David Hunter Hubel (1926 - 2013)

Born 27 Feb 1926 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Died 22 Sep 2013 at age 87 in Lincoln, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

David Hubel is Notable.

1981 Nobel Prize Laureate for Physiology or Medicine

David H. Hubel, a Canadian-born American neuroscientist, was a co-recipient with Torsten Nils Wiesel and Roger Wolcott Sperry of the 1981 Nobel Prize Laureate for Physiology or Medicine^[1]. Hubel and Wiesel shared half of the award for their collaborative discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system.

Born in 1926 in Windsor, Ontario, he was the son of Michigan-born parents, Jesse Hubel, a chemist, and Elsie Hunter.^[2][3] His parents moved first to Windsor, then in 1929 to Montreal, where Hubel attended Strathcona Academy in Outremont. After graduating from McGill University with a degree in mathematics and physics, he completed his medical degree at McGill in 1951, followed by a residency in neurology at Montreal General Hospital.

In 1931, David, aged 5, was living with his parents, Jesse and Elsie, at 913 Hartland, Outrement, Quebec. David also had an older sibling, aged 8. Both children were noted to have been born in Quebec^[4].

At the age of just 17, David was on top of the scholarship list at Strathcona Academy. He received prizes in math, English, and Latin, amongst others, as he prepared to enter McGill University^[5].

In 1953 he married Shirley Ruth Izzard. In 1954 they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where Hubel had accepted a position as assistant resident in neurology at John Hopkins School of Medicine. For much of his career, Hubel worked as a Professor of Neurobiology at Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Medical School. From 1988 to 1989 he was the president of the Society for Neuroscience.

David was appointed as the first George Packer Berry Professor of Physiology, under the faculty of Medicine, in 1967^[6]. Prior to that he had been an associate professor.

By 1971, David and Dr. Wiesel had been working together for 12 years, were awarded a $25,000 prize from Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc., an organization which promoted research in that field^[7].

His wife, Ruth, predeceased him.

David died in 2013^[8][9] in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and was buried at Mont Royal Cemetery, Montreal.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ David H. Hubel, Nobel Prize.
2. ↑ "Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N3TV-ZYW : 18 February 2021), Jessie H Hubel and Elsie M Hunter, 19 Jun 1918; citing Marriage, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, , Citing Secretary of State, Department of Vital Records, Lansing; FHL microfilm 4209972.
3. ↑ "United States Census, 1920", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZ7R-ZZS : Thu Aug 31 10:27:25 UTC 2023), Entry for Jesse Hubel and Elsie Hubel, 1920.
4. ↑ * 1931 Census of Canada: "1931 Census of Canada"
   Quebec > Laurier-Outremont > 0062 - Outremont (City) > image 16 of 21
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Image (accessed 7 November 2023)
   Jesse Hubel.
5. ↑ * Strathcona Prize-Winners (with photo): "Newspapers.com"
   The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) Thu, Sep 23, 1943, page 13
   Newspapers Clip: 134801945 (accessed 7 November 2023)
6. ↑ * Windsor-born Harvard prof.: "Newspapers.com"
   The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario, Canada) Tue, Mar 21, 1967, page 6
   Newspapers Clip: 134804838 (accessed 7 November 2023)
7. ↑ * 2 Harvard scientists honored for learning how eyes function (with photos): "Newspapers.com"
   The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Thu, Sep 16, 1971, page 7
   Newspapers Clip: 134805339 (accessed 7 November 2023)
8. ↑ * Obituary, David Hunter Hubel: "Newspapers.com"
   The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Tue, Sep 24, 2013, page B11
   Newspapers Clip: 134806272 (accessed 7 November 2023)
9. ↑ United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27QS-B9X : 12 January 2021), David H Hubel, 22 Sep 2013; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117559874/david-h-hubel: accessed 26 September 2023), memorial page for Dr David H. Hubel (27 Feb 1926–22 Sep 2013), Find a Grave Memorial ID 117559874, citing Cimetière Mont-Royal, Outremont, Montreal Region, Quebec, Canada; Maintained by Find a Grave.

See also:

• Britannica: David Hunter Hubel
• Wikipedia: David H. Hubel
• Honoring David Hubel, Harvard Medical School