Who in the World is Dr. Denham Harman and What is His Connection to Free Radicals

Like you, I have a number of people who have made an impact in my life. Some I have met, others I have not. Some of them, I am not even aware of. Ironically, one of the people who has had the most impact on my recent life has no idea of who I am.

In fact, he probably had no idea that he would affect me, and so many people like me.

And, chances are very good that you have no idea who he is either. You have probably never even heard his name. Dr. Denham Harman.

Who is Dr. Denham Harman?

He is simply the man responsible for discovering what I think is one of the most important discoveries of our time. The free radical theory of aging.

Yes, that’s right; Dr. Harmon is famous for discovering the link between aging, and the damage done by free radicals entering your body. He is now known as the "father of the free radical theory of aging".

Dr. Harmon was born on February 14, 1916 and earned his Ph. D. in 1943 when he went to work for Shell Oil. Yes, that’s right, a petroleum company. While at Shell, he was responsible for 35 patents, including one for a fly strip. One of those sticky things you hang up to catch flies.

Kind of unremarkable in itself, but this is where his story gets more interesting. You see, it was interesting set of coincidences that brought us some of the most important scientific discoveries of our time. At least in my opinion.

First, Dr. Harman's his job at Shell was to study free radical reactions in petroleum products. At that time, no one including the doctor himself had thought anything about free radicals and aging.

The second "coincidence" was that Dr Harmon became fascinated with aging. He became interested in learning what caused it, and if it could be stopped or at least slowed down. His interest in aging and with health - Dr. Harmon ran 2 miles a day until he turned 82, leads me to believe he had no interest in ever getting old.

In order to learn more about aging, Denham went back to school. Stanford Medical School to be precise. He was finally able to begin pursuing his passion of the study in aging at the Donner Laboratory in Berkley.

It was 1954, when Dr. Harmon came up with an idea. An idea that free radicals caused damage to molecules, which then caused aging.

He has spent the remainder of his life, including while holding a position as chair of cardiovascular research at the University of Nebraska, furthering the study of aging. He formed the American Aging Association in 1970 to create a society of scientists focused on this neglected area of study. In 1985 he founded the International Association of Biomedical Gerontology.
Most people have never heard of Dr. Denham Harman. And he will certainly never know how his discovery has changed my life because my interest in health and Acai berries got me interested in free radicals and antioxidants.

But, it often works out that way in life. One person makes a discovery, another expands on it and eventually we find a solution. I happen to think it’s important to give credit, where credit is due.

Many people have expanded the research on free radicals, antioxidants and aging. But Dr. Denham Harman will always be known as the "father of the free radical theory of aging".