Edwin A. Dawes
{{Short description|British biochemist (1925–2023)}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Edwin A. Dawes
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1925|07|06}}
| birth_place = Goole, West Riding of Yorkshire, United Kingdom
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2023|03|03|1925|07|06}}
| death_place =
| nationality = British
| other_names = Eddie Dawes
| alma_mater = University of Leeds (PhD)
| occupation = Biochemist, magician
| notable_works = Quantitative Problems in Biochemistry; Microbial Energetics
| children = 2 sons
}}
Edwin Alfred Dawes (6 July 1925 – 3 March 2023) was a British biochemist and stage magician from Yorkshire. As a biochemist, he authored two textbooks and was the long-term and founding head of the Biochemistry department at the University of Hull, where he led its research into bioplastics. As a magician, he was an internationally recognised authority on the history of magic.
Early life and education
Dawes was born in Goole in the West Riding of Yorkshire on 6 July 1925.{{cite book|last1=Kay|first1=Ernest|title=International Who's who in Education|date=1987|publisher=International Biographical Centre|isbn=9780900332876|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e48dAAAAMAAJ|page=135|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en}} He developed an interest in magic at the age of 5 when his father and grandfather performed for him during a period of illness. His interest in chemistry developed while at grammar school in Goole, and when he received a gas-mask during World War 2, he decided to test it by producing chlorine gas in the family shed.{{cite web|title=Venn - University of Hull magazine|url=https://issuu.com/hull/docs/uh-vm2-16_singles/34|website=issuu|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en|pages=32–35}}
Dawes completed his Bachelor of Science with Honours at the University of Leeds in 1946, and his PhD there in 1948.
Academic career
Dawes lectured at the University of Leeds from 1947 to 1950, and at the University of Glasgow from 1951 to 1963. In 1963, he founded the University of Hull's Biochemistry department, and headed it until 1986. From 1963 to 1990 he was Hull's Reckitt Professor of Biochemistry. As director of Hull's biomedical research unit from 1981 to 1992, he led its work on polyhydroxyalkanoate bioplastics, which led to the commercialisation of Biopol by ICI.
Dawes was Hull's Dean of Science from 1968 to 1970, and its pro-vice-chancellor from 1977 to 1980.{{cite book|title=Who's who in science in Europe|date=September 1984|publisher=F. Hodgson.|isbn=9780582901094|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5qu4AAAAIAAJ&q=%22dawes,+edwin%22+pro-vice-chancellor%22|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en}} He was granted emeritus status in 1990,{{cite book|title=Men of Achievement 93-94|date=1993|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=197|isbn=9780948875755|edition=15|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1DloAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en}} and awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by the university in 1992.{{cite web|title=The Edwin A. Dawes Award for Magic Scholarship|url=http://www.magicana.com/edwin-dawes-award-magic-scholarship|website=www.magicana.com|accessdate=1 January 2018}}
Dawes was an editor of the Biochemical Journal from 1958 to 1965 and the Journal of General Microbiology from 1971 to 1976, and served as editor-in-chief of the latter between 1976 and 1981.{{cite book|title=Medical Sciences International Who's who|date=1990|publisher=Longman|isbn=9780582041936|page=246|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wwAgAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en}} In 1981 he became Publications Manager of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, and the following year commenced as Chief Editor of its FEMS Microbiology Letters journal. He retired from those positions in 1990, and subsequently became the society's archivist.{{cite journal|title=Professor E.A. Dawes|url=https://academic.oup.com/femsle/article-abstract/77/1/iii/637126?redirectedFrom=PDF|journal=FEMS Microbiology Letters|accessdate=1 January 2018|pages=iii|language=en|doi=10.1111/j.1574-6968.1991.tb04311.x|date=1 January 1991|volume = 77|doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}}
