Person

Pitney, William Robert (Bob) (1921 - 1986)

AO

Born
2 December 1921
London, United Kingdom
Died
24 December 1986
Kogarah, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation
Haematologist

Summary

William Pitney was one of Australia's pioneer haematologists. His research included the identification of Haemophilia B, work on B12 and folate metabolism, and the development of a thromboplastin-generation screening test that remained a standard diagnostic procedure for decades. He was particularly interested in the haematological side-effects of therapeutic agents. In the 1960s Pitney was involved in devising significant projects in tropical anaemia and splenomegaly in Papua New Guinea. In 1970 he was appointed to the foundation Chair of Medicine at St George Hospital, Sydney, and built it into a significant teaching hospital in association with the University of New South Wales. Pitney played an active role in the founding of the Haematology Society of Australia, the (Royal) College of Pathologists of Australia, and the Australian and New Zealand Lymphoma Group.

Details

Chronology

1926
Life event - Migrated to Australia with his family
1943
Education - MB BS, university of Melbourne
1943 - 1944
Career position - Resident Medical Officer, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne
1945 - 1946
Career position - Served with the Royal Australian Air Force
1947 - 1949
Career position - Pathology Registrar, Royal Hobart Hospital
1948
Education - MD, University of Melbourne
1948 - 1959
Career position - Member, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
1951
Career position - Registrar and Research Assistant, Haematology Department, Royal Postgraduate Medical School of London, Hammersmith Hospital, London
1952 - 1954
Career position - Research scientist, Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.
1955
Career position - Lecturer (part-time), Haematology Department, Royal Postgraduate Medical School of London, Hammersmith Hospital, London
1956 - 1959
Career position - Foundation Member, College of Pathologists of Australia
1956 - 1961
Career position - Haematologist, Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia
1959 - 1970
Award - Fellow, College of Pathologists of Australia
1959 - 1986
Career position - Fellow, College of Pathologists of Australia
1959 - 1986
Career position - Fellow, Royal Australasian College of Physicians
1961
Career position - Foundation Member, Haematology Society of Australia
1961 - 1967
Career position - Council Member, Haematology Society of Australia
1961 - 1967
Career position - Haematologist, Prince Henry Hospital, Sydney
1962 - 1967
Career position - Member, Board of Censors, (Royal) College of Pathologists of Australia
1962 - 1967
Career position - Associate Professor of Pathology (Haematology), University of New South Wales
1965 - 1967
Career position - Member, Editorial Board, Australasian Annals of Medicine
1966
Career position - Joint Secretary-General, 11th Congress, International Society of Haematology and International Society of Blood Transfusion, Sydney
1967 - 1970
Career position - Reader in Haematology and Honorary Director, Wellcome Research Laboratory, Royal Postgraduate Medical School of London, Hammersmith Hospital, London
1968
Career position - Charter Member, International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis
1970 - 1982
Career position - Foundation Chair of Medicine, St George Hospital, Sydney
1970 - 1986
Award - Fellow, Royal Fellow, College of Pathologists of Australia
1973 - 1977
Career position - Chief examiner in Haematology, Royal College of Pathologists of Australia
1982 - 1985
Career position - Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales
1984
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for service to medicine, particularly in the field of haematology
1985
Life event - Retired
1986
Award - Hon. MD, University of New South Wales

Related Corporate Bodies

Published resources

Book Sections

Journal Articles

  • Gunz, F. W., 'William Robert Pitney, 1921 - 1986', Pathology, 19 (4) (1987), 433-4. Details
  • Schonell, Malcolm, 'William Robert Pitney', Medical Journal of Australia, 146 (1987), 386. Details

Resources

Helen Cohn

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