Sir Wilfrid Russell Grimwade (15 October 1879 – 2 November 1955) was an Australian chemist, botanist, industrialist and philanthropist. He was the son of Frederick Sheppard Grimwade and brother of Harold Grimwade. He was educated at Melbourne Grammar School and The University of Melbourne, where he earned a B.Sc. in science. He then joined the family pharmaceutical firm Felton Grimwade & Company in 1903. Over his career, he was director of Drug Houses of Australia, Australian Glass Manufacturers, Cuming Smith & Company, and chaired the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research as well as the

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

. He donated £50,000 for a purpose-built facility to house the School of Biochemistry at The University of Melbourne, which bore his name from its construction in 1956 until its demolition in 2008. He was an honorary member of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union and professional body for physician, doctors in the United Kingdom. It does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The BMA ...

, and served on the advisory council that established the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (now

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

), later sponsoring its forestry division. He also served on the advisory committee for the Melbourne Botanic Gardens and wrote ''An Anthology of the Eucalypts'' in 1920. An endowment by Grimwade in 1929 was used to create the Russell Grimwade Prize, a scholarship for study of forestry. As of 2018, the annual prize value is $40,000. In 1934, he presented Cooks' Cottage to Victoria after purchasing it in England and shipping it to Australia. He received a CBE in 1935 and was knighted in the 1950 King's Birthday Honours List.

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Scientists from Melbourne Australian chemists 20th-century Australian botanists Australian manufacturing businesspeople Australian philanthropists 1879 births 1955 deaths Australian Knights Bachelor Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Australian people of English descent Businesspeople awarded knighthoods {{Australia-bio-stub