Arthur Furchgott Family
Home of King Street merchant Arthur Furchgott (1884–1971) and his wife, Pena Sorentrue (1883–1978). Their sons Arthur, Robert, and Max grew up here. Future Nobel laureate Robert Furchgott (1916–2009) spent his first sixteen years in Charleston walking the beaches and fields, bird watching, and indulging his passion for natural history. During the Great Depression, Arthur Furchgott closed his store and the family moved to Orangeburg, South Carolina, Pena’s hometown, where they opened a dress shop.
Robert Furchgott attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry at Northwestern University (Illinois) in 1940. In 1998, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine (shared with Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad) for the discovery of nitric oxide as a cellular signal; his research has been important in understanding neuronal and cardiovascular behavior, and in treating various health issues. After his retirement Furchgott returned to live for a few years in his native city.
For more information on Arthur Furchgott, see the Arthur Furchgott papers, Special Collections, College of Charleston.
Robert Furchgott, Nobel Prize
Robert Furchgott (1916–2009) (left) receiving the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine from Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden, 1998. Courtesy of Marcelle Furchgott.