Michael Swann
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Michael Meredith Swann, Baron Swann, FRS (1920–22 September 1990) was a distinguished molecular and cell biologist working on the mechanisms of cell division and fertilisation. He used cell polarisation methods to understand the changes in molecular organisation of the mitotic spindle. With his collaborator John Mitchison, he found evidence in support of a new theory of cell division. He also collaborated with Nathaniel Rothschild in experiments on changes in membrane structure during fertilisation.
He was chairman of the BBC from 1973 to 1980<ref> British Broadcasting Corporation, Chairmen of the BBC [1] </ref> , and was created a life peer in 1981 as Baron Swann, of Coln St Denys in the County of Gloucestershire [U.K. Life Peer] on 16 February 1981.<ref>Heraldic Media Ltd., Patrick Cracoft-Brennan (Cracroft Peerage Database v5.2) [2]</ref>
From 1973 to 1980, he was the Principal of Edinburgh University. The Michael Swann Building at the University of Edinburgh is named after him, where similar work on cell division and fertilisation continues to this day.
[edit] Family
Brother-in-law of Monsignor Graham Leonard
Brother of Hugh Swann, cabinet maker to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
[edit] External links
- Entry on "History of the BBC" Flash presentation with no direct link: Select 1970s chairman, Sir Michael Swann
- Another article on the BBC
- Michael Schwann Building, University of Edinburgh
[edit] References
<references />
| Preceded by: Lord Hill | Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors 1973–1980 | Succeeded by: George Howard |
| Preceded by: Edward Victor Appleton | Principals of Edinburgh University 1965–1974 | Succeeded by: Hugh Robson (educator) |
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