Patrick Desmond Fitzgerald Murray
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Patrick Desmond Fitzgerald Murray
DSc DSC may refer to: Academia * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dalton State Col ...
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(18 June 1900–17 May 1967), also known as P. D. F. Murray, was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
-born
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n
zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
. He held the Challis Chair of Zoology from 1949 to 1960. First published in ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Volume 15, (MUP), 2000.Patrick Desmond Fitzgerald Murray, DSc, FAA
www.science.org.au
Originally published in ''Records of the Australian Academy of Science'', vol.1, no.3, 1968.
Encyclopaedia of Australian Science


Early life

Murray was born on 18 June 1900 in
Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome to the south of the Dorset Downs and north of the ...
,
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 ...
to John Hubert Plunkett Murray and Sybil Maud. His father, John, was at the time in the British Army and later became the
Lieutenant-Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
of
Territory of Papua The Territory of Papua comprised the southeastern quarter of the island of New Guinea from 1883 to 1975. In 1883, the Government of Queensland annexed this territory for the British Empire. The United Kingdom Government refused to ratify the a ...
. He attended Saint Ignatius' College and then went to the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
where he received both his baccalaureate and his doctorate. He also received a baccalaureate from
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
.


Career

Murray's career started upon his return to Sydney in 1924. He was appointed as a Macleay fellow at the Linnean Society of New South Wales. He was also made a lecturer at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
. In 1936, Murray was appointed as a demonstrator at Bedford College. In 1939, he became a reader in biology and comparative anatomy at Barts. In 1949, he was appointed as Challis Chair of Zoology at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
and held the position until he resigned due to illness. In 1960, he moved to
University of New England University of New England may refer to: * University of New England (Australia), in New South Wales, with about 18,000 students * University of New England (United States), in Biddeford, Maine, with about 3,000 students See also *New England Colle ...
to allow himself to focus more on zoology than administrative work and also to reduce stress to not worsen his health. He held that position until retiring in 1966; upon his retirement from the university, he was named an honorary research fellow. His research largely focused on
embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, '' -logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos and ...
and morphogenesis in a lab setting. His work at the University of Sydney largely focused around how different parts of chick embryos develop. Specificially, his work focused on the development of single somites, which develop early in embryonic development. He also focused on unsegmented
mesoderm The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical E ...
s and the skeletal development of chicks in the embryonic stage. He accomplished this by using chorioallantonic grafts, which became a signature part of the later work in his career. His work after leaving from the University of Sydney was focused around the development of the heart in the embryonic stages of a chick.


Personal life

Murray had no children. Murray was had two marriages. His first was to Margery Holland with the wedding in 1925 and ending in 1966 with a dissolution. Later in 1966, he married Jascha Ann Morgan, a university lecturer. He died at sea on 17 May 1967 on board the
Achille Lauro Achille Lauro (; 16 June 1887 – 15 November 1982) was an Italian businessman and politician. He is widely considered one of the main precursors of modern populism in Italian politics. He was nicknamed by his supporters ''Il Comandante'' ("The ...
en route to
Strangeways Laboratory Strangeways Research Laboratory is a research institution in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It was founded by Thomas Strangeways in 1905 as the Cambridge Research Hospital and acquired its current name in 1928. Organised as an independent charity, i ...
in Cambridge. Murray was a largely private person; however, he did oppose the Communist Party Dissolution Bill 1950 and was in opposition to nuclear weapons.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Patrick Desmond Fitzgerald Murray Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science 1900 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Australian zoologists Challis professor People who died at sea