Arthur Kornberg (March 3, 1918 – October 26, 2007) was an American biochemist who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1959 for his discovery of "the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)" with Severo Ochoa of New York University. He was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1979.
His primary research interests were in biochemistry, especially enzyme chemistry, deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis (DNA replication) and studying the nucleic acids which control heredity in animals, plants, bacteria and viruses.
He is of Jewish descent.
Arthur and Sylvy Kornberg had three sons: Roger Kornberg (1947), Thomas Kornberg (1948), and Kenneth Kornberg (1950). Roger is Professor of Structural Biology at Stanford University, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2006. Thomas discovered DNA polymerase II and III in 1970 and is now a professor at the University of California, San Francisco. Kenneth is an architect specializing in the design of biomedical and biotechnology laboratories and buildings.
Books
1961. Enzymatic synthesis of DNA. John Wiley & Sons, 1961
1974. DNA synthesis. W.H. Freeman, San Francisco. 1980. DNA replication. W.H. Freeman, San Francisco. 1992. DNA Replication, 2nd edition, with Tania A. Baker. W.H. Freeman, New York. 1989. For the love of enzymes: the odyssey of a biochemist. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. 2002. The golden helix: inside biotech ventures. University Science Books.