The son of a pharmacist from Portland, Oregon, Dr. Linus Pauling is arguably the most passionate humanitarian and prolific scientist of the 21st century. Awarded three Nobel prizes (two of them, Chemistry, 1954 and Peace, 1962, were undivided), Pauling was a gifted teacher who had a talent for simplification.

 
Dr. Pauling's first Nobel Prize came in 1950 with his work on the structure and bonding of molecules. In 1950 he constructed the first satisfactory model of a protein molecule. This discovery opened the door to understanding the living cell. Though Dr. Pauling applied the next 20 years of his peerless research and intuitive energy to better understanding the nature of cells and how to keep them healthy, his work is largely unknown today.

After WWII Dr. Pauling received the Presidential Medal of Merit for his work on the Research Board for National Security. But by 1950 he had established himself as an opponent of war and a supporter of peace movements. Dr. Pauling was opposed to the suddenly nuclear nature of war to such an extent the U.S. State Department placed restrictions on his eligibility for a passport.

Dr. Pauling was internationally recognized for his scientific and humanitarian desire for an end to war in the nuclear era by a Nobel Peace Prize in 1962. His prize-winning work analyzed the dangers of radioactive fallout from nuclear testing and nuclear war.

In 1970 Dr. Pauling published "Vitamin C and the Common Cold," in which he advanced a theory that the common cold could be eradicated all over the world if people were provided with adequate supplies of ascorbic acid.