Laurence Irving (3 May 1895 – 20 November 1979) was a pioneering

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

scientist in the field of

comparative physiology Comparative physiology is a List of academic disciplines, subdiscipline of physiology that studies and exploits the diversity of functional characteristics of various kinds of organisms. It is closely related to evolutionary physiology and environ ...

Life and education

Irving was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts on 3 May 1895. He started his university education at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, where he gained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1916. Directly after graduation from Bowdoin he entered

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

where he obtained an MA in

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 ...

in 1917. Following completion of his war service, Irving began a PhD at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Irving commenced his teaching career at Stanford in 1925 when he was appointed as an instructor. In 1928, he accepted a post as associate professor at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

in the Department of Physiology. In 1931, he was appointed professor of experimental biology at Toronto. He remained in Toronto until 1937. After leaving Canada, Irving spent the next 12 years teaching and researching at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

, as a professor in the Department of Biology and chairman of their Zoology Department. While at Swarthmore, Irving began to correspond with the Norwegian biologist Per F. Scholander, and had assisted

August Krogh Schack August Steenberg Krogh (15 November 1874 – 13 September 1949) was a Danish professor at the department of zoophysiology at the University of Copenhagen from 1916 to 1945. He contributed a number of fundamental discoveries within several ...

in arranging for Scholander to receive a Rockefeller fellowship. The fellowship was awarded for a collaboration on diving physiology between Scholander and Irving. When World War II broke out leaving Scholander stranded in Norway, Irving and Krogh managed to arrange for Scholander's urgent immigration. This would prove to be a profitable academic relationship for both Scholander and Irving, as they continued to collaborate until Irving's death. In 1947, after returning to Swarthmore from his war service, Irving was appointed scientific director at the then-new Naval Arctic Research Laboratory in

Barrow, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ik, Utqiaġvik; , , formerly known as Barrow ()) is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the ...

. Two years later he was appointed the chief of the physiology section of the Arctic Health Research Center in

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

, where he began his pioneering research into arctic biology. In November 1962, the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

recommended the creation of the

Institute of Arctic Biology The Institute of Arctic Biology or IAB of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, is located in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. The institute was established in 1963 by the Board of Regents of the University of Alaska, with Laurence Irving serving as its foun ...

. Irving was then appointed its first head, remaining in post until stepping down in 1966. He remained an advisory scientific director there and regularly attended seminars until his death in 1979. In 1968 Irving was conferred an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Alaska. Irving was given the Arctic Institute of North America's Fellows Award in 1974 for "long and distinguished research in physiology of arctic life". He died on 20 November 1979 in

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

, Alaska, aged 84.

War service

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 ...

Irving served in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of first lieutenant by 1919. He had joined up with the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

in 1917 on completion of his MA. After the United States' entry into

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 ...

, Irving joined the

Army Air Corps Army Air Corps may refer to the following army aviation corps: * Army Air Corps (United Kingdom), the army aviation element of the British Army * Philippine Army Air Corps (1935–1941) * United States Army Air Corps (1926–1942), or its p ...

. He remained there from 1943 until 1946 as chief physiologist,. Irving completed his

service at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Personal life

Irving and his first wife Elizabeth had three children. His daughter, Susan, and two sons, William and Laurence. His children settled across North America, and at his death were living in California, Alaska and Canada. Irving maintained many international personal and professional relationships. After the death of professor Gustav Embden in 1936, Irving worked to secure the immigration of his daughter, Maja Embden, into Canada, allowing her to escape the rise of the Nazi regime. T.D. Simpson indicated that Irving also assisted a number of other German-Jewish scientists during this period prior to the war. In 1951, his daughter Susan had married her father's former PhD student and longtime scientific collaborator, Per F. Scholander. Susan was also a biologist, publishing as Susan Irving Scholander and Susan I. Scholander.

Legacy

In 1971, the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stud ...

built a new building to house the Institute of Marine Sciences, joining the existing facility opened in 1965. These buildings were designated Biosciences I and II. On 16 August 1971 the buildings were jointly rededicated as the ''Laurence Irving Building for the Biosciences I and II'' in honor of Irving.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irving, Laurence 1895 births 1979 deaths Harvard University alumni American physiologists Bowdoin College alumni Stanford University alumni