Abstract:
Henri Pieter Albert de Boom was born on 16 October 1914 in Pretoria. He completed his schooling at the Oosteind school in 1931 and qualified as veterinarian from the Onderstepoort faculty in 1936. The rest of his career until his retirement was spent at Onderstepoort, first as research officer and part-time teacher at the faculty, and finally, in 1955, at the age of 41, as professor and head of the Anatomy Department. In 1957 de Boom became one of the first full-time professors. Prof. H.P.A. de Boom lectured in Comparative Anatomy and Embryology until 1955 when the then current head of the Department of Anatomy, Prof Cecil Jackson, resigned. Prof. de Boom retired from the Onderstepoort faculty in 1974 at the age of 60 but continued to be actively involved in teaching.
