Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

Kenneth Lyon Blaxter FRS

PRSE 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 ...

FIBiol (19 June 1919 – 18 April 1991) was an English animal nutritionist.Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 39: 36.

Biography

Early life

Blaxter was born on 19 June 1919 in

Sprowston Sprowston ( or ) is a small suburban town bordering Norwich in Norfolk, England. It is bounded by Heartsease to the east, Mousehold Heath and the suburb of New Sprowston to the south (in Norwich), Old Catton to the west, and by the open farmland ...

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 ...

and grew up in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. His father made

handicraft A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

s and his mother came from a family of farm workers. Blaxter studied at the

City of Norwich School The City of Norwich School, more commonly known as CNS, is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Norwich, England. History In 1910, the Education Committee decided to merge the King Edward VI Middle School in ...

until 1936. He was bored in school and received poor grades. As a teenager, Blaxter spent his spare time at the Norfolk Agricultural Station, a short distance from the family home. Soon after, he enrolled in day classes in agriculture at the Norfolk County Council, winning the class prize for the highest mark. He also worked as a farmhand on a farm in

Hoveton Hoveton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It is located within the Norfolk Broads, and immediately across the River Bure from the village of Wroxham. Whilst Hoveton is north of the river, Wroxham is south; but many ...

. Blaxter studied agriculture, biology and botany at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

in 1936, graduating in 1939.

Nutrition research

After graduating, Blaxter worked at the National Institute for Research in Dairying (NIRD), located in

Shinfield Shinfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, just south of Reading. It contains and is administered by the unitary authority of Wokingham District. Shinfield Park is the northern part of the parish, becoming p ...

. With the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Blaxter was conscripted and served with the 10th Field Regiment of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

from spring 1940 to the end of 1941, when he returned to NIRD. At this time, he began to write his

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

thesis, entitled ''The maintenance of the winter milk supply in wartime''; he completed the thesis in 1944. Shortly thereafter, he requested to be seconded to the biochemistry department of the Ministry of Agriculture in

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

, where he conducted blood analysis and researched lead toxicity in

ruminant Ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) are ungulate, hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by Enteric fermentation, fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally ...

s. In 1946, Blaxter moved to Illinois to work with animal nutritionist Harold Mitchell at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

Work as an independent scientist

In 1947, after returning to England, Blaxter applied for the headship of the Nutrition Department at the Hannah Dairy Research Institute in

Ayr, Scotland Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

and received the position in 1948. During his tenure at the Hannah Dairy Research Institute, Blaxter wrote over 200 papers, focusing primarily on the issues of energy metabolism and feed usage by

s. Blaxter also investigated nutritional diseases and magnesium deficiency in calves, the effect of temperature and other environmental effects on sheep, and ruminant digestion and feed intake. From 1954 he was assisted by Dr

David Gilford Armstrong David Gilford Armstrong FRSE FRIC FIB (1926–2000) was a British biochemist and expert in animal nutrition. Biography He was born in Whitley Bay on 9 July 1926, the son of Arthur Armstong (d. 1930), a bank clerk. He was educated at Whitley B ...

. In 1965, Blaxter was appointed director of the

Rowett Research Institute The Rowett Institute is a research centre for studies into Food science, food and nutrition, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. History The institute was founded in 1913 when the University of Aberdeen and the Scottish Agricultural College, Nort ...

Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), an ...

. There, Blaxter and his team of researchers studied topics of importance to the Scottish farmer, including deer farming, llamas, human nutrition, feed evaluation, environmental stress and animal calorimetry. He also took an interest in agriculture and worldwide food policy, culminating in the publication of a book, ''Food, People and Resources'', in 1986.

Retirement

Blaxter retired from the Rowett Research Institute in 1982. From 1985 to 1991, Blaxter was a visiting professor in the

University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a UK public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick univer ...

's Department of Agricultural Biochemistry and Nutrition. He also chaired a committee of the federal Department of the Environment and the Cabinet Committee on Individual Merit Promotion, a body that recognized and awarded candidates from various scientific fields. He died on 18 April 1991 of a brain tumour.

Honours and awards

Blaxter was named a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1967 and 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 1977. From 1972 to 1975, he served as vice-president 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 ...

, and acted as its president from 1979 to 1982. He also served a three-year term in the 1980s as President of the

Institute of Biology The Institute of Biology (IoB) was a professional body for biologists, primarily those working in the United Kingdom. The Institute was founded in 1950 by the Biological Council: the then umbrella body for Britain's many learned biological societies ...

. In 1979, he received the

Wolf Prize in Agriculture The Wolf Prize in Agriculture is awarded annually by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes established by the Foundation and awarded since 1978; the others are in Chemistry, Mathematics, Medicine, Physics and the Arts. The ...

for his research into the nutritional requirements of

s. In 1992, he was posthumously awarded the Rank Prize in Nutrition for his lifetime contributions to nutrition science. Blaxter was also the recipient of

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

s from Queen's University in Belfast, the Agricultural University in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

and the University of Newcastle.

Personal life

Blaxter married sociologist Mildred Hall in 1957; they had three children together. Blaxter's cousin was

Mary Lyon Mary Mason Lyon (; February 28, 1797 – March 5, 1849) was an American pioneer in women's education. She established the Wheaton Female Seminary in Norton, Massachusetts, (now Wheaton College) in 1834. She then established Mount Holyoke Femal ...

, the well-known British

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

. Blaxter was also an avid amateur painter.

Legacy

Blaxter was influential in the fields of animal and human nutrition and

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

. In Blaxter's memory, the

British Society of Animal Science British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) is a learned society in the field of animal science, established in 1944 as the British Society of Animal Production. Mike Steele is the Chief Executive, and the President is Sinclair Mayne.Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

thesis (1944) * ''Food, People and Resources'' (1986) * ''Energy Metabolism in Animals and Man'' (1988) * ''The Post-war Revolution in Food Production'' (1989)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaxter, Kenneth 1919 births 1991 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society British nutritionists Knights Bachelor Animal health in England Wolf Prize in Agriculture laureates People from Sprowston Alumni of the University of Reading Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh British Army personnel of World War II Royal Artillery personnel Military personnel from Norfolk