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Obituary

Stephen Angus Hutchinson, 1914–2005: an appreciation

Geoffrey HADLEY*

Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB24 3UU, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 12 October 2006

Accepted 15 November 2006

Published online 6 June 2007

Corresponding Editor:

David L. Hawksworth

Keywords:

Antibiotics

Biodeterioration

British Mycological Society

Ophiostoma

Serpula

University of Glasgow

a b s t r a c t

Stephen A. Hutchinson (1914–2005), who spent most of his academic career at the Univer-

sity of Glasgow, served as President of the British Mycological Society in 1970, as Honorary

Treasurer from 1961–85, and as a Trustee from 1967–99. A synopsis of his academic contri-

butions and other activities is presented, along with a complete list of his publications.

.

Fig 1 – Stephen Angus Hutchinson (1 Nov. 1914 – 19 Nov.

2005).

* Corresponding author.E-mail address: g.hadley@abdn.ac.uk

0953-7562/$ – see front matterdoi:10.1016/j.mycres.2006.11.011

With the passing of Stephen Hutchinson (Fig 1) in 2005, the

British Mycological Society lost one of its most long-standing

members, one who devoted many years to scienc, but also

was an active contributor to many facets of the Society’s func-

tions as a learned body. Few could match his record in terms

of his input into the affairs of any present-day learned society;

nevertheless his interests reached above and beyond the Soci-

ety, spanning well over 50 years of a comprehensive life and

a broad, distinctive career in education.

Stephen Hutchinson’s roots lay in the north of England

where his family had farmed for some hundreds of years; al-

though their forebears were originally of Scottish descent

and, more recently, became established further south, in the

Bristol area where he grew up. Nevertheless there is no evi-

dence that he followed the family tradition of a farming career

and, indeed, he was drawn to the opportunity offered by

1250 G. Hadley

a scientific training. He was educated at Bristol Grammar

School and the University of Bristol where he was awarded

a scholarship in his first year of post-graduate studies.Whether

this award was of any significance in sparking an interest in

fungi is not certain. Nevertheless, his PhD was completed

and his first publications appeared in 1939, reporting his find-

ings of macroconidial development in Ophiostoma majus.

Stephen’smycological research career madeaninauspicious

start after his studies of ascomycetes causing Blue Stain of tim-

ber. By the time he completed a PhD, and after a year as a Dem-

onstrator in Botany at his Alma Mater, military service

intervened and a different career prospect loomed, putting my-

cology asidefor no less thanseven years.Wehave little informa-

tion as regards his war service, and it is perhaps significant that

in the fullness of time he put it behind him as a less than impor-

tant chapter, away from his real science base, and to be kept as

such. In 1946 however, he needed a kick-start and an opportu-

nity, a chance to establish himself on a career ladder.

In the immediate post-war era the prospect of an academic

career was something of a lottery, and in the absence of such

a job Stephen accepted a position of mycologist with the Dis-

tillers Company. He worked in their Antibiotics Research Sec-

tion where there was a vigorous activity and input of resources

following the wartime success story of penicillin, and a search

for other such bioactive substances. At that time the appoint-

ment of a mycologist would be an infrequent event, other than

as a taxonomist. Although he spent only a year with Distillers,

the experience which Stephen took into his new appointment

as a lecturer in Botany at the University of Glasgow in 1947

helped to lay the foundation for an extensive application of

his nascent interests in ‘‘industrial mycology’’. In the prospect

of resuming mycological research, he decided to work on

wood-rotting fungi, not a surprising choice in the aftermath

of the wartime neglect of domestic and commercial property.

Always keen to apply his newfound expertise, Stephen estab-

lished an advisory service, and in due course became an au-

thority on timber decay and appeared as an expert witness

in various claims in High Court and Court of Session cases.

Meanwhile, he carried out a study of the decay potential of

isolates of Serpula lacrymans, finding that it was related to cel-

lulase activity levels. Subsequently this led to a survey and ex-

amination of the effects of fungal metabolites in biological

interactions, including the identification of two new antibi-

otics. Stephen was not slow to exploit the interest of his fellow

academics through his own interdisclipinary approach. Thus,

co-operation between the Departments of Botany and Chem-

istry staff led to the establishment of a Joint Mycology Labora-

tory. This in turn acted as a vehicle for several PhD

studentships and numerous publications on the biological ac-

tivity of volatile metabolites produced by a wide range of

fungi. Volatile metabolites was the subject of his Presidental

Address to the British Mycological Society in 1970; making

sense out of a comprehensive literature and providing a broad

spectrum review which was more than adequate as a state-

ment of the art at that time. This was his main field of re-

search, and a fascinating topic.

