Australian Dictionary of Biography

Tip: searches only the name field
Tip: Use double quotes to search for a phrase

Browse by:

Cultural Advice

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website contains names, images, and voices of deceased persons.

In addition, some articles contain terms or views that were acceptable within mainstream Australian culture in the period in which they were written, but may no longer be considered appropriate.

These articles do not necessarily reflect the views of The Australian National University.

Older articles are being reviewed with a view to bringing them into line with contemporary values but the original text will remain available for historical context.

Life Summary

Name	Geoffrey Donald Thorburn
Born	2 February, 1930 Marrickville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died	28 October, 1996 (aged 66) Prahran, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Cause of Death	kidney disease
Cultural Heritage	New Zealander Includes subject's nationality; their parents' nationality; the countries in which they spent a significant part of their childhood, and their self-identity.
Education *	Canterbury Boys' High (Sydney) (student, 1945-1950) University of Sydney (student, 1951-1956)
Occupation or Descriptor *	medical scientist (1963-1973) New South Wales, Australia physiologist (1963-1973) New South Wales, Australia medical scientist (1973-1977) Overseas physiologist (1973-1977) Overseas academic (1978-1980) Queensland, Australia medical scientist (1978-1980) Queensland, Australia physiologist (1978-1980) Queensland, Australia academic (1981-1995) Victoria, Australia medical scientist (1981-1995) Victoria, Australia physiologist (1981-1995) Victoria, Australia
Awards	Marshall Medal (Society for the Study of Fertility, UK) (recipient, 1989) Officer of the Order of Australia (recipient, 1995)
Legacies *	G.D. Thorburn lecture (Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand) (eponym) G.D. Thorburn prize in physiology (Monash University) (eponym)
Key Organisations *	Royal Australasian College of Physicians (fellow, 1977) Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand (president, 1983) Australian Academy of Science (fellow, 1991-1996) Royal Australian College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (honorary fellow, 1997)
Workplaces *	University of New South Wales (physiology and pharmacology) (academic, 1963-1966) CSIRO (animal health) (scientist, 1966-1973) Nuffield Institute for Medical Research (Oxford University) (scientist, 1973-1977) University of Queensland (physiology) (academic, 1977-1981) Monash University (physiology) (academic, 1981-1995)

* Dates are approximate