Walter Ramsden (4 October 1868 – 26 March 1947) was a British

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

. He discovered the phenomenon now known as Pickering stabilization in 1903, before the effect was independently rediscovered by Spencer U. Pickering in 1907. At age 14 Walter Ramsden withdrew from

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

to study privately at home. He matriculated at

Keble College, Oxford Keble College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, University Museum a ...

and graduated there with a 1st Class in the school of physiology. By means of a Radcliffe Travelling Fellowship in Medical Sciences he studied from 1893 to 1896 at Zürich, at Vienna, and then 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 ...

, qualifying M.B., B.Ch. in 1897 and graduating D.M. (Oxford) in 1902. In 1899 he was elected a Sheppard Medical Fellow of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

and held the Fellowship until his death. At Oxford he was a lecturer in physiological chemistry under

Francis Gotch Francis Gotch (13 July 1853 – 15 July 1913) was a British neurophysiologist who was professor of physiology at University College Liverpool and Oxford University. He was educated at Amersham Hall School and then at London University graduat ...

until 1913 and under C. S. Sherrington during the academic year 1913–1914. Ramsden was a founder member of the

Biochemical Society The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences. It was founded in 1911 and acquired the existing '' Biochemical Journal'' the following year. T ...

in 1911. He was Johnston Professor of Biochemistry at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

from 1914 until his retirement in 1931. His predecessor was Benjamin Moore and his successor was Harold Channon (1897–1979).

John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman, (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architect ...

wrote a poem '' I.M. Walter Ramsden ob. March 26, 1947 Pembroke College, Oxford'' on the occasion of Ramsden's death, having been inspired by an obituary by R.B. McCallum in

The Oxford Magazine ''The Oxford Magazine'' is a review magazine and newspaper published in Oxford, England.''The Oxford Magaz ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsden, Walter 1868 births 1947 deaths English chemists British physiologists People educated at Manchester Grammar School Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Fellows of Pembroke College, Oxford