May 6
Nobel Prize Winners
Since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded annually to outstanding individuals and teams who contribute to advances in the areas of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. The field of Economics was added in 1969. American Jews have received recognition as winners since 1907- in the fields of chemistry (19), biology and medicine (34), Physics (36), literature (4), and Economics,(29), and peace (7). Michael A. Albertson was the first American Jewish winner (1907) for his work with optical precision instruments used for metrological investigations. Combined 129 American Jews have received a Nobel Prize.
Some noteworthy recipients include, in the area of Physiology and Medicine: Selman Wacksman (1952) for his discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis, Gerturde B. Ellen (1988) for her discoveries in drug treatments, and Michael Roshbash (2017) for his discoveries in molecular mechanisms that control the circadian rhythm.
Among the 36 recipients in Physics were: Arno A. Penzias (1978) co-discoverer of the cosmic microwave background radiation which helped establish the Big Bang theory, Alan Reiss and Saul Perlmutter (2011) for providing evidence of the acceleration of the expansion of the universe.
In the area of literature, we note Saul Bellow (1996) for what was described as "the human understanding and subtle analysis of contemporary culture that are combined in his work,” Isaac Bashevis Singer (1978), and Bob Dylan (2016).
For economics, notables include: Kenneth Arrow (1972) for economic equilibrium and welfare theory, Elinor Ostrom (2009) for analysis in economic governance, William Nordhaus (2018) for incorporating climate change into macroeconomic analysis, and Michael Kremer (2019) for his work to alleviate global poverty.
Finally, the recipients of the Nobel Peace prize: Henry Kissinger (1973) for facilitating the Paris agreement for a cease-fire in the Vietnam War and a withdrawal of the American forces, and Elie Weisel (1986) for his work in global peace process.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_Nobel_laureates
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Religion_of_Nobel_Prize_winners.png
