It is an incredible coincidence, but exactly today five Nobel laureates in medicine and physiology, one in physics and one Nobel Peace Prize winner were born.
German microbiologist Gerhard Domagk was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1939 for his discovery of the antibacterial properties of sulfonamides. But he did not receive it – instead of appearing before the Nobel Committee, he was locked up for a week by the Gestapo.
The fate of the other Nobel laureates is less dramatic. These are:
• American physician Dickinson Woodruff Richards (Dickinson W. Richards) – award in 1956 for his discoveries in the field of cardiology (born 1895),
• Swedish neurologist Ragnar Granit (Ragnar Granit) – awarded in 1967 (born 1900),
• American biologist Daniel Nathans, winner in 1978 (born 1928), and
• Leland H. Hartwell (1939) – in 2001
Theodor W. Hänsch, the 2005 Nobel Laureate in Physics for his “contributions to the development of precision laser spectroscopy, including the creation of the optical quantum synthesizer,” was also born today.
Born on October 30, he is also a Nobel Peace Prize winner – Henri Dunant – a Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the International Red Cross.
Why are so many geniuses born on this day? Probably the one who understands this can get the Nobel Prize. Of course – for medicine and physiology.
