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David Danon

David Danon was an Israeli physician, biologist and painter known for research on aging and for developing a treatment for pressure ulcers.

1921 to 2015Macrophage treatment for pressure ulcersResearch on the biology of agingFounding the airborne medical evacuation unitPainting

Born: 17 October 1921, Pazardzhik
Died: 17 October 2015
Occupation: physician, biologist, painter
Education: University of Geneva

David Danon was born in 1921 in Pazardzhik

David Danon was born in 1921 in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria, to two physicians, Regina and Moshe Danon. The family moved to the Land of Israel and settled in Tel Aviv. He finished school at the Balfour Gymnasium.

After school he joined the Irgun under the code name Ehud. In 1946 he was arrested by the British and released after being accepted to medical school at the University of Geneva. He developed a microtome for the electron microscope during his studies.

He returned to Israel in 1953 and served in the Air Force. In 1954 he founded and commanded its airborne medical evacuation unit. He later took part in evacuating casualties in several wars.

From 1955 he worked at the Weizmann Institute, where he set up an electron microscopy laboratory and studied red blood cells. He became a professor in 1967 and led the International Association of Gerontology from 1975 to 1978. He was Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Health and directed the Institute's Center for Research on Aging until 1987.

From 1987 to 1992 he directed a gerontology center in New Orleans and studied the role of macrophages in wound healing. His treatment using activated macrophages was approved by the Ministry of Health in 1998. He painted throughout his life and held a solo show in Petah Tikva in 2011. He died in 2015.

Milestones in David Danon's life

1921
Born in Pazardzhik, Bulgaria.
1946
Arrested by the British.
1954
Founded the Air Force airborne medical evacuation unit.
1955
Joined the Weizmann Institute of Science.
1967
Became a professor of biology.
1975
Elected president of the International Association of Gerontology.
1979
Appointed director of the Center for Research on Aging at the Weizmann Institute.
1998
Received the Ze'ev Jabotinsky Award.
2011
Held a solo exhibition in Petah Tikva.
2015
Died.

David Danon served in Unit 669

He was a commander in the Irgun before the state. In 1954 he founded the Air Force airborne medical evacuation unit, Unit 669, and was its first commander, later evacuating casualties in the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War.

Unit 669