Nevertheless, Stephen had many strings to his bow, and he

was always ready with a challenging theory and a fertile mind,

which soon led to a hypothesis and often to a trial, whether it

be spore germination, effects of earthworms on soil fungi,

effects of fungi on fern gametophytes, patterns of hyphal ori-

entation, micro-techniques, etc; his list of publications is an

Aladdin’s cave of mycological material. He also took up the

challenge (for this he recruited a physicist) of demonstrating

the electro-mechanics of spore liberation from narrow hyme-

nial tubes. Measurment of the electrical charges on the spores

in that process confirmed the classical observations of Buller,

but indicated that the possible significance as regards actual

discharge mechanism was minimal. The electrostatic charges

on spores were too small to be of significance.

Stephen joined the British Mycological Society in 1948, be-

came a member of Council in 1959 and was appointed Trea-

surer in 1961, following Walter Buddin who had held that

post for many years. Over a period of 24 years, Stephen man-

aged the financial affairs of the Society in a calm and charac-

teristic manner, always a pillar of authority and rarely having

any difficulty in giving members the information they needed

to make serious decisions, be it investments on the stock mar-

ket, advice on subscription levels for sale of our journals, or

minor expenditure such as grants to students. It was Stephen

who first suggested that the Society needed Trustees, a posi-

tion that he held (together with Percy Brian from 1967 until

1980) until finally retiring in 1999.

One other feature of his academic life was an intense inter-

est in student welfare, originating, in all probability, in Ste-

phen’s military experience and his corporate view of

education at all levels. He was Warden of a Hall of Residence

for four years, and established a liaison with many aspects

of student life. He became a member of the Glasgow Corpora-

tion Panel on Biology from 1964 to 1969 and the West of Scot-

land Biology Teachers Association until 1980. He also served

on several university corporate committees, including one

with the objective of establishing a general biology course

and involving no less than eight departments. His own per-

sonal approach, to encourage original enquiry, led to research

on a diversity of topics at the student level.

His publications list is comprehensive and encompasses

topics connected with various non-mycological subjects

such as teaching techniques, the public’s views of biology,

and programmed teaching, alongside mycological education

and applied studies.

During his time as an undergraduate at the University of

Bristol, Stephen joined the university contingent of the Offi-

cers Training Corps (OTC). He subsequently served in the Ter-

ritorial Army (TA), and entered active service shortly before

the war broke out in September 1939. Notwithstanding the

general demobilisation of the post-war period, his interest

and activity in the TA continued until 1957 when he retired:

he had then risen to be second in command of the 51st High-

land Division artillery regiment. He was awarded the Territo-

rial Decoration (TD) in recognition of his service to the TA.

Retirement from the TA seemed only to release more en-

ergy for voluntary work with organisations such as the Scout

Association and the Leonard Cheshire Foundation, and also

amateur dramatics groups in Dumbartonshire and Dorset

(where he and Anice lived for some years in retirement before

returning to Scotland). Away from the academic workplace

Stephen was a family man, and a caring person. He had a great

pride in his family and he was a supporter of country life and

crafts. He enjoyed the traditions and rituals that are a part of

Stephen Angus Hutchinson, 1914–2005 1251

everyday life for many people. To some of his colleagues he

gave the impression of being slightly pompous, this no doubt

reflecting his military background. Stephen liked life to run in

an orderly and harmonious pattern, and he contributed an

enormous amount to the lives of many people.

He is survived by his wife Anice, and sons John and David.

r e f e r e n c e s

Publications are listed chronologically.

Hutchinson SA, 1939. Macroconidial formation in Ophiostomamajus (van Beyma) Goidanich. Annals of Botany, new series 37:795–802.

Hutchinson SA, 1939. The morphology of two species of Ophios-toma. PhD thesis, University of Bristol.

Lominski IWO, Hutchinson SA, 1948. A simple technique forthe differential staining of lignified cell walls. Nature 162: 415.

Hutchinson SA, 1950. The perithecia of Ophiostoma majus vanBeyma (Goidanich). Annals of Botany, new series 14: 115–125.

Hutchinson SA, 1950. The use of plastics for mounting thelarger fungi. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 33:43–44.

