John Boyd Orr, 1. Baron OF Brechin Mears (* 23 September 1880 in Kilmaurs, Scotland; "† 25 June 1971 in Newton with Brechin) was a Scottish physician and biologist. It received the Nobel peace prize in the year 1949.

Life and work

Training and scientific career

The 1880 born John Boyd Orr was the son of a farmer in the Scottish Kilmaurs. It studied philosophy at the university of Glasgow after its education and became afterwards a religion teacher. Subsequently, it studied medicine and natural sciences and worked as a physician. It concerned itself particularly with questions of the metabolism and the nutrition. Starting from 1914 it worked at the Rowett institute for animal nutrition at the university of Aberdeen, created by him. It led Institut to 1945 and it became in the years to the most important research establishment to the metabolic physiology in Great Britain. With a short interruption by the 1. World war, in which he worked as a medical officer, he dedicated himself above all to the research. A central question was the connection between the quality of the food of the herbivores and thus their pasturelands and the meat quality.

It converted the realizations, which he won in his research, consistently into application, whereby it was interested particularly in the increase of the quality of life of humans. Particularly with the improvement of the quality of life of the children during growth it showed strong commitment. Thus it set reforms in the school supply on the basis of its results through it used itself also for an even and fair distribution of the food in the poorer social classes. In addition its work served the study of the mineral material change. It wanted besides constantly against fluctuating prices as well as uncontrolled overproduction to work.

John Boyd Orr was used as an expert in several commission of the British Ministry Of Agriculture and led briefly also the royal office for animal nutrition. 1935 he was raised for his scientific work into the British aristocracy.

John Boyd Orr was from 1942 to 1945 a professor for agriculture at the university of Aberdeen. Starting from 1946 he became chancellor of the University of Glasgow

International and political work

Also on international level John Boyd Orr supported a conversion of his realizations to the nutrition and rural economy. It became member of the nourishing committee of the and wanted to advance the establishment of a world nourishing federation. He saw a possibility for the creation of durable peace in the removal of hunger in the world.

In the year 1945 John Boyd Orr became the first general manager of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the organization for nutrition and agriculture of the United Nations. 1946 it laid down this post already again and justified this with the attitude of the USA in relation to its demands. These would have brought the plans by their refusals to case. Also after its separating it warned however again and again of a world disaster by poverty and hunger. 1948 he was selected by the world-democratic union in Luxembourg to the president of the international peace advice and the world league of the peace organizations. He saw its demands for the lasting removal of hunger as a component of the peace work, he demanded above all a comprehensive supply of credits and technical support of poor nations for the setting up a modern agriculture as well as the supply with food.

In the year 1949, in the same year, in which he received the Nobel peace prize, it was appointed into the British upper house, 1952 transferred it the presidency of the world economic conference to Moscow. 1971 it died in Newton in Scotland.

Literature

• Bernhard Kupfer: Encyclopedia of the , Patmos publishing house Duesseldorf 2001

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