Lionel Sharples Penrose,
FRS (11 June 1898 – 12 May 1972) was an English
psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
, medical
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 ...
,
paediatrician
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
, mathematician and
chess theorist, who carried out pioneering work on the
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
of
intellectual disability
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
.
Penrose was the Galton professor of
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
(1945–1963), then professor of human genetics (1963–1965) at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
, and later emeritus professor.
Education
Penrose was educated at the Downs School,
Colwall
Colwall is a civil parish in Herefordshire, England, situated on the border with Worcestershire, nestling on the western side of the Malvern Hills at the heart of the AONB. Areas of the village are known as Colwall Stone, Upper Colwall which sha ...
and the
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
Leighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent school for both day and boarding pupils in Reading, Berkshire, Reading in South East England. The school's ethos is closely tied to the Quaker values, havin ...
,
Reading
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
.
On leaving school in 1916, he served, as a
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
, with the
Friends' Ambulance Unit
The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914–1919, 1939–1946 and 19 ...
/
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
in France until the end of the
First World War
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 ...
. He went on to study at
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
, where he was a
Cambridge Apostle
The Cambridge Apostles (also known as ''Conversazione Society'') is an intellectual society at the University of Cambridge founded in 1820 by George Tomlinson, a Cambridge student who became the first Bishop of Gibraltar.W. C. Lubenow, ''The Ca ...
.
At Cambridge, he gained a first class degree in moral sciences before leaving for Vienna for a year, to study at the psychological department at the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
.
In 1928, he 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 ...
in 1928 at
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
before qualifying for a
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...
in 1930.
Career
Penrose undertook research into
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
, designing tests of intelligence that were non-verbal in nature that are still in use. He was one of the earliest investigators of
phenylketonuria
Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism that results in decreased metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. Untreated PKU can lead to intellectual disability, seizures, behavioral problems, and mental disorders. It may also resu ...
in the 1930s.
Penrose's "Colchester Survey", produced as the report in 1938, in collaboration with the
MRC
MRC may refer to
Government
* Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)
* Medical Reserve Corps, a US network of volunteer organizations
* Municipalité régionale de comté (regional county municipality), Quebec, Canada
* Military Revolutionar ...
called the ''MRC special report: No.229, Clinical and genetic study of 1,280 cases of mental defect'',
was the earliest serious attempt to study the genetics of intellectual disability. He found that the relatives of patients with severe intellectual disability were usually unaffected but some of them were affected with similar severity to the original patient, whereas the relatives of patients with mild intellectual disability tended mostly to have mild or borderline disability. Penrose went on to identify and study many of the genetic and
chromosomal
A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
causes of intellectual disability (then called mental deficiency). This body of work culminated in the book, ''The Biology of Mental Defect'' (Sidgwick and Jackson, Ltd., London, UK, 1949).
Penrose was a central figure in British medical genetics following
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 ...
. From 1945 to 1965, he worked as Galton Professor at the
Galton Laboratory
The Galton Laboratory was a laboratory for research into eugenics and then into human genetics based at University College London in London, England. It was originally established in 1904, and became part of UCL's biology department in 1996.
The a ...
at
University College London
, mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £143 million (2020)
, budget = ...
. The first title of his chair was "Professor of Eugenics" (1945–1963), then he had it changed to "Professor of Human Genetics" (1963–1965). According to his successor, Professor Harry Harris, Penrose “never liked the name '
eugenics
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
’, because it seemed to him to be too much associated with uninformed and dangerous policies of racial purification." Harris also reported the "long delay" in changing this name was due to "legal problems" associated with the original donation from
Francis Galton
Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto- ...
and described how Penrose simply ignored the "eugenics" element of his job title.
[
''Penrose's Law''] states that the population size of prisons and psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
s are inversely related, although this is generally viewed as something of an oversimplification.
Penrose, a member of the Society of Friends
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
(Quakers), was a lead figure in the Medical Association for the Prevention of War in the 1950s.
Penrose developed the Penrose method
The Penrose method (or square-root method) is a method devised in 1946 by Professor Lionel Penrose for allocating the voting weights of delegations (possibly a single representative) in decision-making bodies proportional to the square root of the ...
, a method for apportioning seats in a global assembly based on the square root
In mathematics, a square root of a number is a number such that ; in other words, a number whose ''square'' (the result of multiplying the number by itself, or ⋅ ) is . For example, 4 and −4 are square roots of 16, because .
E ...
of each nation's population. Such a voting system is based on the voting power of any voter (measured by the Penrose–Banzhaf index) decreasing with the size of the voting body as one over its square root. See also Penrose square root law.
