John Sprent was born on 23 July 1915. He was educated at Shrewsbury School in the United Kingdom and the University of London. Sprent was Professor of Parasitology at the University of Queensland from 1956 to 1983; he established and held the Chair of the Department of Parasitology; he was Emeritus Professor of the University of Queensland from 1983. He had an international reputation in the field of parasitology and received many awards and medals from the scientific community. He was a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science from 1974 to 1977. Sprent was international recognized by parasitologists and made a huge contribution as Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Parasitology. He died on 1 November 2010.