Heinz Stammberger was director of otorhinolaryngology, head and neck surgery at the University Medical School in Graz, Austria. He was born on 1 December 1946 in Germany, the son of Otto and Maria Stammberger. He was the eldest child with two younger sisters, and he remained close to them and their children throughout his life. His father moved the family from Michelau to Cologne in 1947 and in 1966 Heinz graduated from high school or gymnasium in Cologne-Nippes. Heinz subsequently attended medical school in Graz, Austria, where he qualified as a dr medicinae universae in November 1973, following which he worked for a year at the General Hospital in Villach, Austria. He then moved to the University Medical School in Graz, where he trained under Walter Messerklinger, who had a long-established interest in the detailed anatomy and pathways of mucus movement through the nose and sinuses (mucociliary clearance), which he observed with the microscope and the recently available rigid endoscope in vivo and post-mortem specimens. These studies were filmed, largely with the assistance of Heinz in the role of cameraman. Heinz completed his ENT training in Graz and, in 1988, was appointed as a professor and director of the department of general otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, but his main area of interest was the development and application of functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), based on Messerklinger’s work. This was initially used in the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis, focusing the surgery on the anatomical areas where the disease likely originated and which had hitherto been difficult to access using conventional headlight illumination and large instrumentation. Heinz was not only an impressive and innovative surgeon, but also a wonderful linguist, whose command of English was extraordinary. This led to him being sent early in his career by Messerklinger to receive a prize on his behalf in the USA and to deliver the acceptance speech, where his eloquent description of the possibilities of endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) created considerable interest. The use of the endoscope and associated instrumentation completely transformed surgical approaches in this area and led to a rise of enthusiasm for rhinology, as a sub-specialty of ENT. FESS was rapidly adopted throughout the world, replacing most previous procedures but, in common with endoscopic surgery elsewhere in the body, also had the potential for significant complications, so hands-on teaching courses proliferated, starting in 1986 in Graz, where Heinz held endoscopic sinus courses twice a year (in German and English), resulting in over 3,000 doctors visiting the department. ESS, combined with technological advances in equipment, was rapidly extended to a wide range of other pathologies in the nose, sinuses, orbit and skull base, with Heinz at the vanguard of these developments. In 1989 he was a founder member of the Society of Minimally Invasive Therapy, covering all forms of endoscopic surgery and he developed the concept of ‘rhino-neuro-endoscopy’, heralding a breaking down of barriers between these two historically separate surgical specialties of rhino- and neurosurgery. Heinz’s enthusiasm and teaching abilities led to an explosion of international ESS courses, lectures and conferences. At a conservative estimate, he was a major contributor to over 600 courses, as well as a guest of honour and invited speaker at innumerable international meetings including the Royal Society of Medicine and British Academic Conference in Otolaryngology. He was president of the combined European Rhinologic Society/International Rhinology Society/International Symposium of Inflammation and Allergy of the Nose biennial conference in 1998 and president of the Austrian Otorhinolaryngological Society from 2000 to 2001. He was a six-time recipient of the scientific award of the Austrian ENT Society from 1983 onwards and received multiple awards and honorary memberships from international ENT and rhinology societies including the Dutch, German, Hungarian, Polish, Spanish, South African otorhinolaryngological societies. Notably he was an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and of Edinburgh and of the American College of Surgeons. Other prizes included the award of merit in 1996 from the European Rhinologic Society, the Holmgren lectureship in Sweden and the Golden Head Mirror award from the American Rhinologic Society. He contributed widely to the literature with hundreds of scientific papers, chapters and books. *Functional endoscopic sinus surgery: the Messerklinger technique* (Philadelphia, B C Decker), which he published in 1991, was the first comprehensive text in this area. It became the global ‘bible’ on the topic and was awarded the George Davey Howell prize from the University of London in 1994. This and his subsequent atlases on endoscopic sinonasal and skull base anatomy and imaging were translated into a number of European languages. He was also a regular contributor to a range of landmark consensus documents on sinonasal terminology, rhinosinusitis and sinonasal and skull base tumours. Heinz was a genuine polymath and a man of many talents – he was interested in everything from prehistoric rock art and archaeology to all aspects of the natural world, from geology to gastronomy, from philosophy to photography, from diving to deserts. He retired in September 2012, but continued to pursue his great loves of travel, archaeology and photography. I first met Heinz in the early 1980s and he and his wonderfully supportive wife, Doloris became close friends due to our wide range of shared interests, both professional and social. We attended many meetings together and he was the perfect travelling companion in far-flung parts of the world, displaying a wonderfully subtle sense of humour when things did not always go according to plan. Sadly, and unexpectedly, he died on 9 December 2018. In 2019 the Heinz Stammberger award was created as an annual tribute by the Middle East Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. He also leaves behind the Tarabichi Stammberger Ear and Sinus Institute in Dubai, dedicated to teaching and research in the field of endoscopic ear and sinus surgery. Heinz was a great doctor, surgeon, teacher, innovator and above all a great friend. He inspired rhinologists worldwide for over 30 years and through them and his own clinical practice touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of patients. His is a unique legacy.