John Boyd Orr

John Boyd Orr is a Scottish scientist and politician known for his work in nutritional science and for being the first director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949. He was born on 23 September 1880 in Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, Scotland, and died on 25 June 1971 in Angus.

As a scientist

After Kilmarnock Academy, he studied at the University of Glasgow; He received degrees in biology and medicine and also worked as a teacher for a while. He became head of the animal nutrition research institute established in Aberdeen in 1914; this institution later became the Rowett Research Institute. He served as a military doctor in World War I and was awarded the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery.

In his report titled Food, Health and Income, published in 1936, he revealed that at least one third of the UK population could not buy enough food for a healthy diet. The study brought the relationship between income level and nutrition to the public agenda and influenced wartime food policies.

Public duties and Nobel

In 1945 he was elected as an independent MP for the Scottish universities constituency. He became the first director general of FAO, which was founded in the same year, and held this position until 1948; He advocated a common food policy to combat hunger on a world scale. He was first rector and then chancellor of the University of Glasgow from 1946 until his death.

He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1949 for his nutritional research and pioneering work at the FAO, and donated the prize money to peace-oriented organizations. In the same year, he entered the House of Lords with the title of Baron Boyd-Orr. In the last years of his life, he was among the founders of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences and became the first president of the academy.