Penrose was particularly interested in different facets of biology, for example fingerprint
A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...
, demography
Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and Population dynamics, dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups ...
, and cytogenetics
Cytogenetics is essentially a branch of genetics, but is also a part of cell biology/cytology (a subdivision of human anatomy), that is concerned with how the chromosomes relate to cell behaviour, particularly to their behaviour during mitosis an ...
, which were a result of his research into the etiology of intellectual disability, especially Down syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
. He did intensive research on the latter, communicating the results of his investigations in 1963 and winning the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation Award for his contributions to the understanding of the causes of intellectual disability.
Awards and honours
Penrose received a number of awards and honours including the 1960 Albert Lasker Award
The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was ...
for Basic Medical Research. The Lasker citation read:
Penrose was awarded the James Spence Gold Medal of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, often referred to as the RCPCH, is the professional body for paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate training of paed ...
in 1964 for major contributions in human genetics and extensive research into Down syndrome
Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...
and Intellectual disability
Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation,Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signifi ...
."
Family
Lionel Penrose's father was James Doyle Penrose
James Doyle Penrose RHA JP (9 May 1862 – 2 January 1932) was an Irish painter.
Biography
James Doyle Penrose was a well known portrait artist, sculptor and painter of religious subjects born in County Wicklow, Ireland. He was a member of th ...
. His mother, Elisabeth Josephine, was daughter of Alexander Peckover, 1st Baron Peckover
Alexander Peckover, 1st Baron Peckover LL FRGS, FSA, FLS (16 August 1830 – 21 October 1919), was an English Quaker banker, philanthropist and collector of ancient manuscripts.
Early years
Peckover was born at Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, the s ...
; his brother was Sir Roland Penrose
Sir Roland Algernon Penrose (14 October 1900 – 23 April 1984) was an English artist, historian and poet. He was a major promoter and collector of modern art and an associate of the surrealists in the United Kingdom. During the Second World W ...
, both British artists. He married Margaret Leathes in 1928 and they had four children:
* Oliver Penrose
Oliver Penrose (born 6 June 1929) is a British theoretical physicist.
He is the son of the scientist Lionel Penrose and brother of the mathematical physicist Roger Penrose, chess Grandmaster (chess), Grandmaster Jonathan Penrose, and geneticis ...
, born 1929, physicist;
* Sir Roger Penrose
Sir Roger Penrose (born 8 August 1931) is an English mathematician, mathematical physicist, philosopher of science and Nobel Laureate in Physics. He is Emeritus Rouse Ball Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, an emeritus fello ...
, born 1931, mathematical physicist and mathematician (with whom Lionel co-authored papers on the Penrose triangle
The Penrose triangle, also known as the Penrose tribar, the impossible tribar, or the impossible triangle, is a triangular impossible object, an optical illusion consisting of an object which can be depicted in a perspective drawing, but cannot e ...
); and who shared
Shared may refer to:
* Sharing
* Shared ancestry or Common descent
* Shared care
* Shared-cost service
* Shared decision-making in medicine
* Shared delusion (disambiguation), Shared delusion, various meanings
* Shared government
* Shared intellig ...
the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics;
* Jonathan Penrose
Jonathan Penrose, (7 October 1933 – 30 November 2021) was an English chess player, who held the titles Grandmaster (1993) and International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster (1983). He won the British Chess Championship ten times between 1958 ...
, (1933–2021), chess grandmaster and psychologist;
* Shirley Hodgson
Shirley Victoria Hodgson, FRCP, FRSB (née Penrose; born 22 February 1945) is a British geneticist.
Biography
Hodgson studied at Somerville College, Oxford. She worked as a GP, then performed as locum in clinical genetics at Guy's Hospital, ...
, born 1945, geneticist.
After Penrose's death, Margaret married the mathematician Max Newman
Maxwell Herman Alexander Newman, FRS, (7 February 1897 – 22 February 1984), generally known as Max Newman, was a British mathematician and codebreaker. His work in World War II led to the construction of Colossus, the world's first operatio ...
(1897–1984). She died in 1989.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penrose, Lionel
1898 births
1972 deaths
British Quakers
People educated at Leighton Park School
British conscientious objectors
People associated with the Friends' Ambulance Unit
Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge
University of Vienna alumni
Alumni of King's College London
Fellows of the Royal Society
Academics of University College London
British psychiatrists
British geneticists
British paediatricians
20th-century British mathematicians
Analysands of Siegfried Bernfeld
Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
People educated at The Downs School, Herefordshire
Recipients of the James Spence Medal