Don Fawcett (1917–2009): Unlocking Nature's Closely Guarded Secrets

Elizabeth Marincola

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000183

Abstract

Don Fawcett (1917–2009): Unlocking Nature's Closely Guarded Secrets

Highlights

Cell biology owes some of its greatest discoveries to the electron microscope, and few were more passionate about its power to ‘‘wrest from nature her closely guarded secrets’’ than Don Wayne Fawcett
Fawcett attended high school at the famous Boston Latin School. He matriculated at Harvard College, followed by Harvard Medical School, where he connected with Anatomy Professor George Wislocki. ‘‘I stole as much time as I could from my course work to do independent research on projects that included studies on the vascular bundles of aquatic mammals, and the amedullary bones of the manatee,’’ he recalled
Fawcett perfected the art and technology of microscopy in the early days of cell biology, which emerged as a modern field in the 1940s after the electron microscope became more widely available

Summary

Introduction

Cell biology owes some of its greatest discoveries to the electron microscope, and few were more passionate about its power to ‘‘wrest from nature her closely guarded secrets’’ than Don Wayne Fawcett. Fawcett perfected the art and technology of microscopy in the early days of cell biology, which emerged as a modern field in the 1940s after the electron microscope became more widely available. He would routinely cut thin sections at home, before venturing in the early morning hours to his lab at Harvard, where he viewed them with the microscope that would do so much to reveal the secrets of form and function.

Results

Conclusion