Professor Alfred Joseph Clark MC FRS FRSE (19 August 1885 – 30 July 1941) was a British

pharmacologist Pharmacology is a branch of medicine, biology and pharmaceutical sciences concerned with drug or medication action, where a drug may be defined as any artificial, natural, or endogenous (from within the body) molecule which exerts a biochemic ...

and Professor of Pharmacology at the

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

. He was a de-bunker of fraudulent remedies and did many early studies on the

placebo effect A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

of many claimed cures.

Life

He was born in

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

the son of a Quaker, Francis Joseph Clark of

Street, Somerset Street is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, with a population of 11,805 in 2011. On a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, it is south-west of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation ...

. He was educated at

Bootham School Bootham School is an independent Quaker boarding school, on Bootham in the city of York in England. It accepts boys and girls ages 3–19, and had an enrolment of 605 pupils in 2016. It is one of seven Quaker schools in England. The schoo ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

, and attended the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, graduating with a BA in 1907 and receiving a postgraduate MA in 1910. After the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was employed briefly as Professor of Pharmacology at Cape Town University in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, but used this as a stepping-stone to the more prestigious role of Professor of Pharmacology at

University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

where he worked 1919 to 1926, thereafter taking the role as Professor of Materia Medica at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. In 1928 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, his proposers included

James Hartley Ashworth James Hartley Ashworth FRS FRSE DSc SZS (2 May 1874 – 4 February 1936) was a British marine zoologist. Life See He was born on 2, May 1874, in Accrington in Lancashire, the only son of James Ashworth. He spent most of his early life in Bu ...

George Barger George Barger FRS FRSE FCS LLD (4 April 1878 – 5 January 1939) was a British chemist. Life He was born to an English mother, Eleanor Higginbotham, and Gerrit Barger, a Dutch engineer in Manchester, England. He was educated at Utrecht and ...

and Sir James Alfred Ewing. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1931. He served on the Medical Research Council from 1934 to 1938. He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 30 July 1941 following complications from a surgical procedure for an intestinal obstruction on 28 July.

Military service

Clark served in both World Wars. In the

he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps and received the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC ...

in 1917 for gallantry in France. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

he advised the government on gas warfare and was one of the many men evacuated from Dunkirk.

Family

He met Beatrice ("Trixie") Powell Hazell in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in 1918 and they married in 1919. They had two sons and two daughters. His son, David Clark, became a prominent psychiatrist.

Publications

He was the author of the classic textbook ''Applied Pharmacology''. *''Comparative Physiology of the Heart''(1927) *''The Mode of Action of Drugs on Cells'' (1933) *''General Pharmacology'' (1937) *''The Metabolism of the Frog's Heart'' (1938) *''Patent Medicines'' (1938)

References

1885 births 1941 deaths Academics of University College London People educated at Bootham School British pharmacologists Fellows of the Royal Society {{UK-scientist-stub