Sir, - Ireland is justly proud of its successes in Nobel prizes for literature, with Seamus Heaney following in the steps of Yeats, Shaw and Beckett. But we haven't done so well in science and medicine. The only Irish born winner of a scientific prize (so far) is Ernest Walton (physics 1951).
There are, though, other science and medicine winners with Irish connections. Gugliemo Marconi (physics 1909) had an Irish mother - Annie Jameson. Erwin Schrodinger (physics 1933) became an Irish citizen in 1948. Presumably Richard Millington Synge (chemistry 1952) is related to our playwright, John? Peter Doherty (medicine 1996) describes himself as "Irish Australian". Many think Jocelyn Bell Burnell should have shared the physics prize in 1974. Other winners have Irish surnames, like Cronin, Martin, Moore, Murphy, Murray, and Purcell.
lam seeking information about any prizewinnners with Irish connections. May I please seek the help of your readers in letting me have biographical details, or suggesting sources of information, which could help me? I can be contacted at the address below, or by telephone 01-289-6186, fax 289-7970, or e-mail cmoliol.ie. Yours etc.,
Editor The Irish Scientist Yearbook
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