Walter Perry - Definition and Overview

Walter Laing MacDonald Perry, Lord Perry of Walton (June 16, 1921 - July 17, 2003) was a distinguished academic. He obtained a degree in Pharmacology at St Andrews University. Between 1944 and 1946 he worked as a Medical Officer in Nigeria. He later worked as a scientist for institutions like the Medical Research Council. In particular he became an expert on polio. He had a reputation for following the scientific method rigorously.

He developed his career at Edinburgh University as Professor of Pharmacology, later Dean of Medicine and Vice Principal. He was the first Vice Chancellor of the Open University and made that university into an effective institution proving that sceptics had been wrong. Walter Perry worked further to develop distance learning through the United Nations.

He entered the House of Lords in 1979 as Lord Perry, later taking the SDP and Liberal Democrat whips, and served on the committee dealing with science and technology. He kept working right up to his death in 2003.