Beit Memorial Fellowships for Medical Research Trust

Founded 1909 to promote the advancement of medical science through the award of research fellowships by Otto Beit (later Sir Otto) in memory of his brother Alfred, who had died in 1906, from whom Otto, as residual legatee, inherited a large fortune. The purpose of the Fellowships was to promote the advancement of medical science at a time when research scholarships were few. The first Fellowships were awarded in 1910. Initially the Fellowships were for a period of three years, with the only condition on application being that the candidate was of European descent by both parents, although the Deed of Foundation was altered in 1945 to open up the field to applicants with a degree from any university in the British Empire. In 1922 it was decided that Fellows could extend their period of study to four years in exceptional circumstances. At the same time a Senior Fellowship was established, also for a period of three years, for those who had held both a Junior and a Fourth Year Fellowship, allowing research to be carried out for total of seven years. The Fellowships are governed by a Board of Trustees and an Advisory Boar, the Trustees being men involved in public affairs, and the Advisory Board made up of eminent medics and scientists. The Principal of the University of London is always ex-officio a member of the Board of Trustees.