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Severo Ochoa

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Scientist

The Resume

    (September 24, 1905-November 1, 1993)
    Born in Luarca, Asturias, Spain
    Full name was Severo Ochoa de Albornoz
    Physician and biochemist
    Earned his M.D. degree (with honours) from the University of Madrid Medical School (1929)
    Taught Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the New York University School of Medicine, starting in 1942
    Became a Naturalized citizen of the United States (1956)
    Jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on the synthesis of RNA, sharing the award with Dr. Arthur Kornberg (1959)
    Other honors included the Neuberg Medal in Biochemistry (1951), the Medal of the Société de Chimie Biologique (1959), the Medal of New York University (1959), the Paul Karrer Gold Medal (1963) and the National Medal of Science (1979)
    Namesake for the Severo Ochoa Center for Molecular Biology, based in Madrid, Spain

Why he might be annoying:

    His first major project was isolating creatinine from urine.
    His colleagues knew him by his shock of grayish - almost silver - hair, which he grew prematurely.
    He was denied the chair position in the Physiology Department due to internal politics (1935).
    He was fired from the Department of Psychiatry (1944).
    He was married to his spouse for over fifty years, but they had no children.
    He was allegedly involved romantically with Mexican starlet Sara Montiel, while he was married, in the 1950s.
    When he and his wife attended a party in New York hosted by Otto Loewe and Sir Henry Dale, he signed the house guest book and listed his hobby as 'Biochemistry.'
    Upon seeing this inscription, Sir Henry reportedly broke out in laughter, saying: 'Now that he is a pharmacologist, he has biochemistry as a hobby!'

Why he might not be annoying:

    His hobbies included photography, painting, and music.
    He lost his father when he was only seven.
    He reportedly taught himself French as a young student.
    He was heavily influenced by the works of Spanish neurologist, Ramón y Cajal.
    He worked under Otto Meyerhof at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institut für Medizinische Forschung at Heidelberg.
    He traveled extensively throughout Europe, in the late 1930's.
    As such, his studies were continually interrupted by the onset of World War II (first, the Spanish Civil War, and later the oppressive Nuremberg Laws of Germany, before leaving for England).
    His discoveries contributed to the knowledge of the basic steps in the metabolism of carbohydrates and fatty/nucleic acids.
    His work also provided a better understanding of the genetic code, biological functions of oxidative phosphorylation, pyruvic acids, and the Krebs citric acid cycle.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying