n
n
n
nPostednon November 18, 2016
n
n
n
n
Younknow you’re going to earn yourself a Wikipedia page when you’ve won anNobel Prize! George Wald, born on this date in 1906, earned his Nobelnin Physiology / Medicine, along with two others.
Younknow you’re going to earn yourself a Wikipedia page when you’ve won anNobel Prize! George Wald, born on this date in 1906, earned his Nobelnin Physiology / Medicine, along with two others.n
n
n
nWaldnfigured out that Vitamin A was important to the retina, and he wasnable to measure the absorbance of different colors of light by bothnrods and cones.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nEvennthough he was born in New York City, George Wald was working with severalnGerman scientists, in Germany, when Adolf Hitler came to power. Waldndid the smart thing – as a Jew, Europe was suddenly much morendangerous for him! – and returned to the U.S. in 1933. n
n
n
n
nHenworked and taught at the University of Chicago and HarvardnUniversity; he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences andnwon several awards in addition to the Nobel Prize.
n
n
n
nButnI found it interesting that Wald spoke up often on political andnsocial issues. Because of his Nobel Prize, Wald had a certain amountnof fame; he utilized that fame to oppose the Vietnam War and thennuclear arms race. He also was one of the people who traveled to Irannduring the Iran hostage crisis.
n
n
n
nInn1986, Wald was invited to travel to Moscow by the government in ordernto advise Mikhail Gorbachev on the environment. But he took thenopportunity to speak up on behalf of two Soviet scientists and fellownNobel laureates who had been arrested and imprisoned in exile.nGorbachev denied any knowledge of the scientists’ plight – andnlater that year, the couple were released!
n
n
n
nInadmire scientists who broaden our base of knowledge. And I admirenpeople who leverage their fame to making life better for others.nSpeaking up to Gorbachev, especially, must have seemed risky, butnGeorge Wald was courageous enough to do so!
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAlsonon this date:
n
n
n
n
Time Zone Day
Time Zone Day
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPhotographynpioneer Louis Daguerre’s birthday
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPush-ButtonnPhone Day
n
n
n
n
n
nBeninFestivalnin Trinidad, Bolivia
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAnniversarynof William Tell shooting an apple off his son’s head
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nMickeynMouse’s birthday
n
n(or MickeynMouse Day)
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nFlagnDay in Uzbekistan
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nIndependencenDay in Morocco
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nNationalnDay in Latvia and Oman
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nGreatnAmerican Smokeout
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nPlannahead:
n
n
n
n
n
nPlannahead:
n
n
n
nChecknout my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
nNovembern holidays
n
-
nNovembern birthdays
n
-
nHistoricaln anniversaries in November
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
n
- n
-
n
-
n
-
nHistoricaln anniversaries in December
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
