Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad on 16 September 1901, Emmanuel Ciprian Amoroso was the third oldest of twelve children. He came from an exemplary Roman Catholic family. His father, Thomas Amoroso, had been a book-keeper on an estate in Trinidad and later owned estates of his own, until a slump in the cocoa market caused many estates to fail. Thomas Amoroso then returned to book-keeping. Thomas' wife, Juliana Centeno, was of Venezuelan (Spanish) descent, a small charismatic woman to whom Amo, as he became known, was deeply devoted. He was educated at St Thomas's Preparatory School and St Mary's College, Trinidad. He had to leave school early because of a severe attack of typhoid fever that temporarily affected his vision and although one eye recovered, the other was permanently damaged. Amo enrolled in University College of the National University of Ireland in 1921. He was awarded 1st class honours and came first in all of the examinations in science and medicine. He graduated BSc with honours in anatomy in 1926 and MB BCh BAO cum laude, in 1929. After resident appointments at Jervis Street Hospital, Dublin, he was awarded a travelling studentship for his thesis entitled *Myelination of the cranial nerves of the pig* and he went to the Albert-Ludwigs University in Freiburg and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institut für Zellforschung in Berlin, where he learned histological techniques and tissue culture methods under Professors Trendelenberg, Krause and Erdmann. In 1933 he became demonstrator in histology and embryology at University College, London and he was awarded his PhD in 1934 for his work *Observations on the development of the urogenital system of the rabbit, with special reference to the development of the Müllerian ducts*. He became senior assistant in charge of histology and embryology at the Royal Veterinary College, Camden Town in October 1934, but his first years there were not happy as his intelligence, commanding presence and brilliance as a teacher aroused great envy among his colleagues. In 1936 he married but his wife left him soon afterwards and, because of his beliefs he could not divorce her. On the outbreak of war in 1939, the Royal Veterinary College was evacuated to the University of Reading and Amo had a Nissen hut as his laboratory. He took 'digs' with Mrs Howes, the housekeeper at the University Halls. Mrs Howes' husband had died in 1934 leaving her with three children and Amo became a second father to them. One of the girls, May, was later to type his work for him and Kay, her sister, was his lifelong friend and confidante. When the Royal Veterinary College returned to London after the war, his research career flourished. He had collaborated with A E Barclay, K J Franklin and M L Prichard in their studies on the foetal circulation, during the war years, and with S J Folley, FRS, and A S Parkes, FRS, at Reading and Mill Hill. In 1947 he became a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London and in 1948, Professor of Physiology in the Royal Veterinary College, a post he held until his retirement in 1968. He was a founder member of the Society of Endocrinology and was later treasurer and Chairman from 1961 to 1966. During his chairmanship, the Society was host to the Second International Congress of Endocrinology, in London in 1964, and his great organising ability led to his election to the Chairmanship of the Executive Committee of the International Society of Endocrinology from 1964 to 1967, in preparation for the Congress later held in Washington, DC. His greatest scientific achievement was the publication in 1952, of his masterly article on placentation in Marshall's *Physiology of reproduction*. It was this publication that made his international reputation and led to his election as Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1957. He was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in England in 1960 and became Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1965, of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1966, and of the Royal College of Pathologists in 1973. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons made him an honorary associate in 1959. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Biology in 1957, of the Royal Veterinary College in 1969, and of University College, London in 1970. He was awarded an honorary DSc, National University of Ireland, at a ceremony in Dublin Castle in 1963, on the occasion when one of the other recipients was John Fitzgerald Kennedy, President of the United States of America. He was made honorary DSc by the University of Illinois 1967, the University of Nottingham 1970, the University of the West Indies 1971 and the University of Guelph, Ontario, in 1976. An honorary Doctorate of Veterinary Science was conferred by the University of Chile in 1966. 'Amo' was a big man in every way, physically, and intellectually, he was head and shoulders above his companions, but dominating all was his great sense of fun, he enjoyed life to the full. His sense of humour was exemplified by an account of an invitation to dinner with a rich widow in New York, with Professors Wislocki and Dempsey, two anatomists who hoped to obtain funds for their research. The lady was carving a turkey when she asked Amo which type of meat he liked. His reply 'breast please' shocked her and she gently advised him that one should refer to white meat or dark meat. On the eve of his return to England, he sent the lady a beautiful orchid, expressing the hope that she would pin it to her white meat in honour of the occasion. He died on 30 October 1982 and a memorial Mass was held at the church of St Anselm and St Cecilia in London. Lord Zuckerman, OM KCB FRS, representing the Duke of Edinburgh, Patron of the Royal Veterinary College, delivered the memorial address.