Young, William John (1878 - 1942)

Summary

William Young was the foundation Professor of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne 1938-1942. He joined the University in 1920 under W.A. Osborne after working as biochemist at the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Townsville from 1912. From 1926 to 1928 Young was seconded to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to establish laboratory and field studies into the biochemical problems of the cold storage of food 1926-1928. He devised the methods still used in the marketing of ripening bananas.

Details

Chronology

1898

Education - BSc, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

1902

Education - MSc, University of Manchester, United Kingdom

1902 - 1912

Career position - Assistant biochemist, Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, London

1910

Education - DSc, University of London

1912 - 1917

Career position - Biochemist, Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine, Townsville, Australia

1920 - 1924

Career position - Lecturer in biochemistry, University of Melbourne

1923

Award - Doctor of Science (DSc), honoris causa, University of Melbourne

1924 - 1938

Career position - Associate Professor of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne

1925 - 1926

Career position - President, Wallaby Club

1931 - 1938

Career position - Chairman, Australian College of Dentistry

1933

Award - Archibald Liversidge Medal and Lecture, Royal Society of New South Wales

1933 - 1934

Career position - President, Royal Society of Victoria

1937 - 1939

Career position - President, Victorian Branch, Australian Chemical Institute

1938 - 1942

Career position - Professor of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne

1941 - 1942

Career position - President, Victorian Branch, Australian Institute of Refrigeration

Related entries

Archival resources

University of Melbourne Central Registry

• William John Young - Records, 1920 - 1942; University of Melbourne Central Registry. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Marginson, Max, 'Young, William John (1878-1942), Biochemist' in Australian Dictionary of Biography, John Ritchie, ed., vol. 12 (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1990), p. 601. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A120673b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• 'Obituary: Professor W. J. Young, DSc', Australian Journal of Science, 4 (6) (1942), 191. Details
• Breinl, A. and Young, W. J., 'Tropical Australia and its settlement', Medical journal of Australia, 1 (20) (1919), 395-404, https://doi.org/10.5694/j.1326-5377.1919.tb30115.x. Details
• Breinl, A. and Young, W. J., 'Tropical Australia and its settlement', Annals of tropical medicine and parasitology, 13 (4) (1920), 351-412. https://doi.org/10.1080/00034983.1920.11684211. Details
• Vickery, J. R., 'William John Young: a Pioneer in Food Science in Australia', Food Technology in Australia, 38 (4) (1986), 158-159. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q8013670. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/104057541. Details
• 'Young, William John (1878-1942)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1463337. Details
• 'Awarded honorary DSc, 1923', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details

See also

• 'Why we have our Bananas', Smith's Weekly (1941), 13, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article234609163. Details
• Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Online edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, 3 May 2000, http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/index_y.html. Details
• Legge, J. W.; and Gibson, F., 'Victor Martin Trikojus, 1902-1985', Historical Records of Australian Science, 6 (4) (1987), 519-531. https://doi.org/10.1071/HR9870640519. Details
• Morison, Patricia, The Martin spirit: Charles Martin and the foundation of biological science in Australia (Canberra: Halstead Press, 2019), 296 pp. Details