Claim profile

Linus Pauling

American scientist (1901–1994)

  • Fame70.1
  • Momentum1.8
  • Scientists rank#80
Source-basedFalling
  • Fame70.1
  • Momentum1.8
  • Scientists rank#80
  • Wikipedia35.9K
Lived 1901–1994, aged 93United States
United StatesUnited StatesScientistsScientist
  • Wikipedia
    98 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1901–1994
    Aged 93
  • Awards
    33
    recognised works
Summary
Updated 2026-09-07

The only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes — one for mapping the chemical bond, one for trying to stop the bomb. A founder of quantum chemistry and molecular biology whose late-career vitamin crusade the scientific mainstream never bought.

Biography

About

Born February 28, 1901, Pauling laid the groundwork for quantum chemistry and molecular biology, devising orbital hybridization and the first reliable electronegativity scale. His work on protein structure revealed the alpha helix and beta sheet, insights that steered Watson, Crick, Franklin, and Wilkins toward cracking DNA. In 1954 he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Then he pivoted: he spent years campaigning for nuclear disarmament, earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. Later he championed megavitamin therapy and orthomolecular medicine — claims about ascorbic acid that mainstream science…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Linus Pauling

Linus Pauling
said
As far as women are concerned, I am old-fashioned enough to like the idea of a woman's managing the household. This is an important activity.
— A Lifelong Quest for Peace (1992) by Linus Pauling and Daisaku Ikeda
Linus Pauling
said
I realized that more and more I was saying, "It seems to me that we have come to the time war ought to be given up.
— Interview at Big Sur, California (11 November 1990).
Linus Pauling
said
I've been asked from time to time, "How does it happen that you have made so many discoveries?
— Interview at Big Sur, California (11 November 1990).
Linus Pauling
said
The only sane policy for the world is that of abolishing war.
— Nobel Lecture for The Nobel Peace Prize 1962 (11 December 1963).
Linus Pauling
said
Science cannot be stopped. Man will gather knowledge no matter what the consequences – and we cannot predict what they will be.
— Lecture at Yale University, "Chemical Achievement and Hope for the Future." (October 1947) Published in Science in Progress. Sixth Series.
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Falling
70.1
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum1.8
Historical25.3
Now attention10.2
Source confidence65.0
Completeness75.0
Global rank
—
Country rank
—
Category rank
#80
Receipts

Sources