Barcroft, Joseph (1872-1947)

Northern Irish physiologist. He was renowned for his research into the properties of blood, especially blood gases and the oxygen-carrying function of haemoglobin.

Barcroft was born in Newry, County Down, and was educated at the University of York and at Cambridge where he graduated in 1893. He was a lecturer and demonstrator at Cambridge for many years and was appointed professor of physiology 1926-37.

He evolved the theory of the division of the blood into circulating blood and depot blood, and studied the physiology of the fetus, especially in sheep. In 1941 he became director of the unit of animal physiology at the Agricultural Research Council, a post he held until his death.

His works include The Respiratory Function of the Blood (1914), Features in the Architecture of Physiological Function (1934), and Researches on Pre-Natal Life (1946). He was knighted in 1935.