Skip to main content
About
About the RACP
What is a physician or paediatrician?
Membership
College structure
Board and governance
College Council
Committees
Accreditation
Ethics
Consumer Advisory Group
Special Interest Groups
The ROC
Multi-factor authentication
Our heritage
Get involved
Careers at RACP
Medical positions
MyRACP
Congress 2024
News and Events
News
The President's Message
RACP 2024 Elections
Media releases
Events
Congress 2024
Expressions of Interest
RACP in the media
COVID-19
Quick facts
Policy and Advocacy
Represent your profession
Policy and Advocacy Priorities
Policy and Advocacy Library
CPAC reports
Evolve
Voice to Parliament
Make It The Norm
Division, Faculty and Chapter Priorities
Regional Committee Priorities
RACP Foundation
Donate to Foundation
About us
Research Awards and Career Grants
College and Congress prizes
Division, Faculty and Chapter Awards & Prizes
Regional Awards & Prizes
Indigenous Scholarships & Prizes
International Grants
Student Scholarships & Prizes
Terms and Conditions
Our recipients
Contact us
Toggle mobile menu
Search
Home
Become a Physician
Trainees
Fellows
Overseas specialists
About
About the RACP
What is a physician or paediatrician?
Membership
College structure
Board and governance
College Council
Committees
Accreditation
Ethics
Consumer Advisory Group
Special Interest Groups
The ROC
Multi-factor authentication
Our heritage
College Roll
College timeline
History of Medicine Library
Past office bearers
Get involved
Careers at RACP
Medical positions
MyRACP
News and Events
Expressions of Interest
Policy and Advocacy
RACP Foundation
Wellbeing
Contact us
Pomegranate Health
Close menu
▲
Search
Open section menu
▼
About
About the RACP
What is a physician or paediatrician?
Membership
College structure
Board and governance
College Council
Committees
Accreditation
Ethics
Consumer Advisory Group
Special Interest Groups
The ROC
Multi-factor authentication
Our heritage
College Roll
College timeline
History of Medicine Library
Past office bearers
Get involved
Careers at RACP
Medical positions
MyRACP
Open section menu
▼
College Roll Bio
Priestley, Henry
Share
Qualifications
BSc Syd (1906) MB Syd (1909) ChM Syd (1910) MD Syd (1915) FRACP (1938) (Foundation)
Born
19/06/1884
Died
28/02/1961
Henry Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, on 19 June 1884, the son of Herbert Priestley, an accountant. The family emigrated to Australia in 1886 and settled in Sydney. After attending Newington College, Henry enrolled in the faculties of arts (1902), engineering (1903) and science (1904) at Sydney University. He majored in chemistry and graduated BSc in 1906 with second-class honours in chemistry III. In the same year he enrolled in medicine II and graduated (MB 1909, ChM 1910) with first-class honours and the University Medal.
While completing a one year internship at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 1910, he won a Beit Memorial Fellowship that enabled him to work with Sir Charles Martin at the Lister Institute in London (1911-12) where he developed his lifelong interest in nutrition. Subsequently, he was appointed as an assistant at the newly opened Institute of Tropical Medicine in Townsville (1913-18). In 1915 he was awarded an MD with a medal and the Ethel Talbot Memorial Prize by the University of Sydney for a thesis entitled
The Mechanism of the Agglutinin Reaction
and in 1918 he was appointed by the University as lecturer and chief demonstrator in physiology.
In 1921 he became McCaughey Associate Professor of Physiology with special responsibility for biochemistry and in 1938 he became foundation professor of the subject, the same year in which he became a foundation Fellow of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He became head of a separate department of biochemistry in 1939, a post he retained until his retirement in 1948. He served as dean of the faculty of science from 1946 to 1948 and was a fellow of the senate in 1948. Priestley was well liked and respected by a generation of students who appreciated his dedication and conscientiousness during the period when Chapman and Davies were the professors of physiology. He was known as `Whispering Henry' because of his soft voice.
In 1912, Priestley married Katie Maitland Gray, daughter of the Reverend Canon Maitland Gray of Dudley, UK, and had two sons, John and Peter. He died on 28 February 1961, followed by his wife on the succeeding day. During his professional life Priestley held honorary appointments at the Royal North Shore and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals. His most enduring monument at Sydney University is the BSc (Med) scheme which he fought to have established in 1948, one of his last acts before retirement.
Author
JA YOUNG
References
Med J Aust
, 1961,
1
, 875-7;
Hermes
, 1917,
23
, 225-6; Young, JA et al,
eds, Centenary Book of the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine
, Syd, 1984, 246-7, 319-20.
Last Updated
May 30, 2018, 17:35 PM
Close overlay