Sir Arnold Stanley Vincent Burgen FRS (20 March 1922 – 26 May 2022) was a British physician,

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 ...

, academic and university administrator. He was Master of Darwin College, Cambridge, from 1982–89, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of 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 ...

from 1985–89, and founding President of the

Academia Europæa The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

Early life

Burgen was born in Clapton, East London. He attended Christ's College Finchley, a grammar school in Finchley, north London. He was subsequently a student at the

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

Medical School beginning in 1945; (now part of

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

) before going on to become a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

in 1950.

Career

*House Physician, Middlesex Hospital, 1945; Demonstrator, 1945–48, Asst Lectr, 1948–49, in Pharmacology, Middlesex Hospital Medical School. *Professor of Physiology,

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

, 1949–62; Deputy Director, University Clinic, Montreal General Hospital, 1957-62. * Sheild Professor of Pharmacology, University of Cambridge, 1962–71; Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge, 1962–71, Hon. Fellow 1972 *Director,

National Institute for Medical Research The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR b ...

, 1971-82. *President, the

International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate ''Better Medicines through Global Education and Rese ...

1972-75

Personal life

Burgen was married to British crystallographer

Olga Kennard Olga Kennard, Lady Burgen ( Weisz; born 23 March 1924) is a British scientist specialising in crystallography, and founder of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. Her research focused on determining the structures of organic molecule ...

. He died on 26 May 2022, at the age of 100.

Honours

Burgen was appointed Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1964, Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

in 1969, and was knighted in the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

. Burgen was elected a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States in 1987. He became an Honorary Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge, in 1989. He was founding President and ''praesis perpetua honoris causa'' of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgen, Arnold 1922 births 2022 deaths British pharmacologists 20th-century British medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor McGill University faculty Members of Academia Europaea Masters of Darwin College, Cambridge Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Fellows of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of University College London People educated at Christ's College, Finchley British centenarians Men centenarians Professors of the University of Cambridge People from the London Borough of Hackney