Francis Arthur Bainbridge (1874-1921) FRS FRCP Physiologist, Professor of Physiology at the College of Medicine in Newcastle 1911-1915. Researched and taught at The Physiological Laboratory close to this site. His discovery that increased venous return directly elevates heart rate laid the foundations for our understanding of how starch-sensitive mechanisms regulate cardiac function. Hew was an early proponent of the study of exercise physiology.