William Ewart Gye facts for kids

William Ewart Gye (born William Ewart Bullock; 11 August 1889 – 14 October 1952) was a British scientist who studied diseases and researched cancer. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, which is a special honor for top scientists.

Early Life and Education

William Ewart Bullock was born in 1889. His family faced money problems, but he worked hard to go to college. He started at University College, Nottingham, where he studied chemistry. He earned his first degree in 1906.

Later, he decided to study medicine. He went to the University of Edinburgh and became a doctor in 1912. The next year, he earned an even higher medical degree and won a special gold medal for his research paper. He also won an award for an essay about how nerves change when they get sick.

Working as a Scientist

In 1913, William joined the Imperial Cancer Research Fund. This organization was focused on understanding and fighting cancer.

World War I Service

When World War I began, William joined the Royal Army Medical Corps. He worked as a doctor in France and Italy, helping soldiers in a field hospital. Later, he was sent back to London to work in a hospital lab. There, he studied a serious infection called gas gangrene with another scientist named William Cramer.

A New Name

After the war, William worked at the National Institute for Medical Research. He studied a lung disease called silicosis.

In 1919, William made a big change: he changed his last name from Bullock to Gye. His first wife, Elsa, had already gone back to using her maiden name, Gye. He might have done this to make her happy, or because people often confused him with another scientist named William Bulloch. There's also a theory that he changed his name to thank someone who helped him.

Cancer Research Breakthroughs

William Gye continued his important work on cancer. He worked with another scientist, W. J. Purdy, to confirm some ideas about a virus that causes cancer in chickens, called the Rous sarcoma virus. This was a big step in understanding how viruses can be linked to cancer.

From 1934 to 1949, Gye was the director of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund's laboratories at Mill Hill. He had to step down in 1949 because of health issues. His contributions to science were recognized when he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1938 and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 1940.

Family Life

William Gye and his first wife, Elsa, had three sons. Sadly, Elsa passed away from cancer in 1943.

In 1944, William married Ida Mann, who was an eye doctor. In 1949, they moved to Perth, Western Australia. William Ewart Gye passed away in 1952.