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P 012 Fuzhou_the Southern branch of Min River 闽江南港 by Dr. Elizabeth Keller
Early 1970's
Fuzhou, China
Dr. Elizabeth Keller (1918-1997) was born Elizabeth Waterbury Beach in Changle County of Fujian Province, China (currently a borough of Fuzhou City). She was the youngest daughter of Frederick & Ruth Beach. According to Betty, her dad was a Congregational missionary, her mum was a piano teacher. The family lived in southern suburb of Fuzhou until Japanese invasion, when they returned to US. She got her PhD in biochemistry at Cornell University Medical College in New York City. Later, she became a faculty member of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
During her Cornell years, she was associated with Dr. Robert W. Holley, another faculty there. One day in the late afternoon, Dr. Holley suddenly presented her with a manuscript of his for proofreading, which was to be posted the next day for publication. Betty was not convinced of their interpretation of the secondary structure of the tRNA, and thus proposed a cloverleaf model of tRNA that was included in manuscript. As matter of fact, Betty personally drew the new picture of the cloverleaf model because there departmental secretaries were unable to do it in short notice. Therefore, there were three proposed structures of the tRNA in the paper, the last one drawn in a slightly different style. Eventually, Betty's model turned out to be the only correct one; the models of Dr. Holley were soon forgotten. This paper earned Dr. Holley a share of the Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, Betty was not given the credit for her discovery in the publication; otherwise she would be sharing the Nobel Price with the rest of the authors. Furthermore, the correct tRNA model should be called 'Keller's model' as per tradition.
In the early 1970's, Betty made a 'home-coming' visit to Fuzhou, China. We exchanged photos in 1980's when I was at Cornell as a PhD student. She also gave me a reprint copy of the Nobel Price paper. This photo of hers shows Min River with traditional Chinese sailing boats, which was no longer to be seen anywhere when I got my first camera. I have to thank Betty for preserving a piece of my childhood memory so dear to me.
By the way, the blue mountains in the background is called 'Five-Tiger Mountains', a landmark of Fuzhou. John Thomson also photographed this mountain, but I like Betty's perspective better.
P 012 Fuzhou_the Southern branch of Min River 闽江南港 by Dr. Elizabeth Keller
Early 1970's
Fuzhou, China
Dr. Elizabeth Keller (1918-1997) was born Elizabeth Waterbury Beach in Changle County of Fujian Province, China (currently a borough of Fuzhou City). She was the youngest daughter of Frederick & Ruth Beach. According to Betty, her dad was a Congregational missionary, her mum was a piano teacher. The family lived in southern suburb of Fuzhou until Japanese invasion, when they returned to US. She got her PhD in biochemistry at Cornell University Medical College in New York City. Later, she became a faculty member of Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
During her Cornell years, she was associated with Dr. Robert W. Holley, another faculty there. One day in the late afternoon, Dr. Holley suddenly presented her with a manuscript of his for proofreading, which was to be posted the next day for publication. Betty was not convinced of their interpretation of the secondary structure of the tRNA, and thus proposed a cloverleaf model of tRNA that was included in manuscript. As matter of fact, Betty personally drew the new picture of the cloverleaf model because there departmental secretaries were unable to do it in short notice. Therefore, there were three proposed structures of the tRNA in the paper, the last one drawn in a slightly different style. Eventually, Betty's model turned out to be the only correct one; the models of Dr. Holley were soon forgotten. This paper earned Dr. Holley a share of the Nobel Prize. Unfortunately, Betty was not given the credit for her discovery in the publication; otherwise she would be sharing the Nobel Price with the rest of the authors. Furthermore, the correct tRNA model should be called 'Keller's model' as per tradition.
In the early 1970's, Betty made a 'home-coming' visit to Fuzhou, China. We exchanged photos in 1980's when I was at Cornell as a PhD student. She also gave me a reprint copy of the Nobel Price paper. This photo of hers shows Min River with traditional Chinese sailing boats, which was no longer to be seen anywhere when I got my first camera. I have to thank Betty for preserving a piece of my childhood memory so dear to me.
By the way, the blue mountains in the background is called 'Five-Tiger Mountains', a landmark of Fuzhou. John Thomson also photographed this mountain, but I like Betty's perspective better.