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Here is a list of just some of the distinguished scientists, and those in related disciplines, associated with St Catharine's. Most of these are alumni, having studied at the College as undergraduates or postgraduates, whereas others came to our College later in their careers, perhaps as Fellows, Honorary Fellows or even as Master.

Please click on a name to find out more about the person in question. As you can see, not all of them went on to become famous for their achievements in science!

John Maplet (died 1592, astrologer and natural historian: wrote A Greene Forest, or a Naturall Historie)

Christopher Bennet (1617-1655, physician: wrote an important scientific study on consumption and then died of it)

John Ray (1627-1705, “the father of English natural history”)

John Vigani (c.1650-1712, first Professor of Chemistry at Cambridge)

Adam Buddle (1662-1715, botanist after whom the butterfly-bush Buddleia is named)

John Addenbrooke (1680-1719, founder of Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge)

Richard Holland (1688-1730, author of Observations on the Small Pox)

Rev. Nevil Maskelyne (1732-1811, 5th Astronomer Royal, famous for his role in the longitude problem)

Sir Arthur Brooke Faulkner (1779-1847, physician and author)

Temple Chevallier (1794-1873, astronomer and mathematician)

Sir Norman Moore (1847-1922, doctor and historian of medicine)

George Forbes (1849-1936, electrical engineer and inventor)

Sir Rowland Biffen (1874-1949, botanist and geneticist)

Henry Bunker (1897-1975, microbiologist) 

Andrew Phillipson (1910-1977, veterinary physiologist) 

Peter Scott (1914-1977, forensic psychiatrist) 

Sir Morien Morgan (1912-1978, aeronautical engineer known as "the father of Concorde”)

Sir Frederick Dainton (1914-1997, chemist)

Sir Frederick Page (1917-2005, aeronautical engineer)

Sir Alan Battersby (1925-2018, biochemist)

Sir Peter Hirsch (1925-, materials scientist)

Richard Laws (1926-2014, Director of British Antarctic Survey)

Richard Dixon (1930-, chemist)

Sir Terence English (1932-, performed Britain’s first successful heart transplant)

Sir Robin Nicholson (1934-, metallurgist)

Sir Graeme Davies (1937-. metallurgist)

Peter Lawrence (1941-, developmental biologist)

Donald Broom (1942-. animal behaviour and welfare)

Dame Jean Thomas (1942-. biochemist and former Master of St Catharine's)

Haro Bedelian (1943-, engineer responsible for the Channel Tunnel)

Harry Elderfield (1943-2016, ocean geochemist)

Sir Richard Gardner (1943-, developmental biologist)

Brian Gibson (1944-2004, film director)

Arnoldus Blix (1946-, Arctic biologist)

Sir Emyr Jones Parry (1947-, British Permanent Representative to the United Nations and UK Permanent Representative on the North Atlantic Council).

Steve Brown (1955-, geneticist)

Roger Harrabin (1955-, BBC's Environment Analyst)

David Harding (1961, entrepeneur and hedge-fund manager)

Kevin Greening (1962-2007, BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show presenter)

Guy Brown (19??-, biochemist and prize-winning author of The Energy of Life)

Ben Miller (1966-, comedian and actor)

Dr Jenni Sidey (1988-, Canadian Astronaut)

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Contact details

Archivist
Matilda Watson

01223 338343
archivist@caths.cam.ac.uk