Ernest William Henderson Cruickshank FRSE LLD (22 March 1888 – 29 December 1964) was a Scottish physician and physiologist. He was the author of several textbooks on nutrition. His book ''Food and Nutrition'' was an influential best-seller. It looks at the evolution of human diets, protein needs within the body and problems of world malnutrition.

Life

He was born in

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

on 22 March 1888, the son of George Hunter Cruickshank. He had a twin brother,

Martin Melvin Cruickshank Brigadier Martin Melvin Cruickshank CIE FRSE FRCSE FACS FICS (1888-1964) was a Scottish surgeon, specialising in ophthalmic surgery. During the Second World War he was Chief Medical Officer for Delhi Province. He was created Commander of the Indi ...

. He was educated at Robert Gordon's College and studied medicine at

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

graduating MB ChB in 1910. He then attended

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

as a research fellow 1912-14. In 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 joined the Royal Army Medical Corps with his twin brother, but quickly they were separated by events. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in February 1916 rose to the rank of captain, serving in both France and Italy. In 1919 he was based in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

as part of the Prisoners of War Repatriation Command for the 3rd Bavarian Army Corps. After the war he became an associate at the

University of Washington School of Medicine The University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) is a large public medical school in the northwest United States, located in Seattle and affiliated with the University of Washington. According to ''U.S. News & World Report''s 2022 Best Grad ...

. Aberdeen University granted him an honorary MD in 1920. He then spent until 1935 as a travelling professor, lecturing in US, Canada, China and India regarding physiology and nutrition. During this period he became the first appointee in physiology at the

Peking Union Medical College Peking Union Medical College (), founded in 1906, is a selective public medical college based in Dongcheng, Beijing, China. It is a Chinese Ministry of Education Double First Class University Plan university. The school is tied to the Peking Un ...

. From 1935 until 1958 he remained in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

as professor of physiology at

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. In 1929 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were

Diarmid Noel Paton Diarmid Noël Paton, (19 March 1859 – 30 September 1928), known as Noël Paton, was a Scottish physician and academic. From 1906 to 1928, he was the Regius Professor of Physiology at the University of Glasgow. Personal life and education P ...

, Sir

Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer FRS FRSE FRCP LLD (2 June 1850 – 29 March 1935) was an English physiologist. He is regarded as a founder of endocrinology: in 1894 he discovered and demonstrated the existence of adrenaline together with G ...

, Sir

Edmund Taylor Whittaker Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker (24 October 1873 – 24 March 1956) was a British mathematician, physicist, and historian of science. Whittaker was a leading mathematical scholar of the early 20th-century who contributed widely to applied mathema ...

, and

Ralph Allan Sampson Ralph Allan (or Allen) Sampson FRS FRSE LLD (25 June 1866 – 7 November 1939) was a British astronomer. Life Sampson was born in Schull, County Cork in Ireland, then part of the UK. He was the fourth of five children to James Sampson, a Corn ...

. Aberdeen University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters (LLD) in 1959. He died on 29 December 1964 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Family

In 1930 he married Bertha Christina Steventon.

Publications

*''Methods and Problems of Medical Education'' (1926) reprinted 1930 *''Practical Biochemistry for Students'' (1928) *''Methods and Problems of Medical Education'' (1926) reprinted 1930 *''Food and Physical Fitness'' (1938) *''Teaching Nutrition in Biology Classes'' (1939) *''Food and Nutrition'' (1946) plus multiple reprints

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruickshank, Ernest 1888 births 1964 deaths Academics of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Dietitians Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh People educated at Robert Gordon's College Scottish food writers Scottish scientists Scottish twins People from Leith Royal Army Medical Corps officers Scientists from Edinburgh Medical doctors from Edinburgh