Arthur Gamgee FRS (11 October 1841 – 29 May 1909) was a British biochemist.

Arthur Gamgee was the son of Joseph Gamgee, an Edinburgh veterinarian

Veterinarian

A veterinary physician, colloquially called a vet, shortened from veterinarian or veterinary surgeon , is a professional who treats disease, disorder and injury in animals....

, and his wife Mary Ann West. He was born in Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, where his father had a practice, but his family moved back to England when he was fourteen years old. He was educated at University College School

University College School

University College School, generally known as UCS, is an Independent school charity situated in Hampstead, north west London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views...

 in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and at the University of Edinburgh

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

, graduating with an M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 in 1862. For his thesis, 'Contributions to the chemistry and physiology of foetal nutrition', he was awarded a gold medal.

He was made lecturer on physiology

Physiology

Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...

 at Surgeon's Hall and Physician to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children

Royal Hospital for Sick Children

The Royal Hospital for Sick Children may refer to:*Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh*Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow...

. In 1873 he was appointed Professor of Physiology at the Royal Manchester School of Medicine. He was also Physician to the Manchester Hospital for Consumption. In 1872 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and delivered their Croonian Lecture

Croonian Lecture

The Croonian Lectures are prestigious lectureships 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 one lectureship at both the Royal Society and the Royal College of Physicians...

 in 1902.

From 1884 to 1888 he was Fullerian Professor of Physiology and Comparative Anatomy at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. He was also author of "A text-book of the physiological chemistry of the animal body: including an account of the chemical changes occurring in disease", published in 1880.

On 29 March 1909, he died of pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

 during a visit to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He was buried in the family vault in Arnos Vale Cemetery

Arnos Vale Cemetery

Arnos Vale Cemetery , located in Arno's Vale in Bristol, England, was established in 1837. Its first burial was in 1839. The cemetery followed a joint-stock model, funded by shareholders. It was laid out as an Arcadian landscape with buildings by Charles Underwood.Arnos Vale cemetery is located on...

, Bristol

Bristol

Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...

. He had married in 1875 Mary Louisa Clark.

Arthur Gamgee was fluent in French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, and Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

. He was the brother of John Gamgee and Joseph Sampson Gamgee and uncle of D'Arcy Thompson.

External links