John Desmond Bernal Biography

Although John Desmond Bernal was highly instrumental in the pioneering stages of x-ray crystallography and microbiology, he is perhaps most well-known for his philosophical studies of the social aspects of science. Marxist in thinking and communistic in politics, Bernal wrote a classic book on the "science of science" entitled The Social Function of Science. This work reflected the ideas of a large school of intellectuals and scientists influenced by Bernal loosely called the "Invisible College." The basic premise of the book, that science is for everyone and that, used appropriately, could greatly improve the fate of humanity, was opposed by the scientific school of the day. Bernal, noted for his energy and exuberance, was professor of physics at the University of London and became a fellow of the Royal Society at age 36. He held positions on literally hundreds of scientific and political committees, and played a highly influential role in many other similar organizations.

Bernal was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, to upper-class parents from whom he gained a passion for science. His father, a patriotic Irish nationalist and devout Catholic, died when Bernal was 18. His mother was a well-educated and refined woman formerly from the United States. He attended Stonyhurst Jesuit Public School that taught no science; therefore, with the help of his mother, he planned his own education from the age of 12, showing considerable aptitude in mathematics and physics. His exposure to Marxist philosophy as an undergraduate at Cambridge ultimately led him to forgo Catholicism, not because of its theology, but because of its social teaching. In the book Society and Science edited by Maurice Goldsmith and Alan Mackay, C.P. Snow, friend and associate of Bernal, writes "this conversion was linked with his insight to what applied science could do for his fellow human being."

At Cambridge, Bernal was reputed for his physical toughness, quick wit, and fearlessness, and was highly popular among his peers. After leaving Cambridge, he went to the Davy-Faraday Research Laboratory where he continued his developing interest in crystallography. Here, he worked under the leadership of Sir Lawrence Bragg with other researchers who were embarking on the exciting new field of the study of materials. Bernal was reputed for his wild imagination, passion, and high energy; however, in spite of his personality, he painstakingly, patiently, and excitedly applied himself to the somewhat boring task of measuring graphite structures and surfaces.

In 1927, Cambridge instituted a new lectureship in crystallography, to which Bernal was appointed. He taught at Cambridge for 10 years, becoming highly influential in science, politics, and social forecasting. Known as a "dazzling thinker and talker" and recognized as a major power in the field of science, he was nicknamed "Sage" by his intellectual peers because of his wisdom and the profound effect he had upon both scientific and social thought. He also became a central figure in a revolution that ultimately took physics and chemistry into the field of biology. Through his experience with crystallography, Bernal had developed a highly skilled technique to unravel the structure of materials. He turned this technique and his focus to important biological agents such as amino acids, vitamins, water (because water is the primary substance of most organisms), proteins, and viruses. This was literally the beginning of microbiology. He was not only highly instrumental in drawing other scientists into the developing field, but most microbiologists in England in the 1960s were former students of his.

During World War II, Bernal served on a committee to help improve air raid precautions in England. He ultimately became scientific advisor to Lord Mountbatten, traveling to countries such as Burma, India, and Africa, which exposed him to the dire needs of the poor. He described the atomic bomb, the only scientific development that ever shocked him, as "that wretched discovery." Bernal firmly believed that the most important factor in the advancement of science and humanity was the absence of war. Therefore, preventing future military conflict became one of his priorities. After the war, in his role as chairman of the Presidential Committee of the World Council of Peace, he negotiated with the Russian leader, Nikita Khrushchev, and other world leaders, for an agreement against the use of atomic weapons.

While Bernal engulfed himself in a multitude of peace councils and global social concerns, he continued to be deeply engrossed in pure and creative scientific endeavors. In the introduction to their book, Goldsmith and Mackay quote Bragg's remark that, "if one traces back almost any fruitful line of crystallographic work, it will be found that Bernal assisted at its conception but left the child to be brought up by foster-parents. This is particularly so in the case of molecular biology and in the analysis of protein crystals. Immediately on seeing the first x-ray differentiation pictures from protein crystals...he assumed that protein structures would sooner or later be solved, and handed out problems to his students and to anyone whom he could persuade to take them up."

In the mid 1960s, at the age of 66, Bernal was still deeply immersed in solving the structure of liquids, studying continental drifts and conditions surrounding the life of meteorites, analyzing the exodus of scientists from Britain, and working on the third edition of another monumental volume, Science in History.

Of his colleague, Snow writes: "[Bernal] had, all his life, along with his wild natural generosity, something of the carelessness about money...has lived simply...and has been a freer soul than most men. He had a passionate revulsion from cruelty or even unkindness, and...in the simplest words, was a good man."