File:Eddie_Dawes_with_Philip_Larkin_Society_at_Hull_Paragon_Station_roundel_unveiling.jpg
Dawes was chairman of the Philip Larkin Society from its founding in 1995, ten years after the death of the poet. They became friends while Larkin was librarian at the university's Brynmor Jones Library and Dawes was Chairman of the Library Committee (1974 to 1987).{{cite journal|last1=Goodman|first1=Richard|title=My Particular Talents|journal=Humanities Collections|date=June 1999|volume=1|issue=2|pages=45–60|doi=10.1300/J139v01n02_07}} On 2 December 2016, after a long campaign, Larkin's memorial was unveiled at Poet's Corner in Westminster Abbey by Dawes and Anthony Thwaite (the Society's president).{{cite news|title=Memorial to Philip Larkin unveiled in Poets' Corner|url=http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/memorial-to-philip-larkin-unveiled-in-poets-corner-11364118173322|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=BT.com|date=2 December 2016|language=en}}{{cite news|last1=Sawer|first1=Patrick|title='Outsider' Larkin finally joins the Establishment in Poets' Corner|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/11/26/outsider-larkin-finally-joins-establishment-poets-corner/|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=The Telegraph|date=30 November 2016}}
=Works=
Dawes's 1956 textbook Quantitative Problems in Biochemistry was translated into 6 languages, and {{as of|2016|lc=y}} remained in print in Japan. Reviews of its 1972 5th edition noted that it had "become a classic for many honours students and teachers of bio-chemistry"{{cite journal|last1=Billing|first1=Barbara H.|title=Quantitative Problems in Biochemistry|journal=Journal of Clinical Pathology|year=1973|volume=26|issue=6|page=461|pmc=477790|issn=0021-9746|doi=10.1136/jcp.26.6.461-a}} with its text "outstanding for being concise yet clear.{{cite journal|last1=Herries|first1=D.G.|title=Quantitative problems in biochemistry|journal=Biochemical Education|date=September 1972|volume=1|issue=1|pages=13|doi=10.1016/0307-4412(72)90016-7}} Its 1980 6th edition was considered as "disappointing" by two reviewers due to its abbreviated content and insufficient coverage of developments in the field,{{cite journal|last1=Easterby|first1=JS|title=Quantitative problems in biochemistry (Sixth Edition)|journal=Biochemical Education|date=July 1981|volume=9|issue=3|pages=112|doi=10.1016/0307-4412(81)90228-4}}{{cite journal|last1=PRICE|first1=N. C.|title=Quantitative Problems in Biochemistry (6th Edition)|journal=Biochemical Society Transactions|date=1 August 1981|volume=9|issue=4|pages=359.2–359|doi=10.1042/bst0090359a}} however another reviewer would recommend it without hesitation "as a valuable teaching and reference resource".{{cite journal|last1=Kell|first1=Douglas|title=Quantitative Problems in Biochemistry (Sixth Edition)|journal=FEBS Letters|date=21 December 1981|volume=136|issue=1|pages=181|doi=10.1016/0014-5793(81)81241-0|doi-access=free}}
His 1986 textbook Microbial Energetics was aimed at the advanced undergraduate, with chapters on "microbial reserve compounds analogous to starch and glycogen of higher cells" deemed "especially authoritative and up-to-date",{{cite journal|last1=Poole|first1=Robert K.|title=Microbial Energetics|journal=Biochemical Society Transactions|date=1 October 1986|volume=14|issue=5|pages=991.2–991|doi=10.1042/bst0140991a}} and with a writing style which "affords considerable pleasure simply by the manner in which the material is presented".{{cite journal|last1=Battley|first1=Edwin H.|title=Microbial Energetics. Edwin A. Dawes|journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology|date=June 1987|volume=62|issue=2|pages=191|doi=10.1086/415438}}
Magic
Dawes was President of the Scottish Conjurers' Association from 1959 to 1963, and edited its magazine from 1958 to 1962.{{cite web|title=Scottish Conjurers' Association|url=http://www.scamagic.org/index.php/scottish-conjurers-association|website=www.scamagic.org|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en-gb}} Dawes also edited the magazine for the Scottish Association of Magical Societies (SAMS), the national organisation for magical clubs in Scotland.{{cite web|title=History of the Scottish Association of Magical Societies|url=http://www.paisleymagiccircle.co.uk/sams/history.html|website=www.paisleymagiccircle.co.uk|accessdate=1 January 2018}}
