Scottish biochemist and academic, an authority on brewing and distilling, she was the world’s first female Professor of Brewing and Biochemistry. She was a professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.
In 1939 she graduated from University of Edinburgh with a BSc with honours in botany. She joined the faculty of Heriot-Watt University in 1945, where she remained until her retirement in 1977. She returned in 1951 to the University of Edinburgh to study for her PhD. In the late 1960s, she was awarded a Doctor of Science, from the University, for a thesis on the germination of barley.
In 1961, together with Leslie Samuel Cobley, she co-edited “Contemporary Botanical Thought”, published by Oliver and Boyd. She edited the Journal of the Institute of Brewing from 1964 to 1976, and she was the first female President of that organisation (now the Institute of Brewing and Distilling), from 1970 to 1972. In 1975, she was appointed Professor of Brewing at Heriot-Watt University. In 1976, she was the recipient of the Horace Brown medal. She retired in 1977, as professor emeritus.
In 1993, Heriot-Watt University awarded her an honorary Doctorate of Science for her discovery of gibberellic acid, which was an advantage for the maltsters, as it shortened the malting process.
Anna Macleod died at St Raphaels, Edinburgh on 13 August 2004 at age 87.
Link to Wikipedia biography