Albert von Nagyrapolt Szent-Györgyi (1893–1986) was a Hungarian-American biochemist. This 1937 Nobel laureate discovered ascorbic acid, later identified with vitamin C.
Born in Budapest, Hungary, Szent-Györgyi studied anatomy at the Semmelweis University in Budapest, getting his M.D. in 1917. He continued his studies in Hamburg, Groningen, and at Cambridge University, where he received his PhD in 1927. He became famous for his work on adrenal glands and the biological oxidation processes for the isolation of vitamin C.
Szent-Györgyi became a professor at Szeged University 1931–45, where he crystallized vitamin C, and consequently, vitamin B2 (riboflavin.) He also studied the biochemistry of muscle contraction and discovered the muscle protein actin. His work was extended by the biochemist Hans Krebs—it led to the explanation of the Krebs cycle. For his studies into “biological combustion processes,” Szent-Györgyi was awarded the 1937 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
In 1947, Szent-Györgyi immigrated to America and became director of the Institute for Muscle Research at the Marine Biological Station, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Szent-Györgyi was also known for his political activism—during World War II, he joined the Hungarian resistance movement. He spent 1944–45 as a fugitive from the Gestapo. In 1967, he refused to pay taxes in protest against the American war against Vietnam.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different
—Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Topics: Discovery
Knowledge is a sacred cow, and my problem will be how we can milk her while keeping clear of her horns.
—Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Topics: Knowledge
Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought.
—Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.
—Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
Topics: Discovery, Thinking
Wondering Whom to Read Next?
James D. Watson American Biologist
Barbara McClintock American Geneticist
Maurice Wilkins British Biophysicist
Georgia O’Keeffe American Painter
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Hungarian-American Psychologist
Rene Dubos French-American Microbiologist, Author
Charles Sanders Peirce American Philosopher
Freeman Dyson American Physicist, Author
Carol Dweck American Psychologist
Noam Chomsky American Linguist, Philosopher, Social Critic