Tribute to a bloke i'd never even heard of....

...but who certainly deserves to be recognised. I may just be ignorant, so i'll list the achievements this man had before he died at the age of 92 and perhaps some of you might be able to tell who it is from them. Along with Austin Bradford Hill he was the first leading authority to prove a link between smoking and lung cancer. Co-authoring a paper in 1951 that suggested the link and 3 years later co-authering another which confirmed it. He continued to work until this year, he demonstrated that all radiation was potentially harmful, that aspirin could protect against heart disease and also found evidence that alcohol increase the risk of breast cancer.

Added to all that he received 13 honory degrees from various universities and won many an award including the UN Award for Cancer Research in 1962. Knighted in 1971 he is Sir Richard Doll.

When you consider that in 1954 80% of british adults smoked comparted to the current figure of 26 per cent that is a legacy to be proud of.

Based on article by Genevieve roberts in the Independent.