Born May 19, 1914, in Vienna. British biochemist of Austrian descent specializing in molecular biology. Member of the Royal Society of London (1954).

Perutz studied at the University of Vienna from 1932 to 1936, after which he moved to Cambridge, Great Britain. He received the Ph.D. degree at Cambridge University in 1940. Perutz directed the unit for molecular biology of the Medical Research Council from 1947 to 1962, and since 1962 has headed the laboratory of molecular biology at Cambridge University. Perutz’ principal works deal with the structure of proteins, using X-ray diffraction analysis, a method that he perfected. He was the first to uncover the three-dimensional structure of the hemoglobin molecule.

Perutz received a Nobel Prize in 1962 with J. Kendrew. He has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Austrian Academy of Sciences since 1963, as well as a member of many scientific societies.