Richard Hume Adrian, 2nd Baron Adrian FRS (16 October 1927 – 4 April 1995) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

peer and

physiologist 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 ...

Personal life

Richard Hume Adrian was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

in 1927, as the only son of

Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian (30 November 1889 – 4 August 1977) was an English electrophysiologist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physiology, won jointly with Sir Charles Sherrington for work on the function of neurons ...

and his wife, Hester Agnes Pinsent, a

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

worker. His older sister, Anne Pinsent Adrian, married the physiologist

Richard Keynes Richard Darwin Keynes, CBE, FRS ( ; 14 August 1919 – 12 June 2010) was a British physiologist. The great-grandson of Charles Darwin, Keynes edited his great-grandfather's accounts and illustrations of Darwin's famous voyage aboard into ''T ...

(a direct descendant of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

) while his twin sister, Jennet Adrian, married Peter Watson Campbel. Adrian's father won a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...

in 1932, was

President of the Royal Society The president of the Royal Society (PRS) is the elected Head of the Royal Society of London who presides over meetings of the society's council. After informal meetings at Gresham College, the Royal Society was officially founded on 28 November ...

1950–1955 and was created Baron Adrian in 1955. In 1967 he married Lucy Caroe, historical geographer. She was the daughter of the architect

Alban Caroe Alban Douglas Rendall Caroe OBE FSA FRIBA (17 April 1904 − 11 December 1991) was a British architect. Life He was the son of the architect W. D. Caröe and brother of Sir Olaf Caroe. He married Gwendolen Mary Bragg (1907–1982), daughter ...

and her grandfathers were

W. D. Caröe William Douglas Caröe (1 September 1857–25 February 1938) was a British architect, particularly of churches. Early life Caröe was born on 1 September 1857 in Holmsdale, Blundellsands near Liverpool, the youngest son of the Danish Consul in ...

and William Bragg. They had no children, and on his death in 1995, the title Baron Adrian became extinct. He was the great-uncle of

Skandar Keynes Alexander Amin Caspar "Skandar" Keynes (born 5 September 1991) is an English political adviser and former actor. Best known for starring as Edmund Pevensie in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series, he appeared in all three installments: ''Th ...

, who had a leading role in the ''Chronicles of Narnia'' films.

Career

Richard Adrian was educated at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a private liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeducational colleges in the United States. It was established as ...

and

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It derives from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the 1066 Norman Conquest, as d ...

, followed by reading medicine at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, and

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 pursued advanced research into cellular physiology, becoming Professor of Cell Physiology at Cambridge University in 1978. He was a fellow of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th centur ...

(1955–61) and

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but still retains a strong interest in the arts and humanities. In 1958, a trust was establis ...

(1961-81) before becoming Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1981. He served as Master until 1992. He also served a term as Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. Adrian was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

for his contributions to physiology in 1977. In 1987, he was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...

In 1977 he became the second Baron Adrian after the death of his father. He was active in politics in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

, sitting as a

cross-bencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

.OBITUARY: Lord Adrian
8 April 1995. He was a trustee of a number of national institutions, including the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

and the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrian, Richard Adrian, 2nd Baron 1927 births 1995 deaths Barons Adrian English physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society Vice-Chancellors of the University of Cambridge Masters of Pembroke College, Cambridge The Journal of Physiology editors Members of the American Philosophical Society