Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley OM. 22 November 1917—30 May 2012

Abstract

Andrew Huxley was a physiologist, possessing a combination of practical skill, invention and mathematical ability that has few parallels, and is famous for his contributions to the understanding of how nerve and muscle work. He came from an illustrious family: his paternal grandfather was Thomas Henry Huxley, and Julian Huxley and Aldous Huxley were his half-brothers. After completing his undergraduate degree in Cambridge in 1939, he joined Alan Hodgkin in his research on the squid giant axon and they made the first intracellular recording of a nerve action potential. Together, they used the voltage clamp technique to elucidate the ionic mechanism of the action potential; for this they were awarded a share of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1963. Turning to research on muscle, he elucidated the sliding filament mechanism of contraction (in parallel with Hugh Huxley), and went on to formulate a quantitative account of the steady state properties of muscle based on the interaction between myosin crossbridges and actin sites. Moving to University College London (UCL) in 1960 as Jodrell Professor of Physiology, he provided quantitative evidence for the sliding filament theory through a study of the length–tension relation. His final studies were on the transient mechanical properties of muscle, resulting in a theory of force-generation by crossbridges. During the war, Huxley was engaged in operational research on anti-aircraft artillery and naval gunnery. He was President of the Royal Society in 1980–85, and Master of Trinity College Cambridge in 1984–90.