Robert G. E. Murray

Robert George Everitt Murray (19 May 1919, Ruislip, West London, England – 18 February 2022, London, Ontario, Canada) was an English-Canadian bacteriologist. He is known for his research on bacterial structure and pathology, as well as bacterial taxonomy.

Biography His father was Everitt George Dunne Murray (1890–1964), who was a professor of bacteriology at Montreal's McGill University from 1930 to 1955. After his childhood years in England and attending boarding school at Summer Fields in Oxford,

In the department of bacteriology and immunology of the University of Western Ontario Medical School (now part of the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry), he became a lecturer in 1945 and was promoted to full professor in 1949. From 1949 to 1974 he was head of the department. He gained an international reputation for his research in bacteriology, including the cytology, structure, function, systematics, and taxonomy of bacteria. He used electron microscopy and biochemical analysis to elucidate bacterial structures, notably S-layers in various bacterial species. He was awarded in 1994 the Bergey Medal for bacterial taxonomy by the board of trustees of Bergey's Manual. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1998. He received honorary D.Sc. degrees from four universities.

Murray's first wife, Dorothy née Marchand, predeceased him after 40 years of marriage. They had two sons and a daughter. Murray was also predeceased by his second wife, Marion née Luney, after 28 years of marriage. He was predeceased by one of his two sons. He was survived by a son, a daughter, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Eponynms Robertmurraya, genus in the family Bacillaceae Deinococcus murrayi, an extremely radiation-resistant bacterial species

Selected publications