Obituary: Arthur Mourant (1904-1994)

Human Biology, Apr 1997 by Roberts, Derek F

During Mourant's intense commitment to serology and anthropological genetics, he also maintained his deep interest in geology, geomorphology, and prehistory. At the age of 19 he supported the Wegener theory of continental drift, which was discarded and subsequently reworked and reestablished 45 years later in 1967 with the name plate tectonics. Mourant's expertise was in hard rock geology, petrology, and mineralogy, and many of his papers dealt with these aspects of geology, but Mourant was also interested in other areas of geology. He carried out geological mapping in the Channel Islands and studied their terraces and raised beaches, sediments, fossils, caves, and artifacts. He excavated some of the caves, including the famous Cotte de St Brelade, as well as the Neolithic tombs. Mourant published about 100 papers on these studies, and in 1982 received the Worth Award from the Geological Society of London.

Mourant's native island, Jersey, honored him by commissioning a public sculpture, and the bust, unveiled on April 27, 1990, now stands in the museum at St. Helier, Jersey.

On his retirement Mourant returned to spend his last years in his beloved Jersey with his wife, Jean. With his contributions to biological anthropology, genetics, clinical and laboratory medicine, and geology, Mourant was a true polymath. How he viewed his work in relation to human biology can best be described in his own words: "I believe that studies of mankind of the kind I have described will add up to a true science of human biology, gradually on the one hand dispelling the myths that hide man's biological origins and, on the other, giving him more and more control over his future evolution."

Received 12 June 1995; revision received 29 May 1996

Selected Publications by Arthur Mourant

(Excluding Geological Works)

Harrison, R.J., A.E. Mourant, and A. Wormall. 1939. Preliminary observations on a vitamin C survey on medical students. St. Bart's Hosp. J. 43.

Coombs, R.R.A., A.E. Mourant, and R.R. Race. 1945. Detection of weak and "incomplete" Rh

agglutinins: A new test. Lancet 2:15.

Coombs, R.R.A., A.E. Mourant, and R.R. Race. 1945. A new test for the detection of weak and "incomplete" Rh agglutinins. Br. J. Exp. Pathol. 26:255-266.

Mourant, A.E. 1945. A new Rhesus antibody. Nature 155:542. Race, R.R., and A.E. Mourant. 1945. Rh factor and mental deficiency. Br. Med. J. 2:194. Anonymous [A.E. Mourant]. 1946. Blood groups and racial differences with particular reference

to the Channel Islands. Bull. Jersey Soc. Lond., October, 3-5. Anonymous [A.E. Mourant]. 1946. Rh factor and blocking test. Br. Med. J. 2:928. Coombs, R.R.A., A.E. Mourant, and R.R. Race. 1946. In vivo isosensitization of red cells in

babies with haemolytic disease. Lancet 1:264-266.

Mourant, A.E. 1946. Faits nouveaux concernant l'iso-immunisation dans la maladie hemolytique du nouveau-ne. Rev. Hematol:95-105. Mourant, A.E. 1946. A "new" human blood group antigen of frequent occurrence. Nature 158:237.

Mourant, A.E., and R.R. Race. 1946. The Rh system in the chimpanzee. Science 104:277. Race, R.R., A.E. Mourant, and S. Callender. 1946. Rh antigens and antibodies in man. Nature 157:410-411.