J. S. Haldane, Fellow of New College and Reader in physiology, University of Oxford, is best known for his contributions in basic and applied physiology of respiration. He was also a natural philosopher and documented his meditations on the phenomenon of life with his experimental studies on the physiology of breathing.1 An interest in gas exchange in the lungs led him to study the sensitivity of the respiratory center; also such clinicophysiological subjects as hazards of diving, submarine living, occupational dusts, gas warfare, and hygiene of mining; and the strictly clinical subjects—use of tannic acid for burns, ill effects of high environmental temperatures, and hookworm infection causing anemia in miners.
Haldane was born in Edinburgh into a family with a rich heritage, which was further enriched by members of his generation.2 He was educated at Edinburgh Academy, Edinburgh University, and Jena University, receiving the MD degree from Edinburgh.