Blue Plaque unveiled in honour of two flatmates from 1940s Leeds

A BLUE plaque was unveiled in honour of two flatmates called Archer Martin and Richard Synge, who lived in Headingley in the 1940s.
The plaque was unveiled by special guest Chris Hatton, the President of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (LPLS).The plaque was unveiled by special guest Chris Hatton, the President of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (LPLS).
The plaque was unveiled by special guest Chris Hatton, the President of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (LPLS).

They have been dubbed an early version of Sheldon and Leonard from TV show the Big Bang Theory, which has fans around the world.

Researchers Martin and Synge did actually win a Nobel prize for partition chromatography, whilst working on Headingley Lane at the Wool Institute Research Association in 1941.

The plaque was unveiled by special guest Chris Hatton, the President of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (LPLS).The plaque was unveiled by special guest Chris Hatton, the President of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (LPLS).
The plaque was unveiled by special guest Chris Hatton, the President of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (LPLS).
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The plaque was unveiled by special guest Chris Hatton, the President of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society (LPLS).

Mr Hatton said: “Although the aim of their work was originally to study wool fibres, its impact was to go much further than the local textile industries as it eventually allowed us to understand the structure of medically important proteins such as insulin, and also helped to unlock the secret of how DNA carries the genetic message.”

As LPLS celebrates its b-icentenary this year, it is delighted to mark this important piece of the heritage of Leeds.

The plaque was unveiled yesterday at the site of the labs where Martin and Synge used to work on Headingley Lane.

Dr Kersten Hall, a former molecular biologist in the School of Medicine at the University of Leeds, will now explore their life and work.