Linus Pauling was born in Portland, Oregon on February 25, 1901. Linus Pauling was a very important scientist in history. In the beginning of his career, he was criticized for using his own intuition and not basing his arguments with complete research and data.
Linus Pauling was influenced by many scientists and events during his life. When he was 4, his family moved to Condon, Oregon to be closer to his mother's family. Condon is very cold and windy during the winter and this is probably why Pauling always disliked very cold weather. His father died when Pauling was very young, so he had to work to provide for his mother and sisters and still go to school. He developed a strong work ethic that he carried throughout his life. Pauling was always very interested in World War II and was an anti-Nazi. Pauling developed armor piercing shells that were used in the war, but he always was worried about the development of atomic weapons and how they could destroy the world. He was offered a job on the Manhattan Project, but declined so that he could be with his family.
Pauling never finished high school, but attended Oregon Agricultural College which is now, Oregon State. He graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was so smart that he was asked to become an instructor. While he was teaching a class he met his future wife, Ava Helen Miller. During his last few years at school, he received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry and mathematical physics, summa cum laude, in 1925 from California Institute of Technology. A few years later he became an assistant professor in theoretical chemistry at the school which is now called Caltech.
Over the years Pauling's research helped him to accomplish many things. Pauling's passion became trying to answer the question of how did atoms bond together to form molecules. He was one of the first people to receive two unshared Nobel prizes which he won the first one in 1954 for Chemistry. He wrote many papers and books, one titled “The Nature of the Chemical Bond”. Later in his life he became very conscious of peace work. He was very active in speaking out against nuclear testing. This won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962.
Pauling spent his entire life and career in scientific research. He studied in the United States with famous professors and even studied in Europe with world famous scientists. He studied atoms and molecules. He published about 50 papers and created what is known as “Pauling's Rules”. He won many awards and distinctions in the chemistry society. He later began studying protein structure. Late in his career, Pauling proved smog pollution was from cars and not just from factories. He was instrumental in developing the electric car. The car was never a success because it was too slow and couldn't compete with gasoline powered cars.
John F. Kennedy was one of Pauling's contemporaries. Kennedy signed a Partial Test Ban Treaty which pleased Pauling. Another contemporary was Vannevar Bush. He asked Pauling to be assigned to a committee committed to medical science. A third contemporary, Emile Zuckerkandl, was one of Pauling's colleagues. He came up with the theory of a molecular evolutionary clock.
Pauling was diagnosed with a renal disease when he was 40. He began treatment based on vitamins and minerals. He also followed a low protein and salt-free diet. Because of this he began studying the effects of enzymes in brain functions. Towards the end of his life, he studied the effects of Vitamin C to prevent colds and that led to studies of vitamin C and cancer treatments. It was very controversial in 1970. Now research has proved that there is truth to what Pauling believed.
Pauling was a very important scientist and activist who could think ahead of his time. He died of prostate cancer on August 19, 1994 in Big Sur, California.
Works Cited
The Linus Pauling Papers. National Library of Medicine. Bethesda: U.S. National Library of Medicine, N/A.
"Linus Pauling, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1954." Nobel Lectures (1964). 20 Feb. 2008 .
"Linus Pauling." Wikipedia. 20 Feb. 2008 .
Thompson, Gail, and R. A. Viruleg. "Linus Pauling, a Biography." 1992. 17 Feb. 2008 .
