Francis Fish was head of the department of dental prosthetics at the London Hospital dental school. He was born on 23 April 1912 in Plaistow, East London, the son of Francis Raymond Fish, a foreman at a disinfectant works, and Elizabeth Fish née How. Fish studied dentistry at the London Hospital and qualified in 1940. During the Second World War he served in the Army Dental Corps. He then spent a few years in private practice, before joining the London Hospital dental school in 1950 as a part-time assistant. In the same year he was appointed as a lecturer in the department of dental prosthetics, and in 1956 became head of the department. He appointed a scientist with experience in the properties of materials to his staff, which led to the development of the pioneering department of material science in dentistry. He became a professor in 1965 and retired in 1977. A key theme of his teaching to clinical students – and his research – was the importance of physiology and anatomy to dentistry. He also had a special interest in the dental problems of the elderly, which led to the establishment of a two-year MSc in gerodontics. In 1991 his book *The dental school of the London Hospital Medical College, 1911-1991: the story of London’s dental school* (London Hospital Dental Club, 1991) was published. In September 1940 he married Elizabeth Ruby Lunn (née Scott), an accomplished pianist and music teacher. They had two daughters. Predeceased by his wife, who died in 1992, Fish died on 4 September 1998 in Chippenham, Wiltshire. He was 86.