Cunningham KJ, Hutchinson SA, Manson W, Spring FS, 1951.Cordycepin, a metabolic product from cultures of Cordycepsmilitaris (Linn.) Link. Journal of the Chemical Society 1951:2299–2300.

Hutchinson SA, Bentley HR, Spring FS, 1953. A new antibioticsubstance. Patent Specification 20661. HMSO, London.

Hutchinson SA, Walton J, 1953. A presumed ascomycete from theUpper Carboniferous. Nature 172: 36.

Hutchinson SA, Walton J, 1954. A review of the fossil genusSporocarpon. Comptes Rendus, 8th International Botanical Congress,Paris: 167.

Hutchinson SA, Walton J, Mai WF, 1954. A study of the efficiencyof the catching organs of Dactylaria eudermata Drechs. in re-lation to Heterodera rostochiensis Wr. in the soil. Plant DiseaseReporter 38: 185–186.

Hutchinson SA, Walton J, 1955. A review of the genus SporocarponWilliamson. Annals of Botany, new series 19: 425–435.

Hutchinson SA, Kamel M, 1956. The effect of earthworms on thedispersal of soil fungi. Journal of Soil Science 7: 213–218.

Hutchinson SA, Fahim MM, 1958. The effects of fungi on thegametophytes of Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn. Annals ofBotany, new series 22: 117–126.

McTeague DM, Hutchinson SA, 1959. Spore germination inAgaricus campestris L.ex Fr. Nature 183: 1736–1737.

Gay JL, Hutchinson SA, Taggart J, McTeague DM, 1959. Sporedischarge in the basidiomycetes. I. Periodicity of spore dis-charge by Trametes gibbosa Fr. Annals of Botany, new series 23:297–306.

Hutchinson SA, Hislop A, 1962. A New Valve for Fermenters. PatentSpecification 13374. HMSO, London.

Hutchinson SA, 1963. The case for university biology. UniversitiesQuarterly 18: 74–79.

Swinbank P, Taggart J, Hutchinson SA, 1964. The measurement ofelectrostatic charges on spores of Merulius lacrymans (Wulf.) Fr.[II in the series on spore discharge in basidiomycetes]. Annalsof Botany, new series 28: 239–249.

Taggart J, Hutchinson SA, Swinbank P, 1964. Spore discharge inbasidiomycetes. III. Spore liberation from narrow hymenialtubes. Annals of Botany, new series 28: 607–618.

Hutchinson SA, 1964. Purpose and method in biology teaching.1. The values of biological training. School Science Review 156:356–363.

Hutchinson SA, 1964. Purpose and method in biology teaching.2. The organisation of training. School Science Review 157:534–541.

Hutchinson SA, Scott AI, Young DW, 1964. Isorenolic acid, a newditerpinoid constituent of Tricothecium roseum Link. TetrahedronLetters 15: 849.

Hutchinson SA, 1964. Notes on the Glasgow University copy ofFries’s ‘‘Scleromyceti Sueci’’. Glasgow Naturalist 18: 369–370.

Hutchinson SA, 1965. The public’s ideas of biology. Journal of theInstitute of Biology 12: 70–71.

Hutchinson SA, 1966. A survey of sites of special scientific im-portance in the Glasgow area. Glasgow Naturalist 18: 418–420.

Dick CM, Hutchinson SA, 1966. Biological activity of volatile me-tabolites. Nature 211: 868.

Glen AT, Hutchinson SA, McCorkindale NJ, 1966. Hexa-1, 3, 5Triy-ne, a metabolite of Fomes annosus. Tetrahedron Letters 35:4223–4225.

Hutchinson SA, 1967. Some effects of volatile fungal metaboliteson gametophytes of Pteridium aquilinum. Transactions of theBritish Mycological Society 50: 285–288.

Hutchinson SA, 1967. An examination of some students’ under-standing of some principles of scientific methods. Journal ofBiological Education 1: 261–272.

Hutchinson SA, 1967. Programmed Teaching in a UniversityBiological Department. Scottish Educational Studies 1: 12–15.

Hutchinson SA, 1967. Productive natural history (PresidentialAddress). Glasgow Naturalist 18: 463–469.

Hutchinson SA, McCorkindale NJ, 1968. Canadensolide- an anti-fungal metabolite of Penicillium canadense. Tetrahedron Letters6: 727–730.

