David Keilin FRS (21 March 1887 – 27 February 1963) was a Jewish scientist focusing mainly on

entomology Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as ara ...

Background and education

He was born in Moscow in 1887 and his family returned to

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

early in his youth. He did not attend school until age ten due to ill health and

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, co ...

. Only seven years later, in 1904, he enrolled in the

University of Liège The University of Liège (french: Université de Liège), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French. As of 2020, ULiège is ranked in the ...

. He later studied at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Ma ...

, and became a British citizen.

Career

Keilin became research assistant to

George Nuttall George Henry Falkiner Nuttall FRS (5 July 1862 – 16 December 1937) was an American-British bacteriologist who contributed much to the knowledge of parasites and of insect carriers of diseases. He made significant innovative discoveries in immu ...

, first

Quick Professor of Biology The Quick Professorship of Biology is one of the senior professorships in biology at the University of Cambridge. Frederick James Quick (1836–1902), a prosperous coffee merchant and senior partner in the London coffee-firm ''Quick, Reek and J ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, in 1915, and spent the rest of his career there, succeeding Nuttall as Quick Professor and director of the Molteno Institute in 1931. He retired in 1952. He made extensive contributions to

and

parasitology Parasitology is the study of parasites, their host (biology), hosts, and the relationship between them. As a List of biology disciplines, biological discipline, the scope of parasitology is not determined by the organism or environment in questio ...

during his career. He published thirty-nine papers between 1914 and 1923 on the reproduction of lice, the life-cycle of the horse bot-fly, the respiratory adaptations in fly larvae, and other subjects. He is most known for his research and rediscovery of

cytochrome Cytochromes are redox-active proteins containing a heme, with a central Fe atom at its core, as a cofactor. They are involved in electron transport chain and redox catalysis. They are classified according to the type of heme and its mode of ...

in the 1920s (he invented the name). It had been discovered by C. A. MacMunn in 1884, but that discovery had been forgotten or misunderstood.

Awards and honours

Keilin was elected a 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 1926. He won its

Royal Medal The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal and The King's Medal (depending on the gender of the monarch at the time of the award), is a silver-gilt medal, of which three are awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important ...

in 1939 and its

Copley Medal The Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society, for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science". It alternates between the physical sciences or mathematics and the biological sciences. Given every year, the medal is t ...

in 1951.

Legacy

The Keilin Memorial Lecture of the

Biochemical Society The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences. Structure It currently has around 7000 members, two-thirds in the UK. It is affiliated with t ...

began in 1964 in his memory, and recipients and the subject of their talk is selected by a committee reflecting Keilin's interests in bioenergetics, electron transfer and mitochondrial biology. A medal with his profile, a financial award and an opportunity for research publication is also awarded. In 2020, the recipient was the University of Cambridge's Prof Judy Hirst.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keilin, David 1887 births 1963 deaths British parasitologists British entomologists Jews from the Russian Empire Jewish scientists University of Liège alumni Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Recipients of the Copley Medal Royal Medal winners Quick Professors of Biology Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom 20th-century British zoologists