Linus Pauling, the Greatest Chemist of the 20th Century

 

        Linus Carl Pauling, born February 28th, 1901, in Portland, Oregon, is widely considered one of the greatest (if not the greatest) chemist of the 20th century for his work across all fields of chemistry, ranging from biochemistry to quantum chemistry.

        Born to a line of Prussian farmers, Linus Pauling studied at Oregon State University, earning his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1922. However, Pauling’s interest in chemistry had begun long before then, as he was noted to have excelled in chemistry and mathematics throughout his school days, a proficiency for which he became notorious for throughout his community. His proficiency in chemistry was so impressive for that matter, that the Oregon State University appointed him a full-time teacher of quantitative analysis during his chemical engineering degree.

        He would then go on to earn his Ph.D in chemistry from California Institute of Technology, with minors in mathematics and physics. Pauling would then go on to be a highly prolific chemist, making important discoveries in various fields of chemistry and quantum mechanics, publishing the structure of the alpha-helix (a key structure of many proteins) and using quantum mechanics to describe chemical bonding. Finally, in addition to winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, he would win a Nobel Peace Prize for his activism against nuclear weapons testing, making him the only person to have won two unshared Nobel Prizes.

• Opeyemi J., 11th Grade