Inspirational Quotations by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi (Hungarian-American Biochemist)

Albert von Nagyrapolt Szent-Györgyi (1893–1986) was an Hungarian-American biochemist. This 1937 Nobel Prize laureate in physiology or medicine discovered ascorbic acid, later identified with vitamin C.

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Szent-Györgyi studied anatomy at the Semmelweis University in Budapest, getting his MD in 1917. He continued his studies in Hamburg, Groningen, and at Cambridge University where he received his Ph.D. in 1927. He became famous for his work on adrenal glands and the biological oxidation processes for the isolation of vitamin C.

Szent-Györgyi became professor at Szeged University 1931–45, where he crystallized vitamin C, and consequently, vitamin B2 (riboflavin.) He also studied the biochemistry of muscle contraction and discovered the muscle protein actin. His work was extended by the biochemist Hans Krebs—it led to the explanation of the Krebs cycle. For his studies into “biological combustion processes,” Szent-Györgyi was awarded the 1937 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

In 1947, Szent-Györgyi immigrated to America and became director of the Institute for Muscle Research at the Marine Biological Station, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

Szent-Györgyi was also known for his political activism—during World War II, he joined the Hungarian resistance movement. He spent 1944 to 1945 as a fugitive from the Gestapo. In 1967, he refused to pay taxes in protest against the American war against Vietnam.

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