Professor David Chivers
1944-2026
Murray Edwards College is extremely saddened to hear of the death of David Chivers (1944-2026) whose work at the College included time as both Director of Studies and Supervisor.
Dr Frances Henson, now a Fellow and Director of Studies in Veterinary Medicine herself, joined Murray Edwards College as an undergraduate student in 1985. Fran comments:
"David Chivers was DoS of Veterinary Medicine at New Hall/Murray Edwards for many years and an inspirational supervisor of veterinary anatomy in both first and second years. He will forever be remembered for his smoke filled office, the twinkle in his eye and his legendary Gibbon calls. My personal memories of David are of his unquestioning support for my desire, as an undergraduate, to switch from Natural Sciences to Veterinary Medicine and, without him, my whole career (and indeed life) would have been very different. He will be sorely missed but never forgotten."
David Bainbridge, Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience (PDN), writes:
"David was a longtime member of the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, and its predecessor, the Department of Anatomy.
Those of you who 'overlapped' with him will remember him as a unique, intelligent and irrepressible character - some might say "force" - within the world of Cambridge biology.
Unusually for our Department(s), David was a primatologist at heart, and immensely influential in the world of primate conservation. Having studied preclinical Veterinary Medicine, he started a PhD in Physical Anthropology in the late 1960s, focusing on the biology of the siamang in Malaysia. This led to his lifelong obsession with linking a scientific understanding of primates' physiology and ecology to strategies for conserving them. David was instrumental in defining the essential role of habitat conservation in species conservation.
I was particularly struck by David's scientific and conservation influence at the Festschrift conference held in PDN when he retired. He supervised over fifty PhD students during his career, and many of those have progressed to make important scientific discoveries, or have risen to high office with direct influence over many countries' conservation policies. All very appropriate for someone born in the Buckinghamshire village of Marsh Gibbon.
His teaching in the Department was focused in what was then the 'Sub-Department' of Veterinary Anatomy. He contributed enormously to the 'Cambridge approach' to comparative anatomy - emphasising the causes and effects of interspecies variations, how creature's structures relate to their physiological ecology, and taking great joy in showing that the textbooks are sometimes wrong. David was longtime director of studies and tutor at his beloved Selwyn, and was a fierce defender of students' interests and the value of a Cambridge education.
I cannot help but mention my own interactions with this amazing man. He was my anatomy supervisor for two years in the mid-eighties and, well, much discussion, enquiry and hilarity ensued. I still remember the acrid pipe smoke which permeated his office, and his distinctive scientific draughtsmanship. Bright and insightful as anyone you'll ever meet, and with a unique way of dealing with the world, he was, most of all, extremely kind and thoughtful about others. I still remember how supportive he was when I myself came to work in Veterinary Anatomy.
People are often called unique, but as anyone who knew him will attest, David was more unique than anyone else. We have lost a great and kind mind, but the world has many more primates in it because of him."