Sir Arnold Stanley Vincent Burgen FRS (20 March 1922 – 26 May 2022) was a British physician,

pharmacologist Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between ...

, academic and university administrator. He was Master of

Darwin College, Cambridge Darwin College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded on 28 July 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and wo ...

, from 1982–89, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of 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 ...

from 1985–89, and founding President of the

Academia Europæa The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

Early life

Burgen was born in Clapton,

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

. He attended Christ's College Finchley, a grammar school in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

, north London. He was subsequently a student at the

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

Medical School beginning in 1945; (now part of

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 ...

) before going on to become a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

in 1950.

Career

*House Physician, Middlesex Hospital, 1945; Demonstrator, 1945–48, Asst Lectr, 1948–49, in Pharmacology, Middlesex Hospital Medical School. *Professor of Physiology,

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, 1949–62; Deputy Director, University Clinic, Montreal General Hospital, 1957-62. *

Sheild Professor of Pharmacology The Sheild Professorship of Pharmacology is the senior professorship in pharmacology at the University of Cambridge. It is named in honour of Marmaduke Sheild. The position was originally established on 7 June 1946 as a personal chair for the te ...

, University of Cambridge, 1962–71; Fellow 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 ...

, 1962–71, Hon. Fellow 1972 *Director,

National Institute for Medical Research The National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR became part of the new F ...

, 1971-82. *President, the

International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology The International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) is a voluntary, non-profit association representing the interests of scientists in pharmacology-related fields to facilitate ''Better Medicines through Global Education and Resea ...

1972–75

Personal life

Burgen was married to British crystallographer

Olga Kennard Olga Kennard, Lady Burgen ( Weisz; 23 March 1924 – 1 March 2023) was a Hungarian-born British scientist who specialised in crystallography. She was the founder of the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre. Kennard's research focused on dete ...

. He died on 26 May 2022, at the age of 100.

Honours

Burgen was appointed Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1964, Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

in 1969, and was knighted in the

1976 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1976 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...

. Burgen was elected a Foreign Associate of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

of the United States in 1987. He became an Honorary Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge, in 1989. He was founding President and ''praesis perpetua honoris causa'' of

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of humanities, letters, law, and sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burgen, Arnold 1922 births 2022 deaths British pharmacologists 20th-century British medical doctors Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor Academic staff of McGill University Members of Academia Europaea Masters of Darwin College, Cambridge Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Fellows of Downing College, Cambridge Alumni of University College London People educated at Christ's College, Finchley British men centenarians Sheild Professors of Pharmacology People from the London Borough of Hackney