Scholar, scientist, physician, administrator, wit, raconteur; these words, among many others, describe Aidan Cockburn. His contributions as an epidemiologist, specialist on the evolution and history of disease, and on paleopathology established him as an authority on these and other subjects long before his death in 1981. In a sense, however, words cannot capture the essence of the man. Aidan was a man of catholic interests and knowledge. He lived and worked in many countries of the world. (When I first met him his cat had travelled far more extensively than I – a fact that he found most amusing.) The world view that arose from his global work and travel experience gave him a special perspective on many of the problems regarding the evolution of disease. He was the first to introduce me to the obvious but often overlooked concept that evolutionary processes would generally lead to the attenuation of virulence in bacterial disease organisms; the organism that kills its host usually dies as well, thus natural selection will favor the disease organism that does not kill its host. This concept is crucial to an understanding of the history of disease and to the interpretation of paleopathological specimens.

Aidan's influence on the development of paleopathology has been enormous. With Eve Cockburn, he founded the Paleopathology Association in 1973. This international and interdisciplinary organization today has a membership of more than 500. Although his great interest was in the general area of paleopathology, he became best known for his specific interest in the study of mummies. Despite this emphasis he gave enthusiastic support to all research on paleopathology. His interest in and support of the study of mummy tissues stimulated a whole new range of studies, many of which involve the latest technology and methodology in science and medicine.