William John Hughes Butterfield, Baron Butterfield (28 March 1920 – 22 July 2000) was a leading

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

medical researcher, clinician and administrator.

Early life and education

Butterfield was educated at

Solihull School Solihull School is a coeducational private day school in Solihull, West Midlands, England. Founded in 1560, it is the oldest school in the town and is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History In 1560 the revenu ...

, an historic independent school in the West Midlands. Whilst at Solihull he was Head Boy, Head of CCF and captain of rugby, cricket, hockey and athletics. He continued his sporting passions while studying at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, becoming a triple

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. He then benefited from a two-year

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

Scholar grant to study at

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

, where he gained a further medical degree.

Career

After his degree, national military service awaited him. He spent it as an officer in the Army Physiological Unit and Deputy Director for Scientific Research. He subsequently returned to the United States, to a fellowship at the

Medical College of Virginia The VCU Medical Center (VCU Health), formerly known as the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), is the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in downtown Richmond, Virginia, United States. As MCV, VCU Medical Center merged ...

at Richmond. Over the years he was appointed to many commissions in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. Among his professional research interests was

diabetes mellitus Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained hyperglycemia, high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or th ...

. His appointments included one as Professor of Experimental Medicine at

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

. In 1970 he was invited to accept the position of

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. In 1976 he was appointed Regius Professor of Physic at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

where he led the re-establishment of the

School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge The School of Clinical Medicine is the medical school of the University of Cambridge in England. The medical school is considered as being one of the most prestigious in the world, ranking as 1st in The Complete University Guide, followed by Ox ...

. In 1978 on the death of Sir

Morien Morgan Sir Morien Bedford Morgan CB FRS (20 December 1912 – 4 April 1978), was a noted Welsh aeronautical engineer, sometimes known as "the Father of Concorde". He spent most of his career at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), before moving t ...

he was elected Master of

Downing College, Cambridge Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge and currently has around 950 students. Founded in 1800, it was the only college to be added to the university between 1596 and 1869, and is often described as the oldest of ...

, where he was a popular figure. Even after retirement from the post, his links with his adopted College persisted and he did what he could to further its interests. The College bar at Downing is named after him. The Mastership of Downing led to a term also as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

Honours

Butterfield was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in 1953. In 1978, he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. He was made a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 1988 as Baron Butterfield, of

Stechford Stechford is an area of East Birmingham, England, situated about five miles east of the city centre, bordering Ward End, Yardley, Hodge Hill and Kitts Green. Historically it lay within Worcestershire. History Stechford's history is uncl ...

in the

County of West Midlands West Midlands is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the larger West Midlands region of England. A landlocked county, it is bordered by Staffordshire to the north and west, Worcestershire to the south, and is almost surrounded by Warwick ...

Footnotes

References

*Payne, M.A., 'Presentation of Honorary Fellowship to Professor Sir John Butterfield', in ''Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine'' vol. 53, n. 10 (December 1987) 907-908 *
BUTTERFIELD, Baron
''Who Was Who'', A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butterfield, John 1920 births 2000 deaths Conservative Party (UK) life peers Academics of King's College London Officers of the Order of the British Empire Vice-chancellors of the University of Nottingham Fellows of Downing College, Cambridge Regius Professors of Physic (Cambridge) Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Johns Hopkins University alumni Masters of Downing College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor Physicians of Guy's Hospital British expatriates in the United States Life peers created by Elizabeth II