| Authorised form of name | Widdowson; Elsie May (1906 - 2000); nutritionist |
| Dates | 1906 - 2000 |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | The Ferns, Belmont Road, Wallington, Surrey, England |
| Date of birth | 21/10/1906 |
| Place of death | Cambridge |
| Date of death | 14/06/2000 |
| Dates and places | Burial: Barrington churchyard, Cambridgeshire, England (23 June 2000).
Memorial service: Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge, England (20 October 2000). |
| Occupation | Nutritionist |
| Research field | Dietetics |
| Activity | Education:
Sydenham County Secondary School; Imperial College, London
Career:
Courtauld Institute of Biochemistry at Middlesex Hospital (1932-1933); Kings College of Household and Social Science (1933-1938); Staff, Department of Experimental Medicine, Cambridge University (1938-66); Infant Nutrition Research Division (1966-1972); Department of Medicine, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge (1972-1988); President, British Nutrition Foundation (1986-1996); died following a severe stroke while on holiday with her sister on the Dingle peninsula in Ireland.
Honours:
CBE 1979; CH 1993
Memberships:
Nutrition Society (President 1977-1980); Neonatal Society (President 1978-1981) |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 18/03/1976 |
| Age at election | 69 |
| Relationships | Parents: Thomas Henry Widdowson, grocer's assistant, and Rose, née Elphick.
Sister: (Ethel) Eva Crane (1912–2007), founder of the International Bee Research Association. |
| Published works | RCN 7470
RCN R76571
RCN 24193
RCN 21689
RCN 13152 |
| General context | Distinguished for her pioneering work in several fields, and for her ability to carry out large scale experiments involving human subjects, the results of which have directed Government policy.
Studied the differential analysis of carbohydrates and by applying this to human foods produced results which are still the only comprehensive ones on the subject. Following this became primarily responsible for the British tables of food composition which have received world wide recognition.
Realised the possibility of studying the freely chosen dietary intakes of men, women and children on a large scale and, although this was done before the war, the results are still drawn upon by committees responsible for compiling tables of dietary requirements.
During and after the war her work on calcium metabolism in Cambridge and Germany led to the enrichment of bread with this element.
Her own analytical work has made her the recognised authority on the composition of the human body at all stages of development and her studies of the metabolism and growth of the new born infant are again directing nutritional policy. |
| Royal Society Obituary or Memoir | Click to view (may be contained within a meeting notice, presidential address or list of death notices) |
| Related images | Discover a selection of related images in our picture library |
| Sources | DNB
Obituaries:
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 2002 vol 48 pp 483-506, plate, by M Ashwell |
| Royal Society code | NA5952 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| Reference number | Title | Date |
| IM/004900 | Widdowson, Elsie May | nd |
| IM/004901 | Widdowson, Elsie May | 1995 |
| MS/934/1 | Papers of Elsie Widdowson | 3 February 1937 - 10 June 2006 |
| EC/1976/39 | Widdowson, Elsie May: certificate of election to the Royal Society | 1969 |
| CMB/281/18 | Papers passed for publication in the Proceedings | 1959 |
| S/0035 | Sculpture bust of Widdowson, Elsie | c.1995 |
| MS/934 | Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance from the Medical Research Council | 3 February 1937 - 10 June 2006 |
| IM/GA/JGRS/8249 | Widdowson, Elsie May | 1981 |
| RR/80/21 | Referee's report by Ernest Basil Verney, on a paper 'Renal function before birth' by Robert Alexander McCance and Elsie May Widdowson | 14 May 1953 |
| RR/80/20 | Letter from Archibald Vivian Hill, on a paper 'Renal function before birth' by Robert Alexander McCance and Elsie May Widdowson, to D C Martin | 20 April 1953 |
| S/0057 | Sculpture bust of Widdowson, Elsie | 1995 |