James Norman Davidson

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

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 ...

FRS (5 March 1911 – 11 September 1972) was a British

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

, pioneer

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...

and textbook author. The Davidson Building at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

is named for him.

Life

He was the only child of Wilhelmina Ibberson Foote and James Davidson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

FSA (1873-1956) a lawyer, Treasurer of the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland and originally from Aberdeenshire. He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

on 5 March 1911 and lived in the family home of 30 Bruntsfield Gardens in the south of the city. He was educated locally, at

George Watson's College George Watson's College is a co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Scotland, situated on Colinton Road, in the Merchiston area of Edinburgh. It was first established as a Scottish education in the eight ...

, where he was

dux ''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...

.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Norman Davidson He then studied Medicine and Organic Chemistry at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

graduating with a BSc in 1934, MB ChB in 1937, MD in 1939 and a DSc in 1945. The topic of his DSc thesis was biochemical investigations on cellular proliferation. In 1937/38 he studied under

Otto Heinrich Warburg Otto Heinrich Warburg (, ; 8 October 1883 – 1 August 1970), son of physicist Emil Warburg, was a German physiologist, medical doctor, and Nobel laureate. He served as an officer in the elite Uhlan (cavalry regiment) during the First World War ...

in Berlin-Dahlem. He returned to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in autumn of 1938 to begin lecturing in biochemistry at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. From 1940 to 1945 he was Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry at 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 ...

. In 1941 he was elected a Fellow 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 ...

. His proposers were James Kendall, Ernest Cruickshank,

Robert Campbell Garry Robert Campbell Garry DSc (1933) OBE FRSE LLD (1900–1993) was a British physician and Professor of Medicine at the University of St Andrews and the University of Glasgow. During World War II, as an expert on human physiology, he advised on ...

, and

Anderson Gray M'Kendrick Lt Col Anderson Gray McKendrick DSc FRSE (8 September 1876 – 30 May 1943) was a Scottish military physician and epidemiologist who pioneered the use of mathematical methods in epidemiology. Irwin (see below) commented on the quality of his wor ...

. He was Secretary to the Society 1949–1954, Vice President 1955-58 and served two terms as president from 1958 to 1959 and 1964–67. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1960. Davidson was Professor of Biochemistry at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

from 1947 to 1972. In 1949 he appointed

Martin Smellie Robert Martin Stuart Smellie FRSE FIB (1927–1988) was a 20th-century Scottish biochemist and first Cathcart Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Glasgow. The university's Smellie Prize is named after him. Life He was born in Roth ...

as his assistant. In 1958 he succeeded George M. Wishart as the Gardiner Professor of Physiology at the University of Glasgow. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1967. He died of a heart attack in

Bearsden Bearsden () is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow. Approximately from Glasgow city centre, Glasgow City Centre, the town is effectively a suburb, and its housing development coincided with t ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

on 11 September 1972.

Publications

*''The Biochemistry of Nucleic Acids'' (1950)

Family

In 1938 he married Morag McLeod (now Dr Morag Davidson). Their children included

Rona McLeod MacKie Rona McLeod, Lady Black, CBE FRSE FMedSci FRCP FRCPath (''née'' Davidson; born 1940), known professionally as Rona MacKie, is a Scottish dermatologist. Early life and family Rona McLeod Davidson was born in Dundee in 1940, the daughter of D ...

(b.1940) and

Ailsa Morag Campbell Ailsa may refer to: People *Ailsa (name), including a list of people with the name *Marquess of Ailsa, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created in 1831 Places *Ailsa Craig, an island in the outer Firth of Clyde, Scotland *Ailsa Craig, O ...

(b.1943).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, J. Norman 1911 births 1972 deaths Scottish biologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Dundee Academics of the University of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Scottish biochemists British molecular biologists People educated at George Watson's College Scientists from Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 20th-century surgeons 20th-century biologists