Birmingham is a city full of talent and it’s not just the arts and sports but also great scientists and social scientists who have links to the city.
There have been several Nobel Prize winners with connections to Birmingham. From physicists to peace prize winners - they have had significant impact on humanity. Ten of the 11 Nobel prize winners from Birmingham are also linked to the University of Birmingham.
The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards given to individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature, economic sciences and peace. The awards were established by the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel in his will in 1895 and have been presented since 1901.
The event takes place in Sweden each year and this year’s announce Nobel Prize announcements will take place 2–9 October. The award ceremony will take place in December.
Here are the 11 Nobel Prize winners who have links to Birmingham:
5. Maurice Wilkins
Maurice Hugh Frederick Wilkins CBE, FRS 1916–2004. Awarded the Nobel Prize (jointly) in Physiology or Medicine 1962. A research assistant at Birmingham, he obtained a PhD in Physics in 1940 He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1959 and received a CBE in 1962 He was awarded a DSc in Physics from Birmingham in 1992. | Getty
6. Sir John Vane
Sir John Robert Vane FRS 1927–2004. Awarded (jointly) the Nobel Prize for Medicine 1982. Graduated from Birmingham in 1947 with a BSc in Chemistry and moved to Oxford to study Pharmacology and obtain a DPhil; he was awarded a DSc in Chemistry in 1984 Knighted for his contribution to science (Photo - Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license) | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
7. Sir Paul Nurse
Sir Paul Maxime Nurse FRS 1949–present. Awarded (jointly) the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 2001. Graduated from Birmingham in 1970 with a BSc in Biology Groundbreaking researcher Known for his work on cell cycle regulation, Sir Paul Nurse – Received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his seminal discoveries at the molecular level of cell cycles. (Photo - Getty Images) | Getty Images
8. Malala Yousafzai
Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 for her fight for the right of every child to receive an education. She was born in the Swat Valley in Pakistan and lives in Birmingham since moving to the UK. (Photo by Kate Green/Getty Images for BoF) | Getty Images for BoF