Sir David Paton Cuthbertson,

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 ...

(9 May 1900 – 15 April 1989) was a Scottish physician, biochemist, medical researcher and nutritionist who was a leading authority on

metabolism Metabolism (, from el, μεταβολή ''metabolē'', "change") is the set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms. The three main functions of metabolism are: the conversion of the energy in food to energy available to run cell ...

. The

Rowett Research Institute The Rowett Institute is a research centre for studies into Food science, food and nutrition, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. History The institute was founded in 1913 when the University of Aberdeen and the Scottish Agricultural College, Nort ...

became one of the world's leading centres for

animal nutrition Animal nutrition focuses on the dietary nutrients needs of animals, primarily those in agriculture and food production, but also in zoos, aquariums, and wildlife management. Constituents of diet Macronutrients (excluding fiber and water) provide ...

research under Cuthbertson's leadership (1945–65).

Life

David Cuthbertson was born in

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock (, sco, Kilmaurnock; gd, Cill Mheàrnaig (IPA: ʰʲɪʎˈveaːɾnəkʲ, "Marnock's church") is a large town and former burgh in East Ayrshire, Scotland and is the administrative centre of East Ayrshire, East Ayrshire Council. ...

the son of John Cuthbertson

(1859-1933) a teacher in the fields of both mining and agriculture. David was educated at

Kilmarnock Academy Kilmarnock Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Chille Mheàrnaig''), formerly Kilmarnock Burgh School, is a state-funded secondary school in Kilmarnock, Scotland, currently located on Sutherland Drive in the New Farm Loch area of the town. The ...

. He served in the Royal Scots Fusiliers during 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 ...

. This delayed his education and he then studied Medicine at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

graduating MB ChB in 1926. Cuthbertson served on several research and scientific committees, including secondment to the Medical Research Council in 1943, and served as Vice-President 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 ...

from 1959–60. In his early research, in 1936, Cuthbertson observed a loss of nitrogen (urea) in fracture patients, later referred to as surgical stress. In this he was assisted by Hamish Munro.http://rse.mtcserver6.com/cms/files/fellows/obits_alpha/munro_hamish.pdf He was Director of the

from 1945 to 1965. He was awarded several honorary doctorates: DSc from

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

; LLD from

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

; LLD from

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

; and Dhc from

Zagreb University The University of Zagreb ( hr, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, ; la, Universitas Studiorum Zagrabiensis) is the largest Croatian university and the oldest continuously operating university in the area covering Central Europe south of Vienna and all of ...

. In 1949 he was elected a Fellow of the

. His proposers were

James Norman Davidson James Norman Davidson CBE PRSE FRS (5 March 1911 – 11 September 1972) was a British biochemist, pioneer molecular biologist and textbook author. The Davidson Building at the University of Glasgow is named for him. Life He was the only child ...

Robert Garry Robert Campbell Garry (1933) OBE FRSE (1900–1993) was a British physician and Professor of Medicine at the University of St Andrews and the University of Glasgow. During World War II, as an expert on human physiology, he advised on human ...

, Ernest Cruickshank, and

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 ...

. He served as the Society's Vice President from 1959 to 1960. He died on 15 April 1989, in

Troon Troon is a town in South Ayrshire, situated on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland, about north of Ayr and northwest of Glasgow Prestwick Airport. Troon has a port with freight services and a yacht marina. Up until January 2016, P&O Ferrie ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Family

He was married to Jean Telfer (d.1987). His son was the actor

Iain Cuthbertson Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish character actor and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in ''The Border ...

(1930-2009).

References

1900 births 1989 deaths People from Kilmarnock People educated at Kilmarnock Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Scottish pathologists Scottish biochemists British nutritionists British medical researchers Scottish knights Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Royal Scots Fusiliers soldiers British Army personnel of World War I {{UK-chemist-stub