David Whitteridge FRS

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 ...

FRCP (1912–1994) was a 20th-century British physician and physiologist. Also an

electrophysiologist Electrophysiology (from Greek , ''ēlektron'', "amber" etymology of "electron"">Electron#Etymology">etymology of "electron" , ''physis'', "nature, origin"; and , ''-logia'') is the branch of physiology that studies the electrical properties of bi ...

, he was one of the first to demonstrate point to point relationship between nerve endings and specific points of activity within the brain. He is also remembered for his phrase "physiology equals anatomy plus thought".

Life

He was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

in London on 22 June 1912 the son of Walter Whitteridge, and his French wife, Jean Hortense Carouge. He was educated at the

Whitgift School ("He who perseveres, conquers") , established = , closed = , type = Independent school , religious_affiliation = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head Master , head = Christopher Ramsey , c ...

. He studied Sciences at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

graduating MA in 1934 then studied Medicine at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

under

John Carew Eccles Sir John Carew Eccles (27 January 1903 – 2 May 1997) was an Australian neurophysiologist and philosopher who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Llo ...

, graduating MB ChB in 1937. Continuing research under Sir

Charles Sherrington Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (27 November 1857 – 4 March 1952) was an eminent English neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a system ...

he was involved in the now-controversial experiments to show "faradisation" in experiments of attaching electrodes to monkey brains. He also looked at the effects of anaesthetics and toxic gases on the heart and brains. He then became Resident Medical Officer at

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

Memorial Hospital. During the Second World War he worked with

Ludwig Guttmann Sir Ludwig Guttmann (3 July 1899 – 18 March 1980) was a German-British neurologist who established the Stoke Mandeville Games, the sporting event for people with disabilities (PWD) that evolved in England into the Paralympic Games. A Jewish ...

caring for spinal injuries at

Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It was establishe ...

. In 1944 he became Demonstrator in

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

. He began working with

Sybil Cooper Sybil Cooper (January 1900 – 1970), was a British physiologist. Life and work Sybil Cooper, daughter of the distinguished architect Sir Edwin Cooper (architect), Edwin Cooper, was born in London, England, in January 1900. She attended Girton C ...

and Peter Daniel on the muscles controlling eye movement, and began making topographical point-to-point maps of the brain during the same period. In 1950 he was created Professor of Physiology at the university. He was made a Fellow of the university in 1968 succeeding

George Lindor Brown Sir George Lindor Brown (9 February 1903, Liverpool – 22 February 1971) was an English physiologist and secretary of the Royal Society, of which he was elected a Fellow in 1946. He was commonly referred to as Sir Lindor Brown; by his own pref ...

in the Waynflete Chair. In 1951 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 Ernest Cruickshank,

Philip Eggleton Philip Eggleton FRSE (19 March 1903 – 7 October 1954) was a British biochemist, physiologist, lecturer, and (with his wife Grace Palmer Eggleton), co-discoverer of Phosphagens. Life Eggleton was born at Kingston-on-Thames on 19 March 1903. ...

William Ogilvy Kermack William Ogilvy Kermack FRS FRSE FRIC (26 April 1898 – 20 July 1970) was a Scottish biochemist. He made mathematical studies of epidemic spread and established links between environmental factors and specified diseases. He is noteworthy for ...

, and Sir

Edmund Hirst Sir Edmund Langley Hirst CBE FRS FRSE (21 July 1898 – 29 October 1975), was a British chemist. Life Hirst was born in Preston, Lancashire on 21 July 1898 the son of Elizabeth (née Langley) and Rev Sim Hirst (1856-1923) a Baptist minister. He ...

. He was Vice President of the Society from 1956 to 1959. He was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of London 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 1953. In 1984/85 he went to India in the wake of the

Bhopal Disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's wo ...

to give advice on consequent neurological issues. He was made an Honorary Member of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi for Indian scientists in all branches of science and technology. In August 2019, Dr. Chandrima Shaha was appointed as the president of Indian National Science Academ ...

as a result, and awarded the Mahalanobis Medal. He retired in 1979 and died in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 15 June 1994 aged 81. His work in neuroscience was continued and expanded by former students and colleagues such as Michael Gaze and

Autar Singh Paintal Autar Singh Paintal (24 September 1925 – 21 December 2004) was a medical scientist who made pioneering discoveries in the area of neurosciences and respiratory sciences. He is the first Indian Physiologist to become the Fellow of the Royal ...

Family

In 1938 he married Dr Gweneth Hutchings (d.1993). They had three children.

Publications

*''Trends in Neuroscience'' (1982) *''100 years of Congresses of Physiology'' (1989)

References

1912 births 1994 deaths British physiologists Electrophysiologists People from Croydon People educated at Whitgift School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{UK-academic-bio-stub