He was President of the Hull Magicians Circle,{{cite web|title=HMC History|url=http://www.hullmc.org.uk/history|website=www.hullmc.org.uk|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en}} and historian for The Magic Circle.{{cite web|last1=McDonald|first1=Lucy|title=And that's renaissance magic ...|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/apr/10/italy.books|website=The Guardian|accessdate=1 January 2018|date=10 April 2007}}
Dawes was a multi-award-winning historian of magic, and is likely to have been the most prolific. His writings, which have been noted for consistently excellent scholarship and engaging prose, include The Great Illusionists,{{cite web|last1=Dawes|first1=Edwin A. (Edwin Alfred)|title=The great illusionists / Edwin A. Dawes|url=https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/2852392|website=National Library of Australia|publisher=David & Charles|accessdate=13 February 2018}} The Encyclopedia of Magic with Arthur Setterington,{{cite book|title=The encyclopedia of magic|oclc = 14871446}} a number of monographs, and hundreds of articles including (since 1972) his long-running "A Rich Cabinet of Magical Curiosities" monthly column in The Magic Circular.
Dawes also wrote several biographical magic books for magicians, among them Charles Bertram: The Court Conjurer (1997), Stodare: The Enigma Variations (1998), and Stanley Collins: Conjuror, Collector and Iconoclast (2002).
=With Amy Dawes=
In magic shows, his wife Amy ({{nee|Rogerson}}) performed both as his assistant and in her own right. She was a domestic science student during his studies at Leeds, and subsequently became a teacher in Glasgow. They married on 19 December 1950, and had two sons. The couple developed Only Make-Believe: A Plethora of Prestidigitation, an award-winning stage show, in which they performed as Professor Bluffman and Madame Patrice.{{cite magazine|magazine=Linking Ring|edition=15 Apr|title=In Memoriam Amy Dawes|page=40}}{{verification needed|date=January 2018}}. Amy Dawes died on 30 December 2014, aged 85.{{cite web|title=Hull Magicians' Circle|url=https://www.facebook.com/hullmc/posts/846646058712264|website=www.facebook.com|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en}}{{better source needed|date=January 2018}}
Personal life and death
Dawes died on 3 March 2023, at the age of 97.{{cite news |title=Dr. Edwin A. Dawes, 1925–2023 |url=https://www.magicana.com/news/blog/dr-edwin-dawes-1925-2023 |access-date=6 March 2023 |publisher=Magicana |date=5 March 2023}}
Awards and honours
- 2020 - Honorary Vice President and Honorary Life Member of the Philip Larkin Society.{{cite web |title=Our new honorary vice-presidents – The Philip Larkin Society |url=https://philiplarkin.com/news/our-new-honorary-vice-presidents/# |access-date=16 October 2023}}
- 2018 - Allen Slaight Lifetime Achievement award from Magicana.{{cite web |title=Lifetime Achievement Award 2018 {{!}} Magicana |url=https://www.magicana.com/news/blog/lifetime-achievement-award-2018 |website=www.magicana.com |access-date=7 March 2023}}
- 2017 – Gold Medal from The Magic Circle for "exemplary service to the Society or exceptional magical ability or both". Dawes was only the ninth recipient since 1926.{{cite web|last1=Herrick|first1=Mark|title=The Magic Circle Awards 2017|url=https://themagiccircle.co.uk/news/1194-the-magic-circle-awards-2017|website=themagiccircle.co.uk|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en-gb|archive-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051026/https://themagiccircle.co.uk/news/1194-the-magic-circle-awards-2017|url-status=dead}}
- 2016 – Special Fellowship from the Academy of Magical Arts.{{cite web|title=Hall of Fame {{!}} The Academy of Magical Arts|url=http://www.magiccastle.com/hall_of_fame/|website=www.magiccastle.com|date=2 July 2014 |accessdate=13 February 2018}}
- 2010 – John Nevil Maskelyne Prize (with Steve Short) from the Magic Circle for Entertainer with the Magic Touch about David Nixon.{{cite news|title=Awards 2010|url=http://www.tmclists.co.uk/news/567-awards-2010|accessdate=1 January 2018|work=tmclists.co.uk|language=en-gb}}
- 2010 – the Edwin A. Dawes Award for Magic Scholarship was created by The Magic Collectors Association.{{Cite journal|date=September 2010|title=Edwin A. Dawes Award for Magic Scholarship|url=https://askalexander.org/display/24755/MAGIC+CIRCULAR+VOL+104+APR+DEC/194|journal=The Magic Circular|pages=258|url-access=subscription }}
- 2006 – FISM award for History and Research.
