Irving London

Irving M. London (July 24, 1918 – May 23, 2018) was a hematologist and geneticist. He was an associate professor of medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons when he was selected to be the founding chair of the department of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1955. He was recruited to become the founding director of the Harvard-MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology in 1970. Dr. London was the first professor to hold dual roles at both Harvard and MIT.

London graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Medical School. London died on May 23, 2018, at age 99.

Family and early life London was born in Malden, Massachusetts on 24 July 1918. His parents identified as Russian Jewish. His mother may have been named Rose London (1892-1944), and a sister named Marion.

In his childhood years, London had polio. He completed his primary and secondary education at Malden Public Schools in Massachusetts.

London returned to New York City after the war to continue residency training. Upon completion, he joined the department of biochemistry at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and was promoted to faculty, teaching and tenure. His research focused on the lifespan of red blood cells in normal and pathological conditions. London served as director of the program until 1985 while simultaneously a professor of medicine at HMS and a professor of biology at MIT. an important event in the fields of jaundice and heme oxygenase research.

Welch Fellowship in Internal Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences 1949-1952 Theobald Smith Award in Medical Sciences of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1953 Commonwealth Fund Fellowship at Institut Pasteur 1962-1963 election to American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1963 charter member in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences in 1970 elected member National Academy of Science 1971 board of directors for Biosciences Advisory Committee for Johnson & Johnson 1982-2003 establishment of The Irving M. London Society (HST) at Harvard Medical School