Members of the Second International Congress on the Wellcome L0029043

Alan William Greenwood

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(29 June 1897 – 4 May 1981) was a Scottish zoologist and geneticist, who helped pave the way to creating

Dolly the Sheep Dolly (5 July 1996 – 14 February 2003) was a female Finnish Dorset sheep and the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. She was cloned by associates of the Roslin Institute in Scotland, using the process of nuclear transfer from a ...

. He served as Director of the Poultry Research Centre from 1947 until 1962.

Life

He was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in Australia on 29 June 1897 and attended Wesley College in Melbourne. He then won a place at

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

graduating BSc in Chemistry and Biology in 1920. He continued as a postgraduate, gaining an MSc in 1923 then travelling to Scotland to study for a PhD 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 ...

under the supervision of

James Cossar Ewart James Cossar Ewart FRS FRSE (26 November 1851 – 31 December 1933) was a Scottish zoologist. He performed breeding experiments with horses and zebras which disproved earlier theories of heredity. Life Ewart was born in Penicuik, Midlo ...

. Here he also began work at the Animal Breeding Research Department (later renamed the Institute of Animal Genetics). Colleagues included the geneticist

Janet Scott Salmon Blyth Janet Scott Salmon Blyth (19 February 1902 - 1972) was a Scottish geneticist who specialised in poultry genetics and husbandry in the interwar and post-war decades and played a prominent role in establishing the Poultry Research Centre, one of ...

, with whom he would go on to collaborate with for many years, and the pharmacist

John Michael Robson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

who joined the Institute in 1929. He gained his PhD from the University of Edinburgh in 1925, and in 1931 received a further honorary DSc from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. Around 1935 he was joined at the Institute by Sanford Sterling Munro. In 1927 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh his proposers including

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 ...

and Sir Robert Blyth Greig. In 1932 he was awarded the

Keith Medal The Keith Medal was a prize awarded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy, for a scientific paper published in the society's scientific journals, preference being given to a paper containing a discovery, either in mathe ...

for his contributions to the study of the biology of

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl (Galliformes) and the waterfowl (Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; together ...

. He served as Vice President of the Society from 1943 to 1946 and Secretary 1955 to 1960. 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 opposin ...

he served as Acting Director while the former Director,

Francis Albert Eley Crew Francis Albert Eley Crew FRS FRSE LLD (2 March 1886 – 26 May 1973) was an English animal geneticist. He was a pioneer in his field leading to the University of Edinburgh’s place as a world leader in the science of animal genetics. He was t ...

, served in the war, and in 1947 he fully replaced him as Director alongside Prof

James Edward Nichols Prof James Edward Nichols FRSE (22 November 1902 – 28 March 1972) was a Welsh geneticist. Life He was born in Southport in Lancashire on 22 November 1902. He was educated at Carlisle Grammar School then studied at Durham University graduati ...

. The overall speciality was in poultry research, especially chicken reproduction. In the New Years Honours list on 1 January 1955 he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. He died at 64 Strathearn Road in

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

on 4 May 1981 and was buried at

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

. His simple gravestone lies in the modern northern section of the west extension. The

Roslin Institute The Roslin Institute is an animal sciences research institute at Easter Bush, Midlothian, Scotland, part of the University of Edinburgh, and is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. It is best known for creat ...

's avian facility is named in his honour.

War Service

Greenwood served in the Camel Field Ambulance (part of the Australian Imperial Forces) in Palestine in 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 ...

Family

He married twice: firstly to Vera Crockett in 1923; secondly to Josephine Peace (1907–2001).Grave of Alan Greenwood, Grange Cemetery. He had no children by either marriage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood, Alan William 1897 births 1981 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People from Melbourne