David Keilin
David Keilin FRS[1] (21 March 1887 – 27 February
1963) was a British Jewish scientist focusing mainly David Keilin
on entomology.[3]
Background and education
He was born in Moscow in 1887 and his family
returned to Warsaw early in his youth.[4] He did not
attend school until age ten due to ill health and asthma.
Only seven years later, in 1904, he enrolled in the
University of Liège. He later studied at Magdalene
College, Cambridge, and became a British citizen.
David Keilin in 1931
Career
Born 21 March 1887
Keilin became research assistant to George Nuttall, Moscow
first Quick Professor of Biology at the University of Died 27 February 1963
Cambridge, in 1915, and spent the rest of his career (aged 75)
there, succeeding Nuttall as Quick Professor and Cambridge
director of the Molteno Institute in 1931. He retired in Alma mater University of Liège
1962. Magdalene College,
Cambridge
He made extensive contributions to entomology and
parasitology during his career. He published thirty-nine Known for Cytochrome
papers between 1914 and 1923 on the reproduction of Awards Fellow of the Royal
lice, the life-cycle of the horse bot-fly, the respiratory Society[1]
adaptations in fly larvae, and other subjects. Royal Medal (1939)
Copley Medal (1951)
He is most known for his research and rediscovery of
Scientific career
cytochrome[5] in the 1920s (he invented the name). It
Fields Entomology and
had been discovered by C. A. MacMunn in 1884, but
parasitology
that discovery had been forgotten or misunderstood.[6]
Institutions University of Cambridge
Doctoral advisor George Nuttall
Awards and honours Author abbrev.
(botany)
Keilin was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1926.[1] He won its Royal Medal in 1939 and its
Copley Medal in 1951.
Legacy
The Keilin Memorial Lecture[7] of the Biochemical Society began in 1964 in his memory, and recipients
and the subject of their talk is selected by a committee reflecting Keilin's interests in bioenergetics,
electron transfer and mitochondrial biology. A medal with his profile, a financial award and an
opportunity for research publication is also awarded. In 2020, the recipient was the University of
Cambridge's Prof Judy Hirst.[8]
References
1. Mann, T. (1964). "David Keilin. 1887-1963" (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1964.0011).
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 10: 183–205.
doi:10.1098/rsbm.1964.0011 (https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsbm.1964.0011).
2. International Plant Names Index. Keilin (http://www.ipni.org/ipni/advAuthorSearch.do?find_a
bbreviation=Keilin).
3. Hartree, E. F. (1963). "Obituary Notice: David Keilin (1887-1963)" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pmc/articles/PMC1202263). The Biochemical Journal. 89 (1): 1–5.
doi:10.1042/bj0890001 (https://doi.org/10.1042%2Fbj0890001). PMC 1202263 (https://www.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1202263). PMID 14097361 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/14097361).
4. Erling Norrby (6 September 2016). Nobel Prizes and Notable Discoveries (https://books.goo
gle.com/books?id=IU4tDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244). World Scientific. pp. 244–. ISBN 978-981-
314-466-8.
5. Ferguson, S. J. (2001). "Keilin's Cytochromes: How Bacteria Use Them, Vary Them and
Make Them". Biochemical Society Transactions. 29 (6): 629–640. doi:10.1042/bst0290629
(https://doi.org/10.1042%2Fbst0290629).
6. Hartree, E. F. (1 October 1973). "The discovery of cytochrome". Biochemical Education. 1
(4): 69–71. doi:10.1016/0307-4412(73)90074-5 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2F0307-4412%287
3%2990074-5).
7. "The Keilin Memorial Lecture" (https://www.biochemistry.org/grants-and-awards/awards/the-
keilin-memorial-lecture/).
8. "Professor Judy Hirst FRS receives Keilin Memorial Lecture Award" (https://www.corpus.ca
m.ac.uk/articles/professor-judy-hirst-frs-receives-keilin-memorial-lecture-award). Corpus
Christi College University of Cambridge. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
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