Dr. Alexander G. Bearn, research scientist

Dr. Alexander G. Bearn, 86, of Society Hill, a physician and research scientist who became executive officer of the American Philosophical Society, died of heart failure Friday at home.

Dr. Bearn, a pioneer in the study of human genetics, spent more than 30 years in academic medicine and was a pharmaceutical company executive for nine years. He headed the American Philosophical Society from 1997 to 2002.

The scholarly organization was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743 to "cultivate the finer arts and improve the common stock of knowledge." Washington, Adams, and Jefferson were early members, and other members include scientific luminaries Madame Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, and Louis Pasteur.

After he was elected as a member in 1972, Dr. Bearn served on committees and was society vice president from 1990 to 1996.

During his tenure as executive officer, annual member giving reached an all time high, Society staff members said. Dr. Bearn oversaw the the redesign and rejuventation of the society's garden; the re-evaluation of the publications program; and the establishment of a fund to assist overseas member with traveling expenses for Society meetings.

"He loved the colleagueship of the society," said Pat McPherson, the group's executive officer. "He was a delightfully supportive, humorous man, and was a friend to people from all walks of life."

Dr. Bearn was born in Surrey, England. He earned a medical degree from the University of London and served in the Royal Air Force. He came to the United States to join the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York in 1951 and became a U.S. citizen in 1969.

At the Rockefeller Institute, now Rockefeller University, he established a laboratory for the study of human genetics. In 1966, he was appointed chairman of the department of medicine at Cornell Medical College and established a human genetics lab there. From 1979 until retiring in 1988, he was vice president for medical and scientific affairs for the international division of Merck & Co. in Rahway, N.J.

Dr. Bearn served on numerous professional organizations in the United States and abroad. He was past president of the American Society of Human Genetics and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1996, he was a fellow at Christ College, Cambridge University.

He authored three biographies of prominent scientists - Sir Archibald Garrod and the Individuality of Man, published in 1993, Sir Clifford Allbutt: Scholar and Physician, published in 2007, and Sir Francis Richard Fraser: A Canny Scot Shapes British Medicine, published in 2008.

Since 1952, he had been married to Margaret Slocum Bearn. They were introduced by friends in New York. He and his wife had a summer home in Connecticut for many years and vacationed in Scotland, the home of his ancestors, for 30 years. More recently, they vacationed in the south of France.

Dr. Bearn and his wife were subscribers to the Metropolitan Opera. They also appreciated the music and art offerings in Philadelphia, where they had lived for 12 years, his wife said.

In addition to his wife, Dr. Bearn is survived by a daughter, Helen Pennoyer; a son, Gordon; a brother; and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 3 p.m. tomorrow at Brick Presbyterian Church, Park Avenue at 91st Street, New York, N.Y.