Record

Authorised form of nameHaldane; John Scott (1860 - 1936)
Dates1860 - 1936
NationalityBritish
Place of birthEdinburgh, Scotland
Date of birth03 May 1860
Place of deathOxford
Date of death15/03/1936
Research fieldPhysiology
ActivityCareer:
John Scott Haldane was one of the greatest and most colourful of British scientists, acknowledged as the leading physiologist of the era at a time when physiology and much of medical science was coming into its own. The most successful serial self-experimenter in the history of science, Haldane crawled through the carnage of underground explosions, locked himself in sealed chambers, breathed in lethal cocktails of gases, sampled his own blood, burned and healed his own flesh, and experimented on his own children, in an obsessional push to understand the nature of human respiration. What is expired air? How can you make coalmines safer? What does carbon monoxide do to people? These are just some of the vital questions to which Haldane provided the answers, saving thousands of lives in the process. He also designed the first space-suit and invented the gas-mask, among many other innovations and contributions we still benefit from today.
Honours:
CH 1928
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election03/06/1897
RSActivityMedals and prizes:
Royal Medal 1916; Copley Medal 1934
RelationshipsFather of John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (FRS 1932); brother of Richard Burdon Haldane (FRS 1906); maternal grandfather of John Murdoch Mitchison (FRS 1978)
SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; DNB; DSB
Obituaries:
Obituary Notices of Fellows of the Royal Society 1936-1938 vol 2 pp 115-139, plate, by C G Douglas
References:
W van der Kloot, 'April 1915: Five Future Nobel Prize-Winners Inaugurate Weapons Of Mass Destruction And The Academic-Industrial-Military Complex' in NR 2004 vol 58 pp 149-160
Notes:
According to the DNB entry, he died at midnight 14-15 Mar 1936.
Virtual International Authority Filehttp://viaf.org/viaf/27195510
CodeNA2292
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
IM/001837Haldane, John Scottnd
EC/1897/12Haldane, John Scott: certificate of election to the Royal Society
IM/Maull/001836Haldane, John Scottnd
NLB/23/1/110Copy letter from R Chapman, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society24 September 1901
NLB/3/252Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Professor John Scott Burdon Sanderson, Fellow of the Royal Society24 April 1889
NLB/3/334Copy letter from Herbert Rix, to Dr Frankland, Fellow of the Royal Society13 May 1889
NLB/3/1081Copy letter from an unknown correspondent, to Messrs Harrison & Sons7 January 1890
NLB/13/678Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Thomas Pridgin Teale, Fellow of the Royal Society, 38 Cookridge Street, Leeds5 November 1896
RR/15/208Letter from John Scott Haldane, 'The action of the spurge (Euphorbia hiberna, L.) on salmonoid fishes' by H M Kyle to Robert Frederick William Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society20 January 1902
RR/15/143Second referee's report by William Dobinson Halliburton, on a paper 'The fermentation of urea; a contribution to the study of the chemistry of the metabolism in bacteria' by Walter Ernest Adeney25 June 1901
RR/17/317Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'Further researches on the etiology of endemic goitre' by R McCarrisonNovember 1908
NLB/15/592Copy letter from Theodore E James, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society2 November 1897
RR/17/234Referee's report by William Dobinson Halliburton, on a paper 'The solubility of air in fats, and its relation to caisson disease' by H M Vernon and John Scott Haldane[April 1907]
NLB/58/335Copy letter from Edwin Deller, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, FRS22 April 1920
NLB/20/754Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society2 July 1900
NLB/19/828Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society4 January 1900
NLB/19/683Copy letter from Theodore E James, to Messrs Harrison & Sons23 November 1899
NLB/24/147Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society11 March 1902
MS/912/2Collection of microscope slides from physiological experiments [c.1910-1930s]
MS/912/1Letters from JS Haldane FRS to GCC Damant1920s-1930s
NLB/44/274Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] S [Scott] Haldane FRS 2 June 1911
NLB/43/707Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society14 March 1911
NLB/38/696Copy letter from Joseph Larmor and Archibald Geikie, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society22 October 1908
NLB/40/813Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] S [Scott] Haldane FRS31 August 1909
NLB/40/843Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Professor J [John] Rose Bradford, Sec RS 15 September 1909
NLB/43/381Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society20 December 1910
NLB/41/765Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society22 February 1910
NLB/41/798Copy letter from John Rose Bradford, to John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society28 February 1910
NLB/41/825Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society3 March 1910
NLB/43/122Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society7 November 1910
NLB/44/284Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] S [Scott] Haldane FRS 8 June 1911
NLB/43/615Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society24 February 1911
