# Daniel Carleton Gajdusek

_American medical researcher_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/daniel-carleton-gajdusek
Last updated: 2026-11-09

> Daniel Carleton Gajdusek was an American physician, medical researcher, and convicted child sex offender, who was the co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 for work on the transmissibility of kuru, implying the existence of an infectious agent, which he named an 'unconventional virus'.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 9 September 1923 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Yonkers ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P19))
- **Died:** 12 December 2008 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P570))
- **Place of death:** Tromsø Municipality ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P20))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P27))
- **Occupation:** physician; virologist; biologist; anthropologist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P106))
- **Education:** University of Rochester; Harvard Medical School; California Institute of Technology; Walter Reed Army Medical Center ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P69))
- **Awards:** Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science; honorary doctorate of the University of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria; Bengt Winblad Lifetime Achievement Award in Alzheimer’s Disease Research; E. Mead Johnson Award; Silliman Memorial Lectures; Huxley Memorial Medal; honorary doctorate; honorary doctorate of the University of the Mediterranean - Aix Marseille II; honorary doctor of Comenius University ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576#P166))

## Questions

**When was Daniel Carleton Gajdusek born?**  
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek was born on 9 September 1923 in Yonkers.

**Where did Daniel Carleton Gajdusek study?**  
Daniel Carleton Gajdusek was educated at University of Rochester, Harvard Medical School, California Institute of Technology, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Daniel Carleton Gajdusek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Carleton_Gajdusek) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q108576](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q108576) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Daniel Carleton Gajdusek 2bw.jpg by Unknown author Unknown author (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Daniel_Carleton_Gajdusek_2bw.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Daniel Carleton Gajdusek 2bw.jpg — Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Daniel Carleton Gajdusek". DigiNepal. Last updated 9 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/daniel-carleton-gajdusek. Retrieved 14 November 2026.