HARRY JA!MES DEUEL, Jr., Ph.D. 



1897-1956 



Harry James Deuel, Jr., was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, October 15, 

 1897, the son of Harry James Deuel and Myrtle Lillian (Mouser) Deuel. 

 After graduating from a local high school he entered Carleton College, 

 where he displayed particular interest in science, doing his major work in 

 chemistry. Before receiving his degree he accepted a position as Jmiior 

 Chemist in the United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C, which he held for two years, during which time he also did advanced 

 work in his field as a student at George Washington University. His apti- 

 tude for research work, and his industry, became evident in the course of 

 these years when he was an assistant to C. F. Langworthy. Six papers 

 were published under their joint authorship during this period. At this 

 time he also collaborated with. Arthur D. Holmes in research reported in 

 five papers. All of these earlier publications were in the field of the digesti- 

 bility of ^^arious specific foods and classes of nutrients. The paper on 

 "Digestibility of Certain Miscellaneous Vegetable Fats" (A. D. Holmes and 

 H. J. Deuel, Jr., ,/. Biol Chem., 41, 227-235, 1920) was the first of what was 

 to be a long and distinguished series of publications dealing with lipids. 



The de\'eloping scientist evidently felt the need for more advanced study, 

 and this led to his entrance into the Yale University Graduate School as a 

 student for the doctorate under Professor Lafayette B. iVIendel. This 

 work was successfully completed in 1923, when he received the Doctor of 

 I'hilosophy degree in Physiological Chemistry from Yale University. His 

 doctoral dissertation was entitled "The Chemistry and Physiology of the 

 Pyrimidines, Thjnnine and LTracil with Reference to Nucleic Acid Metab- 

 olism." To accomplish this work it was necessary for him to synthesize 

 these pyrimidines in quantities sufficient to permit their administration to 

 dogs for the metabolism study. While in the Yale Laboratory he also 

 collaborated wiih. the writer in "A Comparison of the Paths of Absorption 

 with Respect to the Action of Secretin upon the Pancreas." This was 

 made the basis of a report to the Xlth International Physiological Congress 

 held in lulinburgh in 1923, which was attended by both authors. This was 

 the first of many such international meetings which Dr. Deuel attended 

 over the many remaining j-ears of his career. 



