Linus Pauling Dies: Only Dual Unshared Nobel Winner

Linus Pauling won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1954 for his work on chemical bonding, specifically his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of complex substances. His 1939 book The Nature of the Chemical Bond is considered one of the most influential scientific texts of the twentieth century. Then he started campaigning against nuclear weapons testing, collecting signatures from over eleven thousand scientists for a petition presented to the United Nations. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962, making him the only person ever to win two unshared Nobel Prizes. The Chemistry Prize was unshared. The Peace Prize was unshared. No one else in history has accomplished this. His activism cost him professionally: the State Department revoked his passport in the 1950s during the McCarthy era, and Caltech colleagues distanced themselves from his politics even as they respected his science. In his later years he became convinced that high doses of Vitamin C could cure cancer and prevent colds. He published two books on the subject and took eighteen thousand milligrams a day, roughly two hundred times the recommended daily allowance. The scientific consensus disagreed with his claims, and controlled studies failed to support his theories. He died at ninety-three of prostate cancer on August 19, 1994, at his ranch in Big Sur, California. The Vitamin C debate outlived him. His scientific contributions to structural chemistry, molecular biology, and the understanding of sickle cell disease as a molecular disorder remain foundational. His career demonstrated that a single mind could reshape multiple scientific fields while simultaneously engaging in political activism that changed international policy.