Prof Alexander Boyd Stewart

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 ...

FRIC (1904–1981) was a 20th century Scottish organic chemist and agriculturalist. He was President of the British Society of Soil Science.

Life

He was born on 3 November 1904 at Tarland in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, the son of Donald Stewart, a farmer. He was educated at

Robert Gordon's College Robert Gordon's College is a co-educational Independent school (UK) for day pupils in Aberdeen, Scotland. The school caters for pupils from Nursery through to S6. History Robert Gordon, an Aberdeen merchant, made his fortune in 18th century ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. He then studied Science at Aberdeen University graduating MA in 1925 and BSc in 1928. He then continued as a postgraduate, gaining his doctorate (PhD) in 1932. He immediately obtained a post as Head of the Soil Fertility Department at the

Macaulay Institute The Macaulay Institute, formally the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and sometimes referred to simply as The Macaulay, is a research institute based at Aberdeen in Scotland, which is now part of the James Hutton Institute. Its work covers ...

. Remaining at the institute he became its Deputy Director in 1954. In 1955 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Donald McArthur Prof Donald Neil McArthur FRSE FRIC (1892-1965) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist who served as the Director of the Macaulay Institute for Soil Science from 1948 to 1958. Life He was born in Glasgow on 2 August 1892 the son of Donald McArthur ...

David Cuthbertson Sir David Paton Cuthbertson, CBE, FRSE (9 May 1900 – 15 April 1989) was a Scottish physician, biochemist, medical researcher and nutritionist who was a leading authority on metabolism. The Rowett Research Institute became one of the world ...

A. T. Phillipson Prof Andrew Tindal Phillipson FRSE (1910–1977) was a 20th-century British veterinary surgeon and physiologist. Life He was born in London on 19 August 1910 the second son of John Tindal Phillipson and his wife, Cicely Gough Paterson. He was ...

Thomas Phemister Prof Thomas Crawford Phemister FRSE FGS (1902–1982) was a 20th-century Scottish geologist. Life He was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 25 May 1902 the son of John Clark Phemister (b.1858) and his wife, Elizabeth Galbraith Crawford. He was the ...

James Robert Matthews James Robert Matthews FRSE FLS CBE LLD (1889–1978) was a 20th-century Scottish botanist. He was president of the British Ecological Society in 1934 and president of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh 1939 to 1942. Life He was born in the vill ...

and

Murray Macgregor George Murray Macgregor FRSE (21 January 1884 – 21 January 1966) was a Scottish geologist. He was described as "Scotland's most eminent coalfield geologist." Life Macgregor was born in Glasgow to Agnes Murray and George Macgregor. He studied a ...

. In 1958 he left to become Professor of Agriculture at Aberdeen University. He was created 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 ...

(CBE) in 1962. He returned to the Macaulay Institute in 1964 as its Director. He retired in 1968 and died at his home, 3 Woodburn Place (a 1980s bungalow) in Aberdeen on 27 February 1981.

Family

In 1939 he married Alice F. Bowman.

Publications

*''Soil Fertility Investigations in India'' (1946) *''Agriculture in the University of Aberdeen'' (1959)

References

1904 births 1981 deaths Organic chemists People from Aberdeenshire People educated at Robert Gordon's College Scottish agriculturalists Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Aberdeen Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-scientist-stub