NLB/44/680Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] S [Scott] Haldane FRS17 October 1911
NLB/46/158Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society19 June 1912
NLB/45/152Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] S [Scott] Haldane FRS8 January 1912
NLB/51/62Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society to Dr John Scott Haldane FRS2 December 1914
NLB/47/536Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] S [Scott] Haldane FRS17 February 1913
NLB/47/466Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] S [Scott] Haldane FRS4 February 1913
NLB/51/78Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society to Dr John Scott Haldane FRS7 December 1914
NLB/52/427Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. Dunkinfield Henry Scott, Foreign Secretary of the Royal Society and FRS7 December 1915
NLB/52/274Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. John Scott Haldane, FRS1 November 1915
NLB/52/265Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. John Scott Haldane, FRS27 October 1915
RR/17/294Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The causation of arteriosclerosis' by W Henwood HarveyJuly 1908
NLB/52/583Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. John Scott Haldane, FRS22 January 1916
RR/20/66Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The resonance of the tissues as a factor in the transmission of the pulse and in blood pressure' by Leonard Erskine Hill, James M McQueen and William W IngramAugust 1913
RR/19/37Referee's report by Leonard Erskine Hill, on a paper 'Physiological observations made on Pike's Peak, Colorado, with special reference to adaptation to low barometric pressures' by Claude Gordon Douglas, John Scott Haldane, Yandell Henderson and Edward C Schneider[August 1912]
AP/79/17Unpublished paper, 'The extension of the gas laws to liquids' by John Scott Haldane1918
RR/17/381Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The supposed presence of carbon monoxide in normal blood, and in the blood of animals anaethetised with chloroform' by G A Buckmaster and J A GardnerSeptember 1909
RR/10/24Referee's report by John Scott Burdon-Sanderson, on a paper 'The air of sewers' by Thomas Carnelley and John Scott Haldane13 June 1887
RR/25/18Referee's report by Joseph Larmor, on a paper 'The extension of gas laws to liquids' by John Scott Haldane23 May 1918
RR/25/17Referee's report by Hugh Longbourne Callendar, on a paper 'The extension of gas laws to liquids' by John Scott Haldane[May 1918]
NLB/56/743Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, FRS16 May 1919
NLB/53/613Copy letter from [William Bate] Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society and FRS; to [John Scott Haldane, FRS]02 November 1916
RR/10/23Referee's report by William James Russell, on a paper 'The air of sewers' by Thomas Carnelley and John Scott Haldane7 June 1887
NLB/58/165Copy letter from Edwin Deller, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, FRS22 March 1920
NLB/53/582Copy letter from [Dr.] Arthur Schuster, Secretary of the Royal Society and FRS; to The Deputy Master of the Mint02 November 1916
NLB/55/716Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, FRS01 August 1918
RR/18/147Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The physiological influence of ozone' by Leonard Erskine Hill and Martin FlackOctober 1911
NLB/64/115Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee FRS2 February 1923
RR/17/235Referee's report by Leonard Erskine Hill, on a paper 'The solubility of air in fats, and its relation to caisson disease' by H M Vernon and John Scott Haldane[April 1907]
RR/18/56Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'A summary of further experimental researches on the etiology of endemic goitre. (Second series)' by Robert McCarrisonDecember 1910
RR/38/57Referee's report by Marcus Seymour Pembrey, on a paper 'The loss of water and salts through the skin, and the corresponding physiological adjustments' by John Scott Haldane, W Hancock and A G R WhitehouseApril 1929
NLB/60/133Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee and FRS13 December 1920
RR/14/228Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'On intestinal absorption, especially on the absorption of serum, peptone, and glucose' by Edward Waymouth Reidnd [June 1899]
NLB/60/742Copy letter from [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee; to Mr. Griffiths20 March 1921
NLB/60/333Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee and FRS20 January 1921
NLB/60/442Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee and FRS5 February 1921
RR/22/13Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'Effects of functional activity in striated muscle and the submaxillary gland' by Joseph Barcroft and Toyojiro KatoSeptember 1915
RR/48/68Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'On the combinations of methæmoglobin with H2S' by David Keilin[June 1933]
RR/46/114Referee's report by Marcus Seymour Pembrey, on a paper 'The osmotic passage of water and gases through the human skin' by A G R Whitehouse, W Hancock and John Scott Haldane[July 1932]
NLB/57/532Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr JS [John Scott] Haldane, FRS25 November 1919
NLB/60/717Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee and FRS18 March 1921
NLB/65/453Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, FRS2 November 1923
