Discovery event with Oliver Mayo

Oliver Mayo on William Harvey - discoverer of the circulation of the blood

Professor Oliver Mayo will talk about his discovery of William Harvey (1578 – 1657) and how he “influenced me through my mentors”. In his treatise De Motu Cordis, on the movement of the blood in the body, his greatest discovery, Harvey wrote 'my trust is in my love of truth and the candour of cultivated minds’.

This inspiring influence motivated Oliver to Adopt for conservation the Barr Smith Library’s copy of Harvey’s collected works, Opera omnia 1766. The volumes will be displayed at the event and Conservator Karen Vidler will join us to outline the challenges of the work.

Event details

Date: Monday 28 August 2023, 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Doors open at 12:30 pm, tea and coffee available.
Venue: Ira Raymond Exhibition Room, Barr Smith Library Level 3, directly opposite the bridge entrance to the Library and Hub Central.
Cost: General admission $10.00 (inc GST) Students free. Proceeds support the Library.
Bookings: Book online

About the author

A past President of the Friends of the Library, Oliver is an alumnus of the University of Adelaide (BSc Hons 1964, PhD 1968), and most recently undertook a post-retirement BA in German and Italian 2008. After early career researcher positions at University of Edinburgh, Oliver returned to teach statistics at the Waite Agricultural Research Institute, until he was appointed head of the CSIRO Division of Animal Production in 1989 - a position that he held until his retirement in 2000. He is now Adjunct Professor of Biometry at University of Adelaide and is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, and was a Foreign Member of the Soviet Union's Academy of Agricultural Science

Oliver is a lover of books - collector, reader, and author or editor of about a dozen titles. As President of the Friends of the Library he was an instigator of the Friends Adopt a Book program for sponsorship of rare books in need of conservation and repair – the program is currently paused to cope with its success.