Philip Eggleton

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

(19 March 1903 – 7 October 1954) was a British biochemist, physiologist, lecturer, and (with his wife Grace Palmer Eggleton), co-discoverer of

Phosphagen Phosphagens, also known as macroergic compounds, are high energy storage compounds, also known as high-energy phosphate compounds, chiefly found in muscular tissue in animals. They allow a high-energy phosphate pool to be maintained in a concentra ...

Life

Eggleton was born at

Kingston-on-Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

on 19 March 1903. He attended the Tiffin School there before going to the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

graduating BSc in 1922 and receiving his doctorate (DSc) in 1930. He then received a post at 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 ...

rising to Reader in Biochemistry in the Physiology Department. He also acted as Scientific Advisor to

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

. In 1927, in experiments on frog muscles in

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, he discovered the release (on passing an electrical current) of a previously unknown substance which he labelled phosphagen. It was shown that the substance played a major role in muscular contraction. 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 ...

in 1931. His proposers were Sir

Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer Sir Edward Albert Sharpey-Schafer (2 June 1850 – 29 March 1935) was a British physiologist. He is regarded as a founder of endocrinology: in 1894 he discovered and demonstrated the existence of adrenaline together with George Oliver, and he a ...

Alfred Joseph Clark Professor Alfred Joseph Clark MC FRS FRSE (19 August 1885 – 30 July 1941) was a British pharmacologist and Professor of Pharmacology at the University College, London. He was a de-bunker of fraudulent remedies and did many early studies on ...

, and

Henry Dryerre Prof Henry Dryerre FRSE MRCS LRCP (1881–5 February 1959) was a Scottish veterinarian and animal physiologist. He was Emeritus Professor of Physiology at the Dick Veterinary College in Edinburgh. The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scot ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he served in the Gas Identification Service (part of the Edinburgh Civil Defence team)., page 296. Eggleton died on 7 October 1954, aged 51.

Family

He married Grace Palmer (1901-1970) who worked with him. The two discovered

phosphagen Phosphagens, also known as macroergic compounds, are high energy storage compounds, also known as high-energy phosphate compounds, chiefly found in muscular tissue in animals. They allow a high-energy phosphate pool to be maintained in a concentra ...

Publications

*''The Physiological Significance of Phosphagen'' (1927) *''Further Observations on Phosphagen'' (1928) *''A Problem in the Random Distribution of Particles'' (1944) with

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 ...

*''The Use of Sodium Sulphate for the Preparation of Concentrated Protein-Free Tissue Extracts''

References

1903 births 1954 deaths British biochemists British physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Academics of the University of Edinburgh People educated at Tiffin School {{UK-scientist-stub