Former Courtaulds boss dies, aged 95
EX-LABORATORY CHIEF WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT DNA STRUCTURE DISCOVERY
AN ex-boss of a large Coventry manufacturing firm, who was one of the first people to hear about the discovery of the structure of DNA, has died at the age of 95.
Lawrence Brown, the former head of the Acetate and Synthetic Fibres Laboratory on Lockhurst Lane had been suffering from a long illness.
In 1948, two years after getting married, Mr Brown moved to Coventry when he was recruited by Courtaulds, a company manufacturing fabric, clothing, artificial fibres and chemicals.
During his time as an X-Ray crystallographer, he got to know and collaborate with Francis Crick and James Watson - who made the ground-breaking discovery that DNA has the structure of a double helix.
Mr Brown, along with his good friend and colleague Ian Trotter, became one of the first people to be told of their amazing achievement and even received a footnote in one of Crick’s published papers.
Speaking of his encounter with the scientists, Mr Brown explained that he and Mr Trotter assisted them with research by reading their draft papers.
He said: “On the 18th of March 1953, Francis wrote us a letter with copies of a paper that he was submitting, in which he mentioned that he and Jim Watson, had reached a structure for DNA ‘which is so beautiful that we swoon every time we think of it.’
“This was written only a couple of weeks after the discovery and we must have been amongst the very first people outside of Cambridge and London universities to be told about this.
“Years later, when we went to a new lab and much of the old correspondence was going to be ditched, I salvaged the letter from Francis, as I thought that it was of some interest.”
Mr Brown’s career progressed and after a period as deputy, he became head of the Acetate and Synthetic Fibres Laboratory and held the post for several years whilst the lab was involved in work on the development of several synthetic fibres. including carbon fibre.
His final move within the company was as chair of several dyeing and printing companies then owned by Courtaulds before leaving in the late 1970s.
He had previously joined the Army, working his way up to captain, where he was posted to India, before returning to study an MA in Physics in Oxford.
After leaving Courtaulds he went on to teach at Warwick School before retiring in 1986.
Mr Brown is survived by his four sons and six grandchildren.
A memorial service for Mr Brown will be held at 1.30pm on tomorrow at St Thomas More Church, Knoll Drive, Coventry.