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Linus
Pauling was one of the most influential and controversial
figures of the twentieth century. He is the only individual to date
to receive two unshared Nobel Prizes. With a life and career that
spanned almost the entire twentieth century, Pauling impacted science,
politics, activism, and nutrition. The British journal, New Scientist
included him in their list of the 20 greatest scientists of all
time, along with Galileo, Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton. The only
other individual selected from the twentieth century was Albert
Einstein.
Considered
to be the most influential chemist since the 18th century founder
of chemistry, Lavoisier, Linus Pauling applied quantum physics
to chemistry and his discoveries affected the work of all chemists
to follow. Pauling is considered the father of molecular biology,
which provided the base for studies in biotechnology. In 1954
Pauling received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work on
the nature of the chemical bond. |
