Albert Szent-Györgyi
The brilliant, restless biochemist who unlocked the secret of vitamin C and laid bare the fundamental energy cycles of life.
1893–1986 (age 93)·Hungarian biochemist, Nobel Prize winner·Birthday: September 16·The Lost Generation
Biography
Albert Szent-Györgyi approached science with the curiosity of a detective and the flair of a maverick. His early work on cellular respiration in Cambridge and at the University of Szeged in Hungary led him to a mysterious substance he called 'hexuronic acid.' Isolating it in large quantities from a local staple—Hungarian paprika—he proved it was the long-sought anti-scurvy factor, vitamin C, a discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize in 1937. But his mind never settled. He next turned to muscle contraction, identifying actin and describing how it interacts with myosin, a foundational breakthrough in biophysics. A passionate anti-fascist, he used a supposed lecture tour to defect during World War II and later worked with the Hungarian resistance. In his later years in the United States, he pursued unorthodox theories about cancer and the bioenergetics of life, forever driven by a belief that the biggest questions remained unanswered.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Albert was born in 1893, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Albert Was Born
The biggest hits of 1893
Albert's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1893Born
World's Columbian Exposition dazzles Chicago
President: Grover Cleveland
1898Started school
Spanish-American War; US emerges as a world power
President: William McKinley
1906Became a teenager
San Francisco earthquake devastates the city
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1909Could drive
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1911Could vote
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 in New York
President: William Howard Taft
1914Turned 21
World War I begins
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Turned 30
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1933Turned 40
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1943Turned 50
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1953Turned 60
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1963Turned 70
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1973Turned 80
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1986Died at 93
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
Key Achievements
- Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937 for his discoveries concerning vitamin C and cellular respiration.
- First to isolate vitamin C, identifying it as the anti-scurvy factor.
- Discovered the proteins actin and myosin and described their role in muscle contraction.
- Made pivotal contributions to the understanding of the citric acid cycle, the central metabolic pathway in cells.
Did You Know?
He famously used Hungarian paprika, rich in vitamin C, as a source for isolating large quantities of the compound.
During WWII, he was pursued by the Nazis and spent 1944 in hiding, working with the Hungarian resistance.
He founded the Institute for Muscle Research at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
He was an outspoken advocate for nuclear disarmament and scientific responsibility.
““Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.””
