John Irvine Hunter (24 January 1898 – 10 December 1924)Michael J. Blunt,

, '' Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 9, MUP, 1983, pp 408–9. Retrieved 13 August 2009 was an Australian professor of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

Early life and education

Hunter was born in Bendigo,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the third son of Henry Hunter, a furniture dealer, and Isabella ''née'' Hodgson. At eight years of age, Hunter contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and was sent to recuperate with an aunt in

Albury, New South Wales Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...

, where he stayed for some years afterwards. Hunter was educated first at Albury Public school (1906–12), and later at the academically selective Fort Street High School, Sydney, which he left with a bursary and an exhibition. As a medical student at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

, despite circumstances making it necessary for him to earn money by coaching, he succeeded in winning practically all available prizes and scholarships. Hunter graduated with first-class honours in 1920. From 1917 to 1920, Hunter was a medical tutor at

Wesley College, University of Sydney Wesley College is a co-residential college of 265 students within the University of Sydney. The college occupies a site on the main campus of the University of Sydney and was built on a sub-grant of Crown land. Wesley is one of six on-campus co ...

, and, from 1918 to 1920, he was a demonstrator in anatomy.

Career and later life

During

World War I 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 ...

, Hunter enlisted for active service in 1917. He entered into camp, but in his absence his achievements had been recognized both by his fellow students and his teachers, resulting in Hunter being officially ordered to return to his studies.

Professorship

In 1920, Professor Wilson, who had taken great interest in Hunter, resigned the Challis Professorship of Anatomy at Sydney, to become Regius Professor of Anatomy at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. On his suggestion in July 1920, Hunter, aged 22, was appointed Associate Professor of Anatomy. About 12 months later, he left for Europe to pursue his studies further, and, for a year, he acted as an honorary lecturer at Cambridge. Before he had left Australia, Hunter had done "three important researches in utterly different fields of

embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos ...

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

, and

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 ...

. Hunter cleared up many of the difficulties in the interpretation of ovarian pregnancy, in the real significance of the occurrence of neanderthaloid characters in

aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Isl ...

, and in analyzing the complicated factors of

spinal shock Spinal shock was first explored by Whytt in 1750 as a loss of sensation accompanied by motor paralysis with initial loss but gradual recovery of reflexes, following a spinal cord injury (SCI) – most often a complete transection. Reflexes in the sp ...

following transverse section of the spinal cord". At Cambridge, Hunter became familiar with the methods of leading anatomical schools in Europe and made valuable contributions to the solution of problems raised by the Piltdown skull and Rhodesian remains in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. Hunter returned to Australia by way of the United States and Canada, where he stayed long enough to give some lectures. The Challis Professorship of Anatomy had, in the meantime, been kept open for him, and he was appointed to that position in December 1922, a few weeks before he reached the age of 25.

Later career

Before leaving Sydney, Hunter had been much interested in the physiological research of Dr. N. D. Royle, and upon his return they researched together. In October 1923, a demonstration of the result of their work was given in the lecture theatre of the department of anatomy, Sydney. On 7 May 1924, the University of Sydney conferred the degree of Doctor of Medicine with First-Class Honours on Hunter, and he also received the University Medal and the Ethel Talbot Prize. In March Dr. William J. Mayo and other representatives of the American College of Surgeons visited Australia, and were so impressed with the work of Drs. Royle and Hunter that they invited them to deliver the Dr. John B. Murphy oration in surgery at New York's clinical congress in October 1924, attended by around 2500 surgeons from all over the world. There, the genius of Hunter was immediately recognized, and the youngest professor of anatomy at any important university became one of the most important figures at this great American congress.

Death

In 1924, Hunter travelled to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

with the intention he give a course of three lectures to his former colleagues. He finished his first lecture on December 5th; however, he became ill afterwards. Unknowingly enroute to England, Hunter had contracted

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...

and died from the illness at

University College Hospital University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...

on 10 December 1924.

Personal life

Hunter married Hazel Annie McPherson in February 1924. A posthumous son, Irvine John Hunter, was born on 6 September 1925.

Legacy

Portraits by

John Longstaff Sir John Campbell Longstaff (10 March 1861 – 1 October 1941) was an Australian painter, war artist and a five-time winner of the Archibald Prize for portraiture. His cousin Will Longstaff was also a painter and war artist. Longstaff was known ...

and

William Beckwith McInnes William Beckwith McInnes (18 May 1889 – 9 November 1939) was an Australian portrait painter, winner of the Archibald Prize seven times for his traditional style paintings. He was acting-director at the National Gallery of Victoria and an instr ...

were painted after his death; both hang in the Anderson Stuart building of the University of Sydney. Bronze medallions, sculpted by Rayner Hoff, are held at Wesley College, the University and Fort Street High School.