Sir Gordon Ethelbert Ward Wolstenholme, (28 May 1913 – 29 May 2004) was a British medical doctor, and the founding director of the

Ciba Foundation The Novartis Foundation (formerly known as the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development) is a non-profit organization and part of the corporate responsibility portfolio of Novartis in Basel, Switzerland. The foundation conducts projects to ...

Early life and education

He was born in Sheffield, the son of a mechanical engineer, and educated at

Repton School Repton School is a 13–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition, in Repton, Derbyshire, ...

and

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

. He studied medicine 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 and qualified with the

Conjoint {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 The conjoint was a basic medical qualification in the United Kingdom administered by the United Examining Board. It is now no longer awarded. The Conjoint Board was superseded in 1994 by the United Examining Board ...

diploma LRCP MRCS in 1939 after which he obtained the Cambridge MA in 1940. After leaving the army he graduated MB BChir at Cambridge in 1948. From 1940 to 1947 he served with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

, retiring as a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. He was appointed an

Officer 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 ...

(OBE) for his military work in the provision of blood for transfusions throughout Europe and the Middle East. On his return to Britain he was appointed to the post of founding director of the

(now Novartis Foundation), an organisation established to encourage international co-operation in scientific research. He was President of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chambers ...

from 1975 to 1977
Harveian Librarian
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 ...

from 1979 to 1989 and Master of the

Worshipful Society of Apothecaries The Worshipful Society of Apothecaries of London is one of the livery companies of the City of London. It is one of the largest livery companies (with over 1,600 members in 2012) and ranks 58th in their order of precedence. The society is a m ...

from 1979 to 1980. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1976.

Personal life

He died in 2004 and was survived by his second wife Dushanka. His grandson is American music producer Alex Pall of

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...

References

1913 births 2004 deaths People from Sheffield People educated at Repton School Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge 20th-century English medical doctors Officers of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Presidents of the Royal Society of Medicine Knights Bachelor Royal Army Medical Corps officers British Army personnel of World War II Presidents of the Osler Club of London Medical doctors from Yorkshire {{UK-med-bio-stub