![Alexander MacAlister](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Alexander_MacAlister._Photograph._Wellcome_V0026757.jpg)
Prof Alexander Macalister
FRS Hon.
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 ...
FSA FRAI (9 April 18442 September 1919) was an Irish anatomist,
Professor of Anatomy, Cambridge University The chair of the Professor of Anatomy at the University of Cambridge was founded by the university in 1707. In 1924, the scope of the professorship was extended from purely human anatomy to cover the anatomy of all vertebrates, as well as embryology ...
, from 1883 until his death. He was a Fellow of
St John’s College, Cambridge.
Life
He was born in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, the second son of Robert Macalister, secretary of the Sunday School Society of Ireland, and his wife (née Boyle). Alexander was educated locally then studied medicine at
Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
.
He qualified at the Irish Royal Colleges in 1861, became M.B. at Trinity College ten years later and M.D. in 1876. After acting as demonstrator of anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, he was appointed professor of
zoology
Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
, and eight years later professor of
anatomy
Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...
and
chirurgery, at Dublin. In 1883, he succeeded Sir
George Murray Humphrey
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
in the chair of anatomy at Cambridge, and held this post for thirty-six years. He was a prolific writer.
Besides his "Text-book of Human Anatomy"(1889) for which he is best known, he was the author of "Introduction to Animal Morphology"(1876) and "Morphology of Vertebrate Animals" (1878) as well as of numerous papers on animal, morphology, human anatomy and small text-books for students. Macalister was also editor of the
Journal of Anatomy
The ''Journal of Anatomy'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Wiley on behalf of the Anatomical Society. It covers all aspects of anatomy and morphology. The journal was first published in 1867 and was originally known as t ...
between 1907 and 1916. He was a man of remarkable versatility, being an able mathematician as well as versed in archæology, Egyptology and draughtsmanship. Like his cousin, Sir
Donald Macalister
Sir Donald MacAlister, 1st Baronet of Tarbet (17 May 1854 – 15 January 1934) was a Scottish physician who was Principal and Vice-Chancellor and, later, Chancellor of the University of Glasgow. He was a member of the Cambridge Apostles intelle ...
, he was a proficient linguist, having knowledge of fourteen languages.
Macalister received many honours. In 1881, he was elected a
fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
.
He was made hon. LL.D. of the Universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and McGill and hon. D.Sc. and senator of the University of Dublin. He was Secretary of the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...
and President of the
Anatomical Society The Anatomical Society (AS), previously known as the Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland or ASGBI was founded in London in 1887 to "promote, develop and advance research and education in all aspects of anatomical science".
The society o ...
(1897–99). His name has been attached to the fovea gastrica and the annulus femoralis s. cruralis.
King Henry VI investigation
On 4 November 1910 the body of
King Henry VI
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English throne a ...
in its brick vault in
St. George's Chapel, Windsor
St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in England is a castle chapel built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style. It is both a Royal Peculiar (a church under the direct jurisdiction of the monarch) and the Chapel of the Order of the Gart ...
(since 12 August 1484) was "investigated", with
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
's consent, by
William Henry St John Hope and Canon
John Neale Dalton, in the presence of the Dean and Canons, and various other people such as
M.R. James
Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...
, Provost of
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
(and later of
Eton College
Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...
, both founded by Henry VI), and Dr. A. Macalister, Professor of Anatomy at Cambridge. The vault was emptied of rubble, and at the centre was found a small lead chest containing the fragmented bones of "a fairly strong man, aged between 45 and 55", according to Macalister's report, published in
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
on 12 November 1910. The bones had previously been buried in
Chertsey Abbey
Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey.
It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same time ...
in 1471 until their removal in 1484.
Death
He died in Cambridge on 2 September 1919 after a long illness and was buried in the
Parish of the Ascension Burial Ground in Cambridge with his wife Elizabeth, who had died in 1901.
Family
He married Elizabeth Stewart in 1866. Their children included the archaeologist
R. A. Stewart Macalister and
George Hugh Kidd Macalister
George Hugh Kidd Macalister (3 May 1879 – 2 November 1930) was a medical doctor, Professor of Clinical Medicine and Lecturer on Therapeutics, King Edward VII College of Medicine in Singapore, from 1918 until his death.
Family
He was the y ...
.
References
* ‘MACALISTER, Alexander’, Who Was Who, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 200
accessed 8 March 2013*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macalister, Alexander
1844 births
1919 deaths
Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
Fellows of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Presidents of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Place of birth missing
Professors of Anatomy (Cambridge)
Irish anatomists
Journal of Anatomy editors