David Whitteridge
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David Whitteridge (1912–1994) was a British physician and physiologist. Also an
electrophysiologist Electrophysiology (from Electron#Etymology">etymology of "electron" ; and ) is the branch of physiology that studies the electrical properties of biological cells and tissues. It involves measurements of voltage changes or electric current or m ...
, he was one of the first to demonstrate point to point relationship between nerve endings and specific points of activity within the brain. He is also remembered for his phrase "physiology equals anatomy plus thought".


Life

He was born in
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
in London on 22 June 1912 the son of Walter Whitteridge, and his French wife, Jean Hortense Carouge. He was educated at the
Whitgift School Whitgift School is an independent day school with limited boarding in South Croydon, London. Along with Trinity School of John Whitgift and Old Palace School it is owned by the Whitgift Foundation, a charitable trust. The school was prev ...
. He studied Sciences at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
graduating MA in 1934 then studied Medicine at
Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...
under
John Carew Eccles Sir John Carew Eccles (27 January 1903 – 2 May 1997) was an Australian neurophysiologist and philosopher who won the 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synapse. He shared the prize with Andrew Huxley and Alan Lloy ...
, graduating MB ChB in 1937. Continuing research under Sir
Charles Sherrington Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (27 November 1857 – 4 March 1952) was a British neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a system involving ...
he was involved in the now-controversial experiments to show "faradisation" in experiments of attaching electrodes to monkey brains. He also looked at the effects of anaesthetics and toxic gases on the heart and brains. He then became Resident Medical Officer at
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 ...
Memorial Hospital. During the Second World War he worked with
Ludwig Guttmann Sir Ludwig Guttmann (3 July 1899 – 18 March 1980) was a German-British neurologist who established the Stoke Mandeville Games, the sporting event for people with disabilities (PWD) that evolved in England into the Paralympic Games. A Jewish ...
caring for spinal injuries at
Stoke Mandeville Hospital Stoke Mandeville Hospital is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital located on the parish borders of Aylesbury and Stoke Mandeville, Buckinghamshire, England. It is managed by Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust. It was established ...
. In 1944 he became Demonstrator in
Physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. He began working with Sybil Cooper and Peter Daniel on the muscles controlling eye movement, and began making topographical point-to-point maps of the brain during the same period. In 1950 he was created Professor of Physiology at the university. He was made a Fellow of the university in 1968 succeeding George Lindor Brown in the Waynflete Chair. In 1951 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...
. His proposers were
Ernest Cruickshank Ernest William Henderson Cruickshank FRSE LLD (22 March 1888 – 29 December 1964) was a Scottish physician and physiologist. He was the author of several textbooks on nutrition. His book ''Food and Nutrition'' was an influential best-seller. ...
,
Philip Eggleton Philip Eggleton FRSE (19 March 1903 – 7 October 1954) was a British biochemist, physiologist, lecturer, and (with his wife Grace Palmer Eggleton), co-discoverer of Phosphagens. Life Eggleton was born at Kingston-on-Thames on 19 March 1903. ...
,
William Ogilvy Kermack William Ogilvy Kermack FRS FRSE FRIC (26 April 1898 – 20 July 1970) was a Scottish biochemist. He made mathematical studies of epidemic spread and established links between environmental factors and specified diseases. He is noteworthy for b ...
, and Sir
Edmund Hirst Sir Edmund Langley Hirst CBE FRS FRSE (21 July 1898 – 29 October 1975), was a British chemist. Life Hirst was born in Preston, Lancashire, on 21 July 1898, the son of Elizabeth (née Langley) and Rev Sim Hirst (1856-1923), a Baptist ministe ...
. He was Vice President of the Society from 1956 to 1959. He was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of London 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, r ...
in 1953. In 1956 he was elected a member of the
Harveian Society of Edinburgh The Harveian Society of Edinburgh was founded in April 1782 by Andrew Duncan (physician, born 1744), Andrew Duncan. The Society holds an annual Festival in honour of the life and works of William Harvey, the physician who first correctly des ...
. In 1984/85 he went to India in the wake of the
Bhopal Disaster On 3 December 1984, over 500,000 people in the vicinity of the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India were exposed to the highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate, in what is considered the world's worst ind ...
to give advice on consequent neurological issues. He was made an Honorary Member of the
Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...
as a result, and awarded the
Mahalanobis Medal Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis OBE, FNA, FASc, FRS (29 June 1893 – 28 June 1972) was an Indian scientist and statistician. He is best remembered for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure, and for being one of the members of the fir ...
. He retired in 1979 and died in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
on 15 June 1994 aged 81. His work in neuroscience was continued and expanded by former students and colleagues such as Michael Gaze and
Autar Singh Paintal Autar Singh Paintal (24 September 1925 – 21 December 2004) was an Indian medical scientist who made pioneering discoveries in the area of neurosciences and respiratory sciences. He is the first Indian Physiologist to become the Fellow o ...


Family

In 1938 he married medical historian Dr Gweneth Hutchings (d.1993). They had three children.


Publications

*''Trends in Neuroscience'' (1982) *''100 years of Congresses of Physiology'' (1989)


References

1912 births 1994 deaths British physiologists Electrophysiologists People from Croydon People educated at Whitgift School Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Academics of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh {{UK-academic-bio-stub