Robert Cruickshank (26 September 1899 – 16 August 1974) was a Scottish bacteriologist. He did much early work on cancer research and aerobiology, including the airborne spread of

streptococcus ''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell division in streptococci occurs along a sing ...

. He was an expert in the field of epidemiology.

Life

He was born on 26 September 1899 in the village of

Strichen Strichen is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It sits on the A981, connecting it to New Deer to the southwest and Fraserburgh to the north-northeast, and the B9093, connecting it to New Pitsligo about due west. The village got its nam ...

in northern Scotland, into a farming background. He attended school locally then won a place studying medicine at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

graduating with an

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

in 1922. He won the Alexander Anderson Travelling Scholarship, allowing him further study at the Pathology Department of the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. Here he worked with Robert Muir and Carl Browning who each influenced him in his choice of career as a bacteriologist. Initially working in the Hospital For Sick Children in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

he was given a Fellowship in cancer research. In 1928 he was appointed a lecturer in bacteriology at the

while also taking the role of bacteriologist for

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

. Here he made important observations and advances in the understanding of

streptococcal infections ''Streptococcus'' is a genus of gram-positive spherical bacteria that belongs to the family Streptococcaceae, within the order Lactobacillales (lactic acid bacteria), in the phylum Bacillota. Cell division in streptococci occurs along a single ...

in burn victims. In 1936 he was appointed Director of the LCC Group Laboratory at the North West Fever Hospital in London. Despite a decade of ill-health, he built up the reputation of the laboratory in the field of bacteriological research. In 1945 he became the first Director of the Central Public Health Laboratory in

Colindale Colindale is a district in the London Borough of Barnet; its main shopping street on the A5 forming the borough boundary with neighbouring Brent. Colindale is a suburban area, and in recent years has had many new apartments built. It is also ...

in north London, establishing it as a centre for medical microbiology. In 1949 he became Professor of Bacteriology at 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 ...

linked to St Mary's Hospital. In 1955 he became Director of the Wright-Fleming Institute, formerly the Sir Almoth Wright Inoculation Department. In 1958 he returned to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

to take up a chair in Bacteriology 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 ...

. He was made a 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 ...

(London) in 1946. 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 1959. His proposers were George Lightbody Montgomery, David Whitteridge, Guy Frederic Marrian, and James Pickering Kendall. In 1966 he was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). The

awarded him an honorary doctor of letters (LLD) in 1968. He retired in 1966 and took on the role of Professor of Social and Preventative Medicine at the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

which linked to the Ministry of Health in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. During this period he also represented the UK at the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Pakistan-SEATO

Cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

Research Laboratory in

Dacca Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

, Pakistan. He retired fully in 1968. He died on 16 August 1974.

Family

He married Margaret Petrie in 1929. They had one daughter, Nancy, and one son, Neil.

Publications

*''Modern Trends in Immunology'' vol 1 (1963) *''Modern Trends in Immunology'' vol 2 (1967) *''Handbook of Bacteriology'' (editing) (1960) *''The Practice of Medical Microbiology'' (editing) *''Perspectives in Public Health''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruickshank, Robert 1899 births 1974 deaths Scottish bacteriologists Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow People from Strichen

Life

Family

Publications

See also

References