Australian Scientists

Arthur John Birch
Culture:Australian
Area of Study:Organic Chemistry
Century: 20
Contribution:
Professor of Organic Chemistry, Australian National University, from 1967. Earlier he was at Oxford University, Cambridge University, the University of Sydney, and Manchester University, England. President, Australian Academy of Science 1982-86. Birch's research formed the foundation for the manufacture of antibiotic drugs and the first oral contraceptive pill.

Peter Orlebar Bishop
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Physiology
Century: 20
Contribution: Professor of Physiology at the University of Sydney 1955-67, and also at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, 1967-82. He provided an increased understanding of people's ability to see in three dimensions.

Nancy Burbidge
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Botany
Century: 20
Contribution:
She was a systematic botanist and Curator of the Herbarium, CSIRO Division of Plant Industry 1946-73. Published Flora of Australia and several other books on Australian plants.

Frank Macfarlane Burnet
Culture: Australian
Area Of Study: Medical Science and Biology
Century: 19
Contribution:
Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne 1944-66. He was awarded the The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1960, along with P. Medawar, 'for discovery of acquired immunological tolerance'. His areas of research included antibodies, polio, myxomatosis, and many other topics.

John Warcup Cornforth
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Chemistry
Century: 20
Contribution:
Cornforth was born in Sydney, New South Wales. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1975 (jointly) 'for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions'. He was the Professor and Research Professor, University of Sussex 1971-82.

Suzanne Cory
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Molecular Oncology
Century: 20
Contribution:
Prior to her appointment as Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) in 1996, Cory was Joint Head of the Molecular Biology Unit with her husband, Jerry Adams, for eight years. She undertook three years of postdoctoral studies at the University of Geneva. The rest of her working life has been spent at WEHI.

Richard Daintree
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Geology
Century: 19
Contribution:
He was a member of the Geological Survey of Victoria 1854-56, as a field surveyor. He moved to Queensland in 1864, became the first Government Geologist of Northern Queensland 1868-70, and was Queensland's Agent-General in London 1868-70. His knowledge led to the opening of many Queensland gold fields. An accomplished photographer, he introduced the use of photography into geological work. The Daintree River and Daintree Rainforest in North Queensland are named after him.

Tannant William Edgeworth David
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Geology
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Professor of Geology at the University of Sydney 1891-1924, and a member of the second British Antarctic Expedition 1907-09. Earlier he was Assistant Geological Surveyor for the Geological Survey of New South Wales 1882-91.

Amalie Dietrich
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Botany
Century: 19
Contributions:
Dietrich spent nearly ten years (1863-72) in the barely settled wilds of northern Queensland, collecting specimens for the Museum Godeffroy in Hamburg, Germany. Through this work, she brought Australia's natural wonders to people in Europe.

William James Farrer
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Argiculture
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Farrer was involved in developing breeds of wheat suitable for Australian conditions. This work was primarily undertaken on his farm in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. His most notable achievement was the breeding and establishment of 'Federation' wheat, which was rust-resistant and high yielding.

Howard Walter Florey
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Pathology
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Florey was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He was Professor of Pathology at the University of Sheffield 1931-35, and then at the University of Oxford 1935-62. He received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1945 'for the discovery of penicillin and its curative effect in various infectious diseases'. He was also the Chancellor of the Australian National University (1965-68).

Joan Freeman
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Nuclear Physics
Century: 20
Contributions:
During the Second World War , she worked at CSIR Radiophysics Laboratory developing a 10 centimetre microwave radar set. Moved to the UK to study at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, 1946-51. She worked for the British Atomic Energy Research Establishment for most her working life. In 1976 she became the first female to be awarded the British Institute of Physics' prestigious Rutherford Medal.

Lawrence Hargrave
Culture: Australian
Area Of Study: Aeronautics and Astronomy
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
During the Second World War , she worked at CSIR Radiophysics Laboratory developing a 10 centimetre microwave radar set. Moved to the UK to study at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge University, 1946-51. She worked for the British Atomic Energy Research Establishment for most her working life. In 1976 she became the first female to be awarded the British Institute of Physics' prestigious Rutherford Medal.

Ernst Johannes Hartung
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Chemistry
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Hartung worked at the University of Melbourne for his whole career, between 1919 and 1954. In 1927 he became Professor of Chemistry. During the Second World War, Hartung produced the first optical glass in Australia, assisted by ACI. He is commemorated by the Hartung Youth Lectures of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.

Dorothy Hill
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Geology and Palaentology
Century: 20
Contributions:
Hill was Research Professor of Geology at the University of Queensland 1959-72. She has published widely on palaeontology, stratigraphy and geology. Hill was the first female Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science 1956, first Australian female elected to the Royal Society 1965, and first female President of the Australian Academy of Science in 1970.

Henry Ambrose Hunt
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Meteorology
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Born in Britain, Hunt emigrated to Australia 1884. He was a clerk at Sydney Observatory 1884-86, and became Director of the Commonwealth Bureau Meteorology 1907-31.

Elizabeth Kenny
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Health Science
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Kenny developed a new treatment for poliomyelitis in the 1930s and established clinics in Brisbane with the backing of the state government. Unfortunately, opposition from the medical profession forced her to move to the USA in 1940, and it was there her treatment methods became widely acclaimed.

Esmod Venner Keogh
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Medical Science and Epidemiology
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Keogh was Medical Director of the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria 1955-68. He undertook research on malaria during the Second World War.

Phillip Parker King
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Hydrograph
Century: 18
Contributions:
King was a naval officer whose principal scientific work was hydrographic surveys of the Australian coast, continuing the work of Mathew Flinders. He also made research notes on Australian natural history, collected insects and had a small observatory.

Thomas Howell Laby
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Chemistry and Physics
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Professor of Natural Philosophy (Physics) at the University of Melbourne, 1914-42. He was Chair of the Optical Munitions Panel 1940-44, first President of the Australian Branch of the Institute of Physics 1939-41, and shared in the design of one the first anti-gas respirators. A physics lecture theatre at the University of Melbourne was named after him.

Annie Jean Macnamara
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Medical Science
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Macnamara was a physician at the Melbourne Children's Hospital from 1923, a consultant and medical officer to the Poliomyelitis Committee of Victoria 1925-31, and a medical officer at Yooralla Hospital School for Crippled Children 1928-51. She worked with Macfarlane Burnet on polio research, and fought for the introduction of myxomatosis in Australia.

David Orme Masson
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Medical Science
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Masson was Professor of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne 1886-1923, and took an important part in the establishment of the CSIR. He undertook fundamental research on atomic structure, and electrolytes in water. A mountain range and island in Antarctica are named after him.

John Tebbutt
Culture: Australian
Area of Study: Astronomy and Meteorology
Century: 19 and 20
Contributions:
Tebbutt was born at Windsor, New South Wales, and grew up on his father's properties. He was largely self-educated. He began observations in the 1850s, and in 1863 built his first observatory. Tebbutt discovered several major comets, and published over 400 research papers. He was probably Australia's leading astronomer in his day.