10 Nobel Prizes That Have Had Great Influence in World History

(Baonghean.vn) - Three American scientists have just received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Around the world, many individuals and organizations have received Nobel Prizes in various fields. Below are 10 Nobel Prizes that have had a great influence in world history.

1. Marie Curie: Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 and Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911

Marie Curie was the first and only woman in the world to receive the Nobel Prize twice in two different fields. In 1903, Pierre and Marie Curie shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with French physicist Henri Becquerel. Becquerel was awarded the prize for his discovery of natural radioactivity, while the Curies were recognized for their research on radioactivity discovered by Becquerel. In 1911, Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her discovery of the elements radium and polonium.

2. Albert Einstein: Nobel Prize in Physics 1921

Albert Einstein was the greatest scientist of the 20th century, winning the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 for his discovery of the photoelectric effect. This is the phenomenon of electrons being ejected from a piece of metal that is illuminated. Normally, electrons orbit around the nucleus of an atom. When “collided” with light of the right frequency, the electron will absorb the energy of the photon and then eject from the metal atom. Einstein’s discovery paved the way for a series of fields such as radio, television, etc., laying the foundation for modern physics.

3. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1904

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a Russian physiologist, psychologist, and physician who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1904 for his extensive research on the digestive system. He studied the functions of dogs' stomachs by observing the animals secreting gastric juice, then analyzed their gastric juice and reflexes under various conditions. The results showed that dogs secreted more gastric juice whenever there was food. This was the premise for Pavlov to propose the law of conditioned reflexes.

4. Alexander Fleming: Nobel Prize in Medicine 1945

Alexander Fleming was a Scottish scientist who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1945 for his discovery of penicillin, an antibiotic. This historic discovery changed medicine forever because antibiotics could cure many dangerous diseases and save many lives.

5. International Committee of the Red Cross: Nobel Peace Prize 1917, 1944 and 1963

The International Committee of the Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, headquartered in Geneva. The International Committee of the Red Cross was founded in 1863 with the aim of providing humanitarian assistance to people affected by armed violence and promoting legislation to protect victims of war and natural disasters. The organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1917, 1944 and 1963.

6. Mother Teresa: Nobel Peace Prize 1979

Agnes Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, also known as Mother Teresa of Calcutta, was an Albanian Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950. For about 40 years, she cared for the poor, the sick, and orphans and carried out missionary work in India and many other countries. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and continued her work thereafter. She died in 1979 and was beatified by the Pope.

7. Martin Luther King: Nobel Peace Prize 1964

Martin Luther King was a famous African-American civil rights activist, one of the most influential leaders in American history as well as contemporary world history, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King is admired by many people around the world as a hero, peacemaker and martyr. He led movements to fight for equality for people of color, factory workers and many other subjects in society.

8. Stefan Hell: Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014

In 2014, Stefan Hell, a German-Romanian physicist, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his invention of “super-resolution fluorescence microscopy.” Little did he know that his discovery would overturn a fundamental law of physics and drive scientists crazy trying to explain it again.

9. Elizabeth Blackburn: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2009

In 2009, Australian-American scientist Elizabeth Blackburn won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of how chromosomes are protected by the enzymes telomeres and telomerase. Elizabeth discovered telomeres while studying Tetrahymena, a single-celled organism that lives in pond scum. These tiny creatures helped scientists figure out how molecules called telomeres, which cluster on the ends of chromosomes, enable them to divide without deteriorating. Understanding how telomeres protect cells could be the key to slowing down cellular aging.

10. Svetlana Alexievich: Nobel Prize in Literature 2015

Svetlana Alexievich is a Ukrainian writer. Alexievich grew up in Belarus, where both her parents were teachers. She studied journalism at Minsk University from 1967 to 1972. After graduating, she worked as a journalist on the Polish border before moving to the capital Minsk to work. During her career as a journalist, she interviewed thousands of witnesses to some of the most shocking events in the Soviet Union, including World War II, the Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989), the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991) and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster (1985). Her works are considered to be literary and emotional chronicles of Soviet history and people.

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