Prof Donald Neil McArthur FRSE FRIC (1892-1965) was a 20th-century Scottish chemist who served as the Director of 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 ...

for Soil Science from 1948 to 1958.

Life

He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 2 August 1892 the son of Donald McArthur, a coal trader and ship owner, and his wife Anne Dewar. The family lived at 15 Maxwell Drive in Glasgow. He was educated at

Allan Glen's School Allan Glen's School was, for most of its existence, a local authority, selective secondary school for boys in Glasgow, Scotland, charging nominal fees for tuition. It was founded by the Allan Glen's Endowment Scholarship Trust on the death, ...

then studied chemistry 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 BSc in 1913. He went to work at the West of Scotland College of Agriculture first as a Lecturer and was promoted to Professor following his award of a doctorate in 1928. In 1945 he moved to the Macaulay Institute near Aberdeen, becoming its Director in 1948. In 1929 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were James Montagu F. Drummond, Alexander Lauder, Sir James Walker and

George Barger George Barger FRS FRSE FCS LLD (4 April 1878 – 5 January 1939) was a British chemist. Life He was born to an English mother, Eleanor Higginbotham, and Gerrit Barger, a Dutch engineer in Manchester, England. He was educated at Utrecht and ...

. In 1953 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 o ...

. He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 23 August 1965.

Family

He married Anne Videon Brough.

Publications

*''A New Photographic Phenomenon'' (1919)

References

1892 births 1965 deaths Scientists from Glasgow People educated at Allan Glen's School Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish chemists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh {{Scotland-scientist-stub