- 2005 – John Nevil Maskelyne Prize (with Michael Bailey) for Circle Without End about The Magic Circle.{{cite web|title=0284 - MagicWeek UK Magic News|url=http://www.magicweek.co.uk/backissues_0250-0299/0284.htm|website=www.magicweek.co.uk|accessdate=1 January 2018}}
- 2002 – David Devant Award from the Magic Circle for advancing the art of magic or providing outstanding service to magic internationally.{{cite web|last1=Brennan|first1=Andrew|title=The Magic Circle, David Devant award|url=https://themagiccircle.co.uk/the-society/our-awards/the-david-devant-award|website=themagiccircle.co.uk|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en-gb}}
- 1998 – Maskelyne Award from the Magic Circle "for services to British magic".{{cite web|last1=Brennan|first1=Andrew|title=The Magic Circle Maskelyne Award|url=https://themagiccircle.co.uk/the-society/our-awards/the-maskelyne-award|website=themagiccircle.co.uk|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en-gb|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126043147/https://themagiccircle.co.uk/the-society/our-awards/the-maskelyne-award|url-status=dead}}
- 1996 – made Honorary President of the Scottish Association of Magical Societies.
- 1988 – John Nevil Maskelyne Prize for "noteworthy contributions... to the art or literature of magic".{{cite web|last1=Brennan|first1=Andrew|title=The John Nevil Maskelyne Prize|url=https://themagiccircle.co.uk/the-society/our-awards/the-jnm-prize|website=themagiccircle.co.uk|accessdate=1 January 2018|language=en-gb|archive-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216091115/https://themagiccircle.co.uk/the-society/our-awards/the-jnm-prize|url-status=dead}}
- 1984 – Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame.{{cite web|title=The Hall|url=http://www.samhalloffame.com/members/|website=Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame and Magic Museum, Inc.|accessdate=13 February 2018|date=3 November 2011}}
- 1984 – Literary Fellowship from the Academy of Magical Arts.
- 1975 – made Honorary Vice President of the Magic Circle.{{Cite magazine|date=15 November 1975|title=Hull Magicians' Circle|url=https://askalexander.org/display/20366/Abracadabra+Vol+60/469|journal=Goodliffe's Abracadabra|volume=60|issue=1555|pages=387|url-access=subscription }}
- 1974 – made Honorary Life President of the Scottish Conjurers Association.
References
{{reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{The Magic Circle - The Maskelyne Award|collapsed=yes}}
{{Academy of Magical Arts Literature & Media Fellowship|collapsed=yes}}
{{Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship|collapsed=yes}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawes, Edwin A.}}
Category:Academics of the University of Hull
Category:Academy of Magical Arts Literature & Media Fellowship winners
Category:Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship winners