Early Life and Education
Khorana was born to Hindu parents in Raipur village in West Punjab, British India, currently Pakistan. His father was the village "patwari" (or taxation official). He was home schooled by his father until high school. He earned his B.Sc from Punjab University, Lahore, in 1943, and his M.Sc from Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan in 1945. In 1945, he began studying at the University of Liverpool. After earning a Ph.D in 1948, he continued his postdoctoral studies in Zürich (1948–1949). Subsequently, he spent two years at Cambridge University. In 1952 he went to the University of British Columbia, Vancouver and in 1960 moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In 1970 Khorana became the Alfred Sloan Professor of Biology and Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he worked until retiring in 2007.
Khorana married Esther Elizabeth Sibler, of Swiss origin, in 1952. They had three children: Julia Elizabeth (born May 4, 1953), Emily Anne (born October 18, 1954; died 1979), and Dave Roy (born July 26, 1958).
Read more about this topic: Har Gobind Khorana
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