1937; Royal Swedish Acad. Sci., 1944; Society Philomatique, Paris, 1947; Acad. Sci., Bologna, 1948; Amer. Philosophical Society, 1954; Royal Danish Acad. Sci., 1956; Royal Society, London, 1960; Natl. Acad. Sci., Washington, 1968; an Honorary Member of the Accad. di Medicina, Turin, 1961; Indian Acad. Sci., 1964; Amer. Acad. of Arts and Sciences, 1971; and honorary member of the following professional societies: the Swedish Societies for Neurology, for Ophthalmology and for Clinical Neurophysiology, the International Society for Clinical Electroretinography, the Biological Societies of Montevideo, Santiago de Chile and Argentina, the Finnish Society for Ophthalmology, the American Physiological Society, the American Neurological Association, the Physiological Society of England, the Finnish Society of Physicians, the Swedish Society of Physicians, the Swedish and the Finnish Societies of Physiology.
From 1920 to around 1947 Ragnar Granit's main research was in the field of vision, beginning with psychophysics in the twenties and ending up with electrophysiological work from the early thirties onwards. He next took up muscular afferents, in particular the muscle spindles and their motor control; passing over to the spinal cord, he studied
the projection of these affarents and separated tonic and phasic motoneurons,
established algebraical summation of excitation and inhibition upon these cells, finally also making use of the intracellular approach for the investigation of these and several other problems of motor control. In 1965 he initiated the series of international Nobel Symposia as contributor to, and as Chairman and Editor of Nobel Symposium I, Muscular Afferents and Motor Control.
Member of National Academy of Sciences, Academy Finland (foreign member), Royal Danish Academy, Academy National daughter of Lincei (Rome), American Philosophical Society, Royal Society London (foreign member), Royal Swedish Academy Sci. (president 1963Ñ‚ÐФ65, vice president 1965Ñ‚ÐФ69), Societas Scientiarum Fennicae (honorary), American Academy Arts and Scis. (honorary), Physiological Society United States (honorary), Physiological Society England (honorary), Academy di Medical (honorary; Turin), Indian Academy Sci. (honorary)
the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei , Italy
1978
the Royal Society , UK
1960
the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (president 1963- 65, vice president 1965 -69) , Sweden
1944
the American Academy Arts and Sciences , USA
1971
the Academia di Medicina (Turin) , Italy
1961
the Indian Academy Science , India
1963
the National Academy of Sciences
1968
the Royal Danish Academy
Societas Scientiarum Fennicae (honorary)
the Physiological Society United States (honorary)
the Physiological Society England (honorary)
Ragnar Arthur Granit was born on 30th October 1900. He was the family's first child. The Granit family is originally from Korppoo.The family moved to the neighbourhood of Helsingfors where his father opened a firm dealing with silviculture and forest produce.
Granit had the wife - Baroness Marguerite (Daisy) Emma Bruun. Ragnar met Daisy the first time in 1918. Daisy wove the crown of laurels used at the conferring of his master's degree in 1923. Ragnar and Daisy married in 1929 and spent their honeymoon in Philadelphia, where Ragnar had gone to pursue research. Their son Michael was born in 1930. He is an architect by training and in 1990 was appointed Professor of Architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Michael Granit married Elisabet Stolpe in 1957, and they have two sons and one daughter.
His father was a forestry officer who worked in various parts of Finland before moving to Helsinki.
His uncle had a well-developed knowledge of human nature. Once his uncle said to Granit: "It's useless to devote oneself to psychology if one does not have a doctor's training or at least a deep knowledge of biology." And so Ragnar finally chose to study medicine.
Ragnar Granit's spouse was born in 1902 in St Petersburg. Her parents were Councillor of State - Baron Theodor Bruun and Mary Edith Henley. The originally French family had become russianized. Daisy's father was Head of the Finnish Passport Office. Her mother was English by birth and always spoke English with the children.
He is an architect by training and in 1990 was appointed Professor of Architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
