Albert Stanley McKern (1885-1945)

Born in 1885 in Australia, McKern died in 1945 at Belalau (Japanese Prisoner of War Camp), Sumatra. As well as being an alumnus of the University, he also bequeathed it one of its largest bequests. He studied at the University of Sydney and then went to the USA to study Divinity at Yale. He then switched to Medicine, matriculating at the University of Edinburgh in 1914, graduating 1917.

Dr McKern’s legacy is one of the most unusual received by the University. He practiced medicine in what was known as Malaya – contemporary Singapore – where he wrote his will in 1944. It stipulated that 10 years after the death of his last immediate family member, the proceeds of his estate should be divided between his three alma maters.

The legacy has established the Dr Albert S McKern Fellowship, and is currently paying for PhD students and postdoctoral fellows to carry out research into pregnancy, as well as other projects across the University.