Florey Theatre (in the John Curtin School of Medical Research)

Howard Walter Florey (1898-1968), Australian-born experimental pathologist, was best known for his research in developing penicillin. He was Professor of Pathology at Oxford University for 27 years and during this time, in 1944, he visited Australia at the invitation of Prime Minister Curtin, and stressed the need for a medical research establishment. Following the formation of the 1946 Interim Council, Florey was the key figure in the academic design of the John Curtin School of Medical Research. The Chair occupied by the Director of the School is named after him. Florey shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1945 and was created a life peer in 1965. Lord Florey’s interest in and assistance to the ANU culminated in his accepting the role of Chancellor from 1965 till his death in 1968.

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