Matthew H. Kaufman was a British biologist. He was Professor Emeritus at University of Edinburgh having been Professor of Anatomy there from 1985 to 2007. He taught anatomy and embryology for more than 30 years, initially at the University of Cambridge, when he was a Fellow of King's College, and more recently in Edinburgh. Born in London into an Orthodox Jewish family, during his early years at the University of Edinburgh, he re-instituted a course for an intercalated degree in anatomy, absent for many years in this subject. With this he brought a new life of exploration and research within the department of anatomy. In 1981 Kaufman and Martin Evans at the University of Cambridge in England and Gail R. Martin in America were the first to derive embryonic stem cells from mouse embryos. He published four books on mouse embryology and three books on historical aspects of military surgery. He also published a book on Medical Teaching in Edinburgh during the 18th and 19th centuries, a book on the History of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society and biographies of Dr. John Barclay and Mr. Robert Liston. He also published about 240 papers on a wide range of embryological and medical historical topics. He was awarded the F.R.S. Edin. in 2008. He was a leading authority on mouse development. He was also Honorary Librarian at the Royal Medical Society in Edinburgh, having been Senior President from 1966 to 1967. He died after a long illness at an Edinburgh nursing home in 2013.
Publications
Kaufman, M.H.. Early Mammalian Development: Parthenogenetic Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .
Kaufman, M.H.. The Atlas of Mouse Development. London: Academic Press. .
Kaufman, M.H.. The Atlas of Mouse Development. Second Printing, with Index. London: Academic Press. .
Kaufman, M.H. & Bard, J.B.L.. The Anatomical Basis of Mouse Development. San Diego: Academic Press. .
Kaufman, M.H.. Surgeons at War: Medical Arrangements for the Treatment of the Sick and Wounded in the British Army during the late 18th and 19th Centuries. Westport C.T.: Greenwood Publishing Group Inc. .
Kaufman, M.H.. The Regius Chair of Military Surgery in the University of Edinburgh – 1806–55. Amsterdam & New York: Wellcome Trust. Rodopi B.V.