Brown J, Fahim MM, Hutchinson SA, 1968. Some effects ofatmospheric humidity on the growth of Serpula lacrymans.Transactions of the British Mycological Society. 51: 507–510.

Hutchinson SA, McCorkindale NJ, 1969. A comparison of the typesof sterol found in species of the Saprolegniales and Leptomitaleswith those found in some other phycomycetes. Phytochemistry8: 861–867.

Glen AT, Hutchinson SA, 1969. Some biological effects of volatilemetabolites from cultures of Saccharomyces cereviseae Mayersex Hansen. Journal of General Microbiology 55: 19–27.

Marshall AM, Hutchinson SA, 1970. Biological activity of volatilemetabolites from cultures of Fomes scutellatus. Transactions ofthe British Mycological Society 55: 239–251.

Hutchinson SA, 1971. Biological activity of volatile fungalmetabolites. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 57:185–200.

Hutchinson SA, 1972. Microbes and Biological Productivity (Soci-ety for General Microbiology Symposium 21) [Book Review].New Phytologist 71: 416–417.

Hutchinson SA, 1972. Fungal Metabolites by W.B. Turner [BookReview]. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 52:353–354.

Hutchinson SA, Cowan ME, 1972. Identification and biologicaleffects of volatile metabolites from cultures of Trichodermaharzianum. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 59:71–77.

Hutchinson SA, McCorkindale NJ, Roy TR, 1972. Isolation andsynthesis of 3-chlorogentisyl alcohol, a metabolite of Penicil-lium canadense. Tetrahedron Letters 28: 1007–1011.

Hutchinson SA, 1973. Biological activities of volatile fungal me-tabolites. Annual Review of Plant Pathology 11: 223–246.

Cowan ME, Glen AT, Hutchinson SA, MacCartney ME,Mackintosh JM, Moss AM, 1973. Production of volatile metab-olites by species of Fomes. Transactions of the British MycologicalSociety 60: 347–360.

Hutchinson SA, Glen AT, 1973. Contribution of tri-acetylene to thebiological effects of Fomes annosus. Transactions of the BritishMycological Society 61: 583–585.

1252 G. Hadley

Hutchinson SA, McCorkindale NJ, Ritchie AJ, 1973. Lamellicolicanhydride, a heptaketide napthalic anhydride fromVerticillium lamellicola. Journal of the Chemical Society 108:1973.

Hutchinson SA, 1974. Mycological education: a report of thesymposium held at Glasgow in September 1972. Transactions ofthe British Mycological Society 62: 641–657.

Bahar FC, Hutchinson SA, Brooks CJW, 1975. Biosynthesis ofcapsidiol in sweet peppers infected with fungi. Journal of theChemical Society 1975: 293–294.

Tamimi KM, Hutchinson SA, 1975. Differences between thebiological effects of culture gases from several species ofTrichoderma. Transactions of the British Mycological Society 64:455–463.

Hutchinson SA, 1976. The cost of communicating the results ofscientific research. Memorandum submitted on behalf of theBritish Mycological Society. Report of the Parliamentary SelectCommittee for Science and Technology, Appendix 92: 559–560.HMSO: London.

Hutchinson SA, 1976. The effects of fungi on bracken. BotanicalJournal of the Linnean Society 73: 143–150.

Hutchinson SA, 1977. Decay of house timbers. Glasgow Naturalist19: 355–360.

Hutchinson SA, 1977. Some characteristics of the production andeffects of fungal metabolites. In: Fetschrift in Honour of ProfessorR.B. Saksena. University of Saugar Press, Saugar, India. [Not seen.]

Hutchinson SA, Abou-Heilah AN, 1977. The range of wooddecaying ability of different isolates of Serpula lacrymans.Transactions of the British Mycological Society 68: 251–257.

Abou-Heilah AN, Hutchinson SA, 1977. Differences in saprophyticabilities of Serpula lacrymans. International BiodeteriorationBulletin 13: 3 iv.

Hutchinson SA, MacPhee AB, 1977. Differences in saprophyticabilities of Coniophora puteana. International BiodeteriorationBulletin 13: 2.vii.

Hutchinson SA, Abou-Heilah AN, 1978. Factors contributing todifferences between wood decaying abilities of strains ofSerpula lacrymans. Transactions of the British Mycological Society70: 302–304.

Hutchinson SA, Sharma P, Clarke KR, MacDonald I, 1980. Controlof hyphal orientation in colonies of Mucor hiemalis. Transactionsof the British Mycological Society 75: 177–191.