Keith Lucas FRS (8 March 1879,

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

– 5 October 1916,

Salisbury Plain Salisbury Plain is a chalk plateau in the south western part of central southern England covering . It is part of a system of chalk downlands throughout eastern and southern England formed by the rocks of the Chalk Group and largely lies wit ...

) was a British scientist who carried out pioneering work in

neuroscience Neuroscience is the science, scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a Multidisciplinary approach, multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, an ...

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. ...

. He was the son of Francis Robert and Katharine Mary (née Riddle) Lucas. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

and Trinity College, Cambridge where he graduated BA with a first-class in natural sciences in 1901. In 1902 he worked in New Zealand, on the bathymetrical survey of the lakes, and he became a Fellow of Trinity in 1904. In 1907 he became an additional university demonstrator in physiology, and in 1908 a lecturer in natural sciences.John K. Bradley, ‘Lucas, Keith (1879–1916)’

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 2010 Keith Lucas Grave

He delivered the Royal Society

Croonian The Croonian Medal and Lecture is a prestigious award, a medal, and lecture given at the invitation of the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians. Among the papers of William Croone at his death in 1684, was a plan to endow a single ...

Lecture in 1912. He 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 mathemati ...

in 1913; his candidacy citation read: "Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Lecturer on Physiology. Has made important contributions to physiological science, especially in relation to the processes of excitation ... Much of the work was only made possible by the highly ingenious improvements designed by the author in the apparatus used."'' During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the Hampshire Aircraft Parks

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(TA), based at the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...

Farnborough Farnborough may refer to: Australia * Farnborough, Queensland, a locality in the Shire of Livingstone United Kingdom * Farnborough, Hampshire, a town in the Rushmoor district of Hampshire, England ** Farnborough (Main) railway station, a railw ...

, he was engaged in experimental research into aerial navigation and early aeroplane compasses. Convinced that his experimental work in aviation would improve if he became a pilot, he attended a flying course at

Upavon Upavon is a rural village and civil parish in the county of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portion of the River Avon which runs from north to south through the village. It is on the north edge of Salisbury Plain ...

, where he was instantly killed on 5 October 1916 when his aircraft BE2c 5389 collided in mid-air over

with BE2c 4174, flown by 2Lt Geoffrey Plateras Lawson Jacques of the Central Flying School, who was also killed. Lucas is buried at

Aldershot Military Cemetery Aldershot Military Cemetery is a burial ground for military personnel, or ex-military personnel and their families, located in Aldershot Military Town, Hampshire. The cemetery was created in 1850s by the Royal Engineers during the building of A ...

, and is commemorated on the War memorial of

Fen Ditton Fen Ditton is a village on the northeast edge of Cambridge in Cambridgeshire, England. The parish covers an area of . Fen Ditton lies on the east bank of the River Cam, on the road from Cambridge to Clayhithe, and close to junction 34 of the A ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to t ...

After his death his wife Alys changed the family name, and, as Alys Keith-Lucas, edited a short book giving his background together with reminiscences of him and a list of his publications.A. Keith-Lucas, ed., Keith Lucas (1934) They had three sons, who each became professors:

Alan Keith-Lucas Alan Keith-Lucas (1910–1995), known during the early part of his life as Alan Lucas, was a British-born social worker and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who worked primarily in the field of residential childcare. ...

David Keith-Lucas David Keith-Lucas (25 March 1911 – 6 April 1997) was a British aeronautical engineer. Early life David Keith-Lucas was one of the sons of Alys Hubbard Lucas and Keith Lucas, who invented the first aeronautical compass. After the death of K ...

and

Bryan Keith-Lucas Bryan Keith-Lucas (born Lucas; 1 August 1912, Fen Ditton, Cambridgeshire − 1996, Canterbury, Kent) was an English political scientist. Education The son of Alys Hubbard Lucas and Keith Lucas, professor of physiology at Cambridge and an instr ...

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* 1879 births 1916 deaths Military personnel from London People from Greenwich Fellows of the Royal Society Burials at Aldershot Military Cemetery Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England People educated at Rugby School British military personnel killed in World War I {{UK-scientist-stub