John Charles Polanyi was born in 1929 in Berlin, Germany, of Hungarian parents, Michael and Magda Elizabeth Polanyi. The family moved to England in 1933 where he received his education. His University training was at Manchester University, where he obtained his B.Sc. in 1949, and his Ph.D. in 1952. From 1952-1954, he was a Postdoctoral…

I was born on September 30, 1943 in Zusamaltheim, Bavaria, now Federal Republic of Germany, as the first son of Thekla and Johann Deisenhofer. After my father’s return from military service my parents ran the family farm. In 1948, our family grew to its final size with the birth of my only sister, Antonie. My…

I was born in Ludwigsburg, Württemberg, in the southwestern part of the Federal Republic of Germany on July 18, 1948, as the elder son of Karl and Frieda Michel. My ancestors lived in that area for generations, mainly as farmers. There the inherited land is equally divided among sisters and brothers, and not enough land…

Adolf Windaus was born in Berlin on December 25, 1876, the son of Adolf Windaus and Margarete Elster. His ancestors had for generations mostly been artisans (from his father’s side, drapery manufacturers). After attending the renowned “Französisches Gymnasium” (French grammar school) in Berlin, where his interests were mainly focussed on literature, he took up medicine…

I was born in New York on June 30, 1926 and my formative years were spent in a small, gated community named Sea Gate, at the southernmost tip of Brooklyn. By the time I reached Jr. high school I had already formed a strong ambition to be a scientist, in part stimulated by my readings…

Otto Hahn was born on 8th March, 1879, at Frankfurt-on-Main. He attended the secondary high school there until he matriculated. From 1897 Hahn studied chemistry at Marburg and Munich, taking his doctorate examination in 1901 at Marburg and submitting to Professor Theodor Zincke a thesis on organic chemistry. He obtained a post as assistant in…

Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood was born in London on June 19, 1897. He was educated at Westminster City School and Oxford University where he gained Master of Arts and Doctor of Science degrees. He held successive fellowships at Balliol, Trinity, and Exeter Colleges; he was tutor of Trinity College from 1921 to 1937 and since…

I was born on March 21, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts. My father, Richard V. Gilbert, an economist, was at that time at Harvard University. He worked for the Office of Price Administration during the second World War and later headed up a planning group advising the Pakistani government. My mother, Emma Cohen, was a child…

Nikolai Nikolaevic Semenov was born in Saratov on April 3, 1896. He graduated from Petrograd University in 1917 and in 1920 he took charge of the electron phenomena laboratory of the Leningrad Physico-Technical Institute. He lectured at the Polytechnical Institute and was appointed Professor in 1928. In 1931, he became Director of the Institute of…

Jaroslav Heyrovsky was born in Prague on 20th December, 1890, the fifth child of Leopold Heyrovsky, Professor of Roman Law at the Czech University of Prague, and his wife Clara, née Hanl. He obtained his early education at secondary school till 1909 when he began his study of chemistry, physics and mathematics at the Czech…