Richard Hume Adrian, 2nd Baron Adrian FRS (16 October 1927 – 4 April 1995) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

peer and

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

Personal life

Richard Hume Adrian was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in 1927, as the only son of

Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian Edgar Douglas Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian (30 November 1889 – 4 August 1977) was an English electrophysiologist and recipient of the 1932 Nobel Prize for Physiology, won jointly with Sir Charles Sherrington for work on the function of neurons ...

and his wife, Hester Agnes Pinsent, a

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

worker. His older sister, Anne Pinsent Adrian, married the physiologist Richard Keynes (a direct descendant of

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

) while his twin sister, Jennet Adrian, married Peter Watson Campbel. Adrian's father won a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

in 1932, was

President of the Royal Society The president of the Royal Society (PRS), also known as the Royal Society of London, is the elected Head of the Royal Society who presides over meetings of the society's council. After an informal meeting (a lecture) by Christopher Wren at Gres ...

1950–1955 and was created

Baron Adrian Baron Adrian, of Cambridge in the County of Cambridge, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 27 January 1955 for the electrophysiologist and Nobel Prize recipient Edgar Adrian. He was succeeded by his only son, the s ...

in 1955. In 1967 he married Lucy Caroe, historical geographer. She was the daughter of the architect Alban Caroe and her grandfathers were

W. D. Caröe William Douglas Caröe (1 September 1857 – 25 February 1938) was a British architect, particularly of churches. Early life Caröe was born on 1 September 1857 in Holmsdale, Blundellsands, near Liverpool, the youngest son of the List of diplo ...

and William Bragg. They had no children, and on his death in 1995, the title Baron Adrian became extinct. He was the great-uncle of

Skandar Keynes Alexander Amin Caspar Keynes (born 5 September 1991) is an English political advisor, and former actor. Best known for starring as Edmund Pevensie in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' film series, he appeared in all three installments: ''The Lion, th ...

, who had a leading role in the ''Chronicles of Narnia'' films.

Career

Richard Adrian was educated at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

and

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

, followed by reading medicine at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, and

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 ...

. He pursued advanced research into cellular physiology, becoming Professor of Cell Physiology at Cambridge University in 1978. He was a fellow of

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th c ...

(1955–61) and

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

(1961-81) and was Master of

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

from 1981 to 1992. He also served a term as Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University. Adrian was elected a

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

for his contributions to physiology in 1977. In 1987, he was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

. In 1977 he became the second Baron Adrian after the death of his father. He was active in politics in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, sitting as a

cross-bencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent politician, independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. ...

.OBITUARY: Lord Adrian
8 April 1995. He was a trustee of a number of national institutions, including the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

and the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

Arms

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adrian, Richard Adrian, 2nd Baron 1927 births 1995 deaths 2 English physiologists Fellows of the Royal Society Vice-chancellors of the University of Cambridge Masters of Pembroke College, Cambridge The Journal of Physiology editors International members of the American Philosophical Society