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History & today

King's Nobel laureates

Ten people who have worked or studied at King's and its constituent institutions have been awarded the Nobel Prize.

1917

Charles Barkla
Charles Barkla (1877-1944), Professor of Physics at King's 1909-1913, for researches into X-rays and other emissions.

1928

Owen Richardson
Sir Owen Richardson (1879-1959), Professor of Physics at Kings from 1914 to 1924, for pioneering the study of 'thermionics'.

1929

Frederick Gowland Hopkins
Professor Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1861-1947), taught physiology and toxicology at Guy's Hospital from 1894 to 1898, for research on vitamins and beriberi.

1932

CharlesScottSherrington
Professor Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (1857-1952), lectured in Systematic Physiology at St Thomas' Hospital 1887-1891, for researches on the nervous system.

1947

Edward Appleton
Sir Edward Appleton (1892-1965), Wheatstone Professor of Physics at King's from 1924 to 1936, for exploration of the ionosophere.

1951

Dr Max Theiler (1899-1972) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for developing a vaccine for yellow fever. He studied at St. Thomas' Hospital and also worked on the causes and immunology of Weil's disease, dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and poliomyelitis.

1962

Maurice Wilkins
Maurice Wilkins (1916-2004), latterly Emeritus Professor of Biophysics at King's, for the discovery of the structure of DNA.

1984

Desmond Tutu
The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu (b. 1931) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984 in recognition of his work as Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. He was Archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996 and Chairman of the South African Peace and Reconciliation Commission. He is one of King's most respected alumni and was Visiting Professor in Post-conflict Societies at the College in 2004.

1988

James Black
Sir James Black (1924-2010), latterly Emeritus Professor of Analytical Pharmacology at King's, for the development of beta-blocker and anti-ulcer drugs.

2010

mario-vargas-llosa
The 2010 winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Mario Vargas Llosa, was Lecturer in Spanish American Literature in the Department of Spanish & Spanish-American Studies at King's College London in 1969-1970, just before he decided to become a full-time writer. He became a Fellow of King’s in 2005.
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