NLB/62/752Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee and FRS27 April 1922
NLB/62/552Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Bequest Committee and FRS9 March 1922
NLB/65/390Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, FRS25 October 1923
NLB/65/287Copy letter from [John Scott] Haldane, Chairman of the Tyndall Mining Bequest Committee; to Sir John Cadman, KCMG6 October 1923
NLB/65/288Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, FRS6 October 1923
NLB/65/404Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, FRS26 October 1923
NLB/65/337Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, FRS15 October 1923
NLB/65/746Copy letter from William Bate Hardy, Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, FRS15 December 1923
NLB/72/294Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, CH, FRS25 June 1929
NLB/72/822Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr [John Scott] Haldane, FRS8 May 1930
M/133Copley Medal of the Royal Society to Haldane1934
NLB/23/1/726Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society10 January 1902
RR/19/64Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The relation of the personal factor to the estimation of 60 by the spectroscope' by Hamilton Hartridge[August 1912]
RR/21/21Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'Report of the monte rosa expedition of 1911' by Joseph Barcroft, M Camis, C G Mathison, Ff Roberts and J H Ryffel[January 1914]
NLB/57/66Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr JS [John Scott] Haldane, FRS11 July 1919
EC/1897/13Haldane, John Scott: certificate of election to the Royal Society
RR/15/142Referee's report by William Dobinson Halliburton, on a paper 'The fermentation of urea; a contribution to the study of the chemistry of the metabolism in bacteria' by Walter Ernest Adeney20 June 1901
NLB/52New Letter Book volume 52, copy letters sent from Royal Society administration9 July 1915-8 March 1916
NLB/57New Letter Book volume 57, copy letters sent from Royal Society administration27 June 1919-27 February 1920
MDA/C/32/1/4Letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to Joseph Larmor14 February 1910
MDA/C/32/2/1Letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to Francis Towle30 January 1923
MDA/C/32/2/6Letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to Francis Towle5 October 1923
MDA/C/32/2/7Draft letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to members of the Tyndall Mining Bequest Committee[5 October 1923]
MDA/C/32/2/8Circular letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to William Bate Hardy6 October 1923
MDA/C/32/2/10Letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to Francis Towle18 October 1923
MDA/C/32/2/12Letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to William Bate Hardy27 October 1923
MDA/C/32/2/28Letter from John Scott Haldane, Cherwell, Oxford, to Francis Towle23 June 1929
MDA/C/32/2/31Memorandum by John Scott Haldane, to members of the Tyndall Mining Bequest Committee17 November 1929
RR/46/14Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on two papers 'The absorption and excretion of water by the mammal. Part I.—The relation between absorption of water and its excretion by the innervated and denervated kidney' and 'The absorption and excretion of water by the mammal. Part II.—Factors influencing the response of the kidney to water ingestion' by A Klisiecki, Lillian Mary Pickford, P Rothschild and Ernest Basil Verney[January 1933]
RR/22/86Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'On the mechanism of chemical temperature regulation' by J M O'ConnorJanuary 1916
RR/10/266Referee's report by John Scott Burdon-Sanderson, on a paper 'The accurate determination of carbonic acid and moisture in air' by John Scott Haldane and Marcus Seymour Pembrey12 May 1889
AP/66/11Unpublished paper, 'The accurate determination of carbonic acid and moisture in air' by J S [John Scott] Haldane and M S [Marcus Seymour] Pembrey1889
RR/15/207Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The action of the spurge (Euphorbia hiberna, L.) on salmonoid fishes' by H M KyleSeptember 1901
RR/15/144Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The fermentation of urea; a contribution to the study of the chemistry of the metabolism in bacteria' by Walter Ernest Adeney24 June 1901
PP/10/60Paper, 'The air of sewers' by Thomas Carnelley and John Scott Haldane1887
RR/10/267Referee's report by Edward Frankland, on a paper 'The accurate determination of carbonic acid and moisture in air' by John Scott Haldane and Marcus Seymour Pembrey15 May 1889
RR/19/22Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'Composition of the blood gases during the respiration of oxygen' by George A Buckmaster and John Addyman Gardner[January 1912]
RR/19/38Referee's report by Joseph Barcroft, on a paper 'Physiological observations made on Pike's Peak, Colorado, with special reference to adaptation to low barometric pressures' by Claude Gordon Douglas, John Scott Haldane, Yandell Henderson and Edward C Schneider[October 1912]
RR/53/112Referee's report by John Scott Haldane, on a paper 'The limit of high flying when breathing oxygen' by Leonard Erskine Hill[February 1934]
NLB/38/688Copy letter from Joseph Larmor and Archibald Geikie, to Sir Arthur William Rucker, Fellow of the Royal Society22 October 1908
NLB/46/77Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Scott Haldane, Fellow of the Royal Society7 June 1912
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