Peter Medawar

Lore & Background

Medawar was the youngest child of a Lebanese father and a British mother. Billingham, Medawar demonstrated the principle of acquired immunological tolerance, theoretically predicted by Mac Burnet. This understanding became the foundation of tissue and organ transplantation. He and Burnet shared the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovery of acquired immunological tolerance. Medawar is remembered for his wit, both in person and in his popular writings. Richard Dawkins referred to him as 'the wittiest of all scientific writers'; Stephen Jay Gould as 'the cleverest man I have ever known'.

Reader's Guide

Medawar's discovery of acquired immunological tolerance revolutionized medicine by providing the theoretical and experimental basis for tissue and organ transplantation. His work, conducted with Brent and Billingham, demonstrated that the immune system could be rendered unresponsive to specific molecules, a phenomenon predicted by Burnet. This principle directly enabled the development of transplant surgery, saving countless lives. Beyond his research, Medawar held senior leadership roles in U.K. His influence extended to public understanding of science through his witty popular writings, earning him praise from figures like Dawkins and Gould. His legacy as the 'father of transplantation' rests on both his foundational scientific contributions and his role in shaping modern immunology.

Did You Know?

• Medawar was born in Brazil to a Lebanese father and British mother, and held both Brazilian and British citizenship at birth.
• He renounced his Brazilian citizenship after being denied exemption from conscription by President Eurico Gaspar Dutra.
• His doctoral thesis was approved in 1941, but he did not officially supplicate for the degree because he spent the money on an urgent appendicectomy.
• He likened his secondary school, Marlborough College, to training schools for the Nazi SS, calling it 'founded upon the twin pillars of sex and sadism.'