Sir Marc Armand Ruffer CMG (29 August 1859 – 15 April 1917) was a Swiss-born British experimental pathologist and

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

. He is considered a pioneer of modern

paleopathology Paleopathology, also spelled palaeopathology, is the study of ancient diseases and injuries in organisms through the examination of fossils, mummified tissue, skeletal remains, and analysis of coprolites. Specific sources in the study of ancient ...

Family

Ruffer was born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, as the fifth of nine children of the Swiss banker Alphonse Charles Jacques Ruffer (1819–1896, first Baron de Ruffer) and his wife, Anne Caroline Prieger (1826-1890) from

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, most well known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke, which is one of the few remaining bridges in th ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

.CWGC Casualty record, Sir Marc Armand Ruffer.
/ref> The British banker

Maurice Ruffer Maurice Pierre Ruffer (1857-1935) was a French-born British banker. Early life Maurice Pierre Ruffer was the son of Baron Alphonse Charles Jacques Alexandre Ruffer (1819-1896, first Baron de Ruffer), who founded the bank A Ruffer & Sons in 1872, ...

(1857-1935) was Marc Armand Ruffers older brother. Ruffer married Alice Mary Greenfield in 1890 and had three children, including Nina Ruffer, who studied anthropology at

Somerville College, Oxford Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, Ir ...

and was mentioned by

Vera Brittain Vera Mary Brittain (29 December 1893 – 29 March 1970) was an English Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, writer, feminist, socialist and pacifist. Her best-selling 1933 memoir ''Testament of Youth'' recounted her experiences during the First ...

in the ''

Testament of Youth ''Testament of Youth'' is the first instalment, covering 1900–1925, in the memoir of Vera Brittain (1893–1970). It was published in 1933. Brittain's memoir continues with ''Testament of Experience'', published in 1957, and encompassing th ...

''.

Education

He was educated in Germany and France before attending

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

(1878–1881) and reading medicine

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He also studied at the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines f ...

in Paris under

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...

Career

Ruffer was naturalized as a British citizen in 1890. In 1891, he was appointed the first director of the British Institute of Preventive Medicine, latterly the

Lister Institute The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, informally known as the Lister Institute, was established as a research institute (the British Institute of Preventive Medicine) in 1891, with bacteriologist Marc Armand Ruffer as its first director, us ...

. Moving to Egypt for health reasons, Ruffer was appointed a professor of

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

a
The Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University
in 1896, later taking roles on committees dealing with health, disease, and sanitation. In Egypt he worked on the

histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology which studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at larger structures vis ...

mummies A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furth ...

publishing his findings and helping to establish the field of

. Ruffer was made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in 1905 and

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 1916. He also received the Grand Cross of the Ottoman Orders of Osmanieh and the Medjidie, the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer ( el, Τάγμα του Σωτήρος, translit=Tágma tou Sotíros), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the ...

(2nd class) of Greece, and was Commander (2nd class) in the

Order of St Anne of Russia The Imperial Order of Saint Anna (russian: Орден Святой Анны; also "Order of Saint Anne" or "Order of Saint Ann") was a Holstein ducal and then Russian imperial order of chivalry. It was established by Karl Friedrich, Duke of Hol ...

and the

Crown of Italy A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

. He went to Greece during 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 ...

in capacity as Commissioner of the

British Red Cross Society 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 ...

to improve sanitation. Returning to Egypt on board the ship on 15 April 1917, his ship was torpedoed off the Greek coast near the island of

Milos Milos or Melos (; el, label=Modern Greek, Μήλος, Mílos, ; grc, Μῆλος, Mêlos) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. Milos is the southwesternmost island in the Cyclades group. The ''Venus d ...

without warning by the German submarine with the loss of 279 lives, 35 of which were crew. He was seen twice in the sea, first alive and upright and then floating, believed dead. His body was never recovered from the sea. He was declared legally dead in 1918. After research by the ''In from the Cold Project'', he was accepted on 17 September 2016 for commemoration by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

on their Mikra Memorial in

Kalamaria Kalamariá ( el, Καλαμαριά, ''Port Side'') is among the most densely populated suburbs in Greece, located about southeast of downtown Thessaloniki, with a population of92.238 inhabitat History The area was first settled by humans in pre ...

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, Greece, to those who have no known grave. Lady Ruffer died in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in 1950.

References

Book

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffer, Marc Armand 1859 births 1910s missing person cases 1917 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Alumni of University College London British casualties of World War I British pathologists Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George English bacteriologists Knights Bachelor Missing person cases in Greece Paleopathologists People lost at sea Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom

Family

Education

Career

See also

References

Book