[1][2] Born in Dublin, the youngest son of Henry Horatio Dixon, he was interested in science from a young age; his discovery of an optical illusion arising from binocular vision was described by his father in Nature Magazine[3] when he was only nine years old.

[4] In 1953 he was elected to a Life Fellowship at King's,[4] where he remained for the whole of his academic career, holding the positions of Financial Tutor (1956–1959), Director of Studies in Natural Sciences (1961–1981), Vice Provost (1981–1986) and Praelector (1989–1992), as well as co-editor of the College Register.

[1][5] He was secretary of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry from 1977 to 1982[5] and chairman[1] from 1983 to 1988,[5] and after his retirement remained an advisory member.

[7] His interests included the pH-dependence of enzyme-catalysed reactions,[8][9][10] arsenic biochemistry,[11][12] protein modification[13] and other aspects of enzymology.

His particular interest in applications of methods from organic chemistry to biochemistry[2] led to a proposed treatment for Wilson's disease.