# Henrik Dam

_Danish biochemist and physiologist (1895-1976)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/henrik-dam
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Carl Peter Henrik Dam  (21 February 1895 – 17 April 1976) was a Danish biochemist and physiologist.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 21 February 1895 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Copenhagen ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P19))
- **Died:** 17 April 1976 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P570))
- **Place of death:** Copenhagen ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P20))
- **Citizenship:** Kingdom of Denmark ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P27))
- **Occupation:** biochemist; physician; pedagogue; university teacher; chemist; physiologist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P106))
- **Education:** Technical University of Denmark; University of Graz ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P69))
- **Awards:** Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501#P166))

## About

He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1943 for joint work with Edward Doisy in discovering vitamin K and its role in human physiology. Dam's key experiment involved feeding a cholesterol-free diet to chickens. He initially replicated experiments reported by scientists at the Ontario Agricultural College (OAC). McFarlane, Graham and Richardson, working on the chick feed program at OAC, had used chloroform to remove all fat from chick chow. They noticed that chicks fed only fat-depleted chow developed hemorrhages and started bleeding from tag sites. Dam found that these defects could not be restored by adding purified cholesterol to the diet. It appeared that—together with the cholesterol—a second compound had been extracted from the food, and this compound was called the coagulation vitamin. The new vitamin received the letter K because the initial discoveries were reported in a German journal, in which it was designated as Koagulationsvitamin.

He received an undergraduate degree in chemistry from the Copenhagen Polytechnic Institute (now the Technical University of Denmark) in 1920, and was appointed as assistant instructor in chemistry at the School of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. By 1923 he had attained the post of instructor in biochemistry at the University of Copenhagen's Physiological Laboratory. He studied microchemistry at the University of Graz under Fritz Pregl in 1925, but returned to the University of Copenhagen, where he was appointed as an assistant professor at the Institute of Biochemistry in 1928, and assistant professor in 1929. During his time as professor at the University of Copenhagen he spent some time working abroad, and in 1934 submitted the thesis Nogle Undersøgelser over Sterinernes Biologiske Betydning (Some Investigations…

## Questions

**When was Henrik Dam born?**  
Henrik Dam was born on 21 February 1895 in Copenhagen.

**Where did Henrik Dam study?**  
Henrik Dam was educated at Technical University of Denmark, University of Graz.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Henrik Dam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henrik_Dam) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q190501](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q190501) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Henrik Dam nobel.jpg by Unknown author Unknown author (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henrik_Dam_nobel.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Henrik Dam, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Henrik Dam nobel.jpg — Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Henrik Dam". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/henrik-dam. Retrieved 6 November 2026.