J. Murdoch Ritchie

Joseph Murdoch Ritchie
Born	June 10, 1925(1925-06-10) Aberdeen, Scotland
Died	July 9, 2008(2008-07-09) (aged 83) Hamden, Connecticut
Spouse	Brenda Bigland-Ritchie
Children	Alasdair Ritchie Jocelyn Ritchie

Joseph Murdoch Ritchie (June 10, 1925 - July 9, 2008)^[1] was an American biophysicist and a professor at Yale University. He is known for asking the C.I.A. in 1975 to share its supply of saxitoxin^[2] (which were used in suicide pills) with scientists for research and his work in neuroscience^[3]. He was the co-author of numerous scientific and technical books and articles.^[4]

Biography

He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Aberdeen, then did his doctorate at University College, London in biophysics in 1952. He joined the faculty at Yale^[5] in pharmacology in 1968, and later served as chairman of the department and as director of the division of biological sciences (1975 to 1978). He retired in 2003.^[6]

He was married to Brenda Bigland-Ritchie, a physiologist. They had a son, Alasdair Ritchie, a biologist, and a daughter, Jocelyn Ritchie, a neuropsychologist.^[7]

References

1. ^ Rang, H. P. (2009). "Joseph Murdoch Ritchie. 10 June 1925 -- 9 July 2008". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 55: 241. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2009.0011.  edit
2. ^ Ritchie, J. M.; Rogart, R. B. (1977). "The binding of saxitoxin and tetrodotoxin to excitable tissue". Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Volume 79. Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology. 79. pp. 1–50. doi:10.1007/BFb0037088. ISBN 3-540-08326-0. PMID 335473.  edit
3. ^ Waxman, S.; Ritchie, J. (1985). "Organization of ion channels in the myelinated nerve fiber". Science 228 (4707): 1502–1507. doi:10.1126/science.2409596. PMID 2409596.  edit
4. ^ http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=j+murdoch+ritchie J. Murdoch Ritchie in Google Scholar
5. ^ Waxman, S. G.; Ritchie, J. M. (1993). "Molecular dissection of the myelinated axon". Annals of Neurology 33 (2): 121–136. doi:10.1002/ana.410330202. PMID 7679565.  edit
6. ^ "Society for Neuroscience - J. Murdoch Ritchie Obituary". http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=memberObituaries_ritchie. Retrieved 2011-07-11. 
7. ^ Pearce, Jeremy (July 29, 2008). J. Murdoch Ritchie, 83, Yale Biophysicist, Is Dead. New York Times

Persondata
Name	Ritchie, J. Murdoch
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 10, 1925
Place of birth	Aberdeen, Scotland
Date of death	July 9, 2008
Place of death	Hamden, Connecticut