Elmer McCollum: The Discoverer of Vitamin D

• વિશ્વના વિજ્ઞાનીઓ

Vitamins found in vegetables and fruits protect us from many diseases and keep us healthy. Vitamins are essential to our diet. Different types are known by letters such as Vitamin A, B, C, and D. Scientists conduct research to find out which foods provide specific vitamins and which diseases they protect against. This research is beneficial for our health. Elmer McCollum, the scientist who discovered vitamins and named them A, B, and so on, was a pioneer in this field.
McCollum was born on March 3, 1879, in Fort Scott, Kansas, USA. His father was a farmer, and his family was middle-class. To pay for his studies, he worked jobs himself. He was bright in his studies. Through his hard work and labor, he earned the money to complete his high school and college education, eventually earning a Ph.D. from Yale University in 1906.
After finishing his studies, he joined the University of Wisconsin as a researcher. He set up the first laboratory in the United States to conduct experiments on rats. By studying various plants, vegetables, and fruits, he discovered vitamins. Because vitamins did not have a specific known chemical formula at the time, he named them with letters like A, B, and C. In 1917, he was appointed as a professor at Johns Hopkins University. He wrote around 150 essays and books on diet and nutrition. He passed away on November 15, 1967.