Dale, Sir Henry Hallett

(1875–1968) British physiologist and pharmacologist: worked on histamine and on acetylcholine.

Educated in medicine in Cambridge, London and Frankfurt, Dale joined the Wellcome Laboratories in 1904 and at once began (at the suggestion of Sir H Wellcome (1853–1936)) to study the physiological action of ergot (a potent extract from a fungal infection of rye) on test animals. This work led, through fortunate and shrewd observations and the skill of his co-worker G Barger (1878–1939), to the two research themes especially linked with their names. These are, firstly, the work on histamine, a compound released by injured cells or in reaction to foreign protein, and secondly the work on the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Both these areas have been fruitful for extended investigations, leading to fuller understanding of allergy and anaphylactic shock, and the nature of chemical transmission of nerve impulses. Dale directed the Medical Research Council from 1928–42; in 1936 he shared a Nobel Prize with Otto Loewi (1873–1961). For many years he was a dominant spokesman for science in the UK, especially in the medical and allied sciences.