David Curtis FRS FAA died in December 2017, aged 90. David is famous for his development and application of the technique of multi-barrelled microelectrophoresis for recording activity from identified central neurones in vivo. Thus he was able to eject a range of compounds into the locality of single neurones. He combined this with activation of synaptic inputs either electrically or by application of other compounds. David, with his chemist colleagues, Jeff Watkins and Graham Johnston, demonstrated the excitatory and inhibitory effects of amino acids on single neurones. They developed the pharmacology of glutamate, GABA and glycine receptors along with novel agonists and antagonists. This provided the core evidence for establishing the role of these amino acids as synaptic transmitters in the mammalian CNS. David became the Howard Florey Professor of Medical Research and Director at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University. David was elected to Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science in 1965, becoming its President in 1986-90, and to Fellowship of the Royal Society in 1974.