Robert Thomson Leiper

Robert Thomson Leiper (17 April 1881 – 21 May 1969) FRS CMG was a British parasitologist and helminthologist.

Early life and education

Leiper was born on 17 April 1881 in Witch Road, Kilmarnock, Scotland; the eldest of three children of John Leiper (died 1895), tailor, and his wife, Jessie Aird.

The family moved to England shortly after he was born. He was educated at Warwick School, spending time at the Warwick Technical College to further his studies in science. He spent a year at Mason Science College (which later became the University of Birmingham), matriculating in physics, mathematics, English and Latin. He then entered the University of Glasgow to study medicine, at which he excelled, winning awards such as the John Hunter Medal and the Senior Arnott Prize in the field; graduating in 1904.

Career From an early age Leiper was devoted to helminthology, the study of parasitic flatworms; while still an undergraduate, at the age of 21, he discovered an undocumented turbellarian worm in the Spatangoida sea urchin.

Personal life In 1908, Leiper married Ceinwen Saron (died 1966), a dentist; they had one son and two daughters.