Frank Macfarlane Burnet

Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet was born on September 3, 1899, in Traralgon, Victoria. Graduating in medicine from the University of Melbourne and earning his doctorate at the Lister Institute in London, Burnet served as director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research from 1944 to 1965.

Burnet made fundamental discoveries in influenza virology, myxomatosis, and Q fever (caused by Coxiella burnetii, named in his honor). In 1957, he formulated the revolutionary Clonal Selection Theory of acquired immunity, explaining how antibody diversity is generated. In 1960, he was awarded the Nobel Prize alongside Sir Peter Medawar for discovering acquired immunological tolerance.