When was Linus Pauling born?

Linus Pauling was born on 28 February 1901 in Portland.

What positions has Linus Pauling held?

Positions held by Linus Pauling include: professor (1969–1974).

Where did Linus Pauling study?

Linus Pauling was educated at California Institute of Technology, Oregon State University.

Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0

Suggest a better photo · Report

Linus Pauling

American scientist (1901–1994)

नेपालीमा पढ्नुहोस् · हिंदी में पढ़ें

नेपाली · English · हिंदीRead in your language
CitedEvery fact sourced
Ad-freeNo ads, no tracking

Linus Carl Pauling ( PAW-ling; February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American chemist and peace activist. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. Scientific American called him one of the 20 greatest scientists of all time. For his scientific work, Pauling was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954. For his peace activism, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. He is one of five people to have won more than one Nobel Prize. Of these, he is the only person to have been awarded two unshared Nobel Prizes, and one of two people to be awarded Nobel Prizes in different fields, the other being Marie Curie.

Quick facts

Born: 28 February 1901 wd
Place of birth: Portland wd
Died: 19 August 1994 wd
Place of death: Big Sur wd
Citizenship: United States wd
Occupation: chemist, physicist, Esperantist, university teacher, biochemist, peace activist wd
Education: California Institute of Technology, Oregon State University wd
Spouse: Ava Helen Pauling wd
Official website: scarc.library.oregonstate.edu/digitalresources/pauling wd

Positions held wd

professor (1969–1974)

Awards wd

Guggenheim Fellowship (1926)
ACS Award in Pure Chemistry (1931)
Irving Langmuir Award in Chemical Physics (1931)
William H. Nichols Medal (1941)
Silliman Memorial Lectures (1947)
Willard Gibbs Award (1946)
Davy Medal (1947)
Liversidge Award (1948)
Foreign Member of the Royal Society (1948)
doctor honoris causa from the University of Paris (1948)
Medal for Merit (1948)
honorary doctor of the University of Toulouse (1949)
Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1954)
honorary doctorate of the University of Montpellier (1958)
Humanist of the Year (1961)

About

Pauling was one of the founders of the fields of quantum chemistry and molecular biology. His contributions to the theory of the chemical bond include the concept of orbital hybridisation and the first accurate scale of electronegativities of the elements. Pauling also worked on the structures of biological molecules, and showed the importance of the alpha helix and beta sheet in protein secondary structure. Pauling's approach combined methods and results from X-ray crystallography, molecular model building, and quantum chemistry. His discoveries inspired the work of James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins on the structure of DNA, which in turn made it possible for geneticists to crack the DNA code of all organisms.

In his later years, he promoted nuclear disarmament, as well as orthomolecular medicine, megavitamin therapy, and dietary supplements, especially ascorbic acid (commonly known as Vitamin C). None of his ideas concerning the medical usefulness of large doses of vitamins have gained much acceptance in the mainstream scientific community. He was married to the American human rights activist Ava Helen Pauling.

Questions

When was Linus Pauling born?: Linus Pauling was born on 28 February 1901 in Portland.
What positions has Linus Pauling held?: Positions held by Linus Pauling include: professor (1969–1974).
Where did Linus Pauling study?: Linus Pauling was educated at California Institute of Technology, Oregon State University.

Sources

Last updated 31 October 2026 · facts checked 3 November 2026

Cite this page

"Linus Pauling". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/linus-pauling. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Machine-readable versions: JSON · Markdown

Text from the Wikipedia article Linus Pauling, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Linus Pauling in the 1940s.jpg — Unknown author Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0.

Is this you, or do you work in this person's office? Claim this profile