Alexander Thomas Cameron (1882 – 25 September 1947) was a British-born Canadian

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 ...

. He was best known as Professor of Biochemistry at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

, and as the author of numerous popular biochemistry textbooks, including the '' Textbook of Biochemistry.''

Biography

Alexander Thomas Cameron was born in 1882 in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, to Scottish parents.White, F.D. & Collip J.B. (1948) "Obituary Notice: Alexander Thomas Cameron, 1882-1947," ''Biochemical Journal'', 43(1): 1–2 His early education took place in

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

. Cameron graduated from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1904, and a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1906. His first published paper appeared in ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh'' in 1905, and concerned the

crystallisation Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with highly organized atoms or molecules, i.e. a crystal. The ordered nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization ...

of potassium hydrogen succinate. In 1907 he was awarded the Gunning Victoria Jubilee Prize in Chemistry Handwritten essay available at th
Edinburgh Research Archive
Cameron was awarded an 1851 Exhibition Scholarship in 1906,B.M. (1947) "Alexander Thomas Cameron," ''The British Medical Journal'', Vol. 2, No. 4529 (Oct. 25, 1947), p. 673 and spent the next two years studying

radiochemistry Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads t ...

University College, London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, under

Sir William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...

. He subsequently spent a year at the Technical High School (or Polytechnic Institute) in

Karlsruhe, Germany Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, under

Fritz Haber Fritz Jakob Haber (; 9 December 1868 – 29 January 1934) was a German chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his invention of the Haber process, a method used in industry to synthesize ammonia from nitrogen gas and hydrog ...

. In 1909, Cameron was appointed lecturer in physiology at the

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Canada. Working under Professor Swale Vincent, Cameron fostered an interest in

endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

, researching the distribution of

iodine Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

in living tissues. In 1923, the department of physiology was branched to include a separate biochemistry department, for which Cameron was appointed professor. Apart from a summer semester spent at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, under

Albrecht Kossel Ludwig Karl Martin Leonhard Albrecht Kossel (; 16 September 1853 – 5 July 1927) was a biochemist and pioneer in the study of genetics. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1910 for his work in determining the chemical ...

, and three years as captain, R.A.M.C., with the British Expeditionary Force in France during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Cameron spent the remainder of his career at the University of Manitoba. His publications on the biochemistry of iodine earned him a

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

from the University of Edinburgh in 1925. In 1928, Cameron published '' Textbook of Biochemistry,'' which became a standard in its field. By 1948, the textbook had gone through six editions, in addition to one

Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...

and two

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

editions. His other widely used textbooks included ''Practical Biochemistry'' (1930, with Frank D. White), ''Biochemistry of Medicine'' (1933, with C.R. Gilmour), and ''Recent Advances in Endocrinology'' (1933). In addition to his academic duties, Cameron also served as chairman of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada from 1934 to 1947,"Cameron, Alexander Thomas"
David B. Smith, ''The Canadian Encyclopedia.'' Accessed on 14 January 2011. a role for which he was awarded a C.M.G. in 1946. At various stages of his career, he was a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

, the president of the Canadian Institute of Chemistry, an original 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 ...

, and secretary for the Scientific Club of Winnipeg. Following a long illness, Alexander Thomas Cameron died on September 25, 1947, either at his residence in Winnipeg or at

Winnipeg General Hospital Winnipeg General Hospital is a hospital that was founded in 1872 in Winnipeg, Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Populati ...

. He was survived by his wife, his son Alistair, and his daughter Janet.

Personal life

As its secretary, Cameron dedicated much of his time to the Scientific Club of Winnipeg. Cameron was a fluent reader of English, French, and German, and enjoyed reading literature."Obituaries," ''Canada M.A.J.,'' Vol 57 (Nov., 1947), p504 His favourite hobby was

stamp collecting Stamp collecting is the collecting of postage stamps and related objects. It is an area of philately, which is the study (or combined study and collection) of stamps. It has been one of the world's most popular hobbies since the late nineteenth ...

, a pursuit which "gave limitless scope for his methodical ways and zest for minutiae."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Alex 1882 births 1947 deaths British chemists British biologists Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academic staff of the University of Manitoba Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada 20th-century British biologists British emigrants to Canada 20th-century Canadian biologists

Biography

Personal life

See also

References