Sir Christopher Howard Andrewes (7 June 1896 – 31 December 1988) was a British virologist who discovered the human

influenza A virus '' A virus'' (''IAV'') causes influenza in birds and some mammals, and is the only species of the genus ''Alphainfluenzavirus'' of the virus family '' Orthomyxoviridae''. Strains of all subtypes of influenza A virus have been isolated from wil ...

in 1933.

Education

Andrewes was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...

and later studied medicine at

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

Career

He served in the Royal Navy as a surgeon during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. In 1927 he joined the scientific staff of the National Institute for Medical Research to assist

Patrick Laidlaw Sir Patrick Playfair Laidlaw (26 September 1881 – 20 March 1940) was a Scottish virologist. Biography Laidlaw was born in Glasgow, the son of Robert Laidlaw, M.D., at that time Superintendent of the Glasgow Medical Mission. He was educated a ...

in developing a vaccine against canine distemper. This led on to research on influenza and the discovery of the causative virus in 1933 and subsequent vaccine development. He was head of NIMR's Division of Bacteriology and Virus Research from 1939 to 1961, during which time he established the Common Cold Research Unit near

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

as an NIMR outpost in 1947, and the World Influenza Centre at Mill Hill in 1948, which spawned a worldwide network of collaborating centres. Andrewes was deputy director of NIMR from 1952–61 and retired in 1967. He served as president of the Society for General Microbiology (now the Microbiology Society) from 1955 to 1957.

Awards and honours

* 1939 Elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathematic ...

and was on the council from 1945–47. * 1947 Awarded

Bisset Hawkins Medal The Bisset Hawkins Medal is a triennial award made by the Royal College of Physicians of London to acknowledge work done in the preceding ten years in advancing sanitary science or promoting public health. It is named after Francis Bisset Hawkins ...

by the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

* 1955 Elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...

* 1961 In the New Year Honours 1961 he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

. * 1964 Elected to the United States

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Nat ...

* 1965 Marjory Stephenson Prize from the Society for General Microbiology * 1979 Robert Koch Gold Medal

Personal life

Andrewes married Kathleen Lamb in 1927 and had three sons, two of whom became general practitioners.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrewes, Christopher Howard 1896 births 1988 deaths People educated at Highgate School British virologists Influenza researchers National Institute for Medical Research faculty Knights Bachelor Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society