Sir John Eccles AC (1903 - 1997)
1963 Award

Joint Winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine

Born in Melbourne, Eccles won a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford in 1925. There he worked with Sir Charles Sherrington, the founder of modern neurology. Eccles returned to Sydney in 1937 but, discouraged by the lack of opportunity he saw in Australia, spent 1943 - 51 in New Zealand. After the war, vigorous new developments in Australian science brought Eccles home to work from 1951 - 66 at the Australian National University.

He expressed boundless optimism in the future of Australian science, but warned that lack of government support jeopardised that glorious future. Eccles shared the 1963 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his pioneering work on the chemical means by which signals are transmitted by nerve cells. Much of his work has focussed on the cerebellum, the part of the brain that controls posture and movement, and the relationship between body and mind. Faced with imminent compulsory retirement in 1966, he left Australia to continue to research, write and lecture in the United States of America and Europe. Eccles has written numerous scientific works on the relationship between science, religion and philosophy.