Happy Birthday Linus Pauling
February 28th marks the birthday of one of our heroes: genius two time Nobel Prize winning scientist and humanitarian, Linus Pauling. He dedicated his life to service for all humanity through his research on sickle cell anemia, chemical bonds, vitamin C, and his social activism.
A passionate revolutionary, Pauling openly campaigned against nuclear proliferation, presenting a petition with 9,235 signatures from scientists and scholars calling for a ban on nuclear testing. This drew such ire that he was refused a passport and called before a congressional committee to testify on his activities. Vindicated, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize two years later, on the same day that the United Nations Nuclear Test Ban Treaty went into effect.
Following his Nobel Prizes, Pauling grew interested in the effects of Vitamin C on the heart. He founded the Institute of Orthomolecular Medicine (later renamed the Linus Pauling Institute) to continue his research. His experiments helped hundreds of people directly and countless more through his influence in the medical community. Our very own Heart Plus formula is based on his research.
Oregon State University has a published archive full of Linus Pauling photograph, manuscripts and videos.
Here’s a video of his discovery of the alpha-helix dna structure.
Oregon Public Broadcast has published this documentary on the extraordinary life of Linus Pauling. Thank you OPB and OSU for keeping his memory alive.
Happy Birthday Linus Pauling!