Hilary Owen Meredith King

Hilary King, who died suddenly aged 58, was an internationally renowned epidemiologist specialising in diabetes. He was born in Leeds, England, on 31 July 1949, the son of an English father and a Welsh mother.

From a very early age, Hilary showed a passion for science and nature. Even while still a schoolboy, he had already experimented with quite complex photographic techniques to document his discoveries in the natural world and learnt the Latin names for the animals that he found. During his teens he became an accomplished ornithologist and studied falconry, and his independent spirit led him to spend long periods of time in remote places such as the island of St Kilda, and to trek across Africa and South America as a member of various scientific and adventurous expeditions. He was self sufficient and not afraid of his own company. Later, his artistic talent for photography …