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10 Nobel Laureates Who Changed The World 

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  1. Marie Curie

  Nobel Prizes in Physics, 1903, and Chemistry, 1911

  One of the most famous female scientists of the 20th century, Marie Curie made many major discoveries in two different fields, which is why she is one of the few people to win two Nobel Prizes.

  The first was for her work on radiation, which she shared with her husband Pierre Curie and Antoine Henri Becquerel. She was awarded the Chemistry prize for discovering the radioactive elements polonium and radium.

  Fun fact: Her daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1935.

  IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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  2. Robert Koch

  Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1905

  Often referred to as the father of bacteriology, Robert Koch identified the causative agents of three of the 20th century’s most fatal diseases: tuberculosis, anthrax and cholera.

  His postulates about understanding whether a specific bacteria causes disease are still used today, and his practices greatly improved the lab techniques and technologies used to identify the deadly microbes.

  IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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  3. Max Planck

  Nobel Prize in Physics, 1918

  Max Planck revolutionized the world by creating quantum theory, changing how scientists viewed subatomic processes and the universe.

  He also worked on black-body radiation, and discovered the proportional constant between the energy of a photon and the frequency of its electromagnetic wave, which is now known as Plank's Constant.

  IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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  4. Albert Einstein

  Nobel Prize in Physics, 1921

  No list of world-changing Nobel laureates is complete without physicist Albert Einstein. Like Planck, Einstein's primary work dealt with quantum theory, through which he became one of the first researchers of quantum physics.

  While he is best known for his theory of relativity, he won the prize in physics for the photo-electric effect, which describes how substances emit electrons when they absorb light.

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  5. Enrico Fermi

  Nobel Prize in Physics, 1938

  Enrico Fermi's contributions to the scientific community are numerous, but one of his most important was the creation of the first superficial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction, making him the father of nuclear power.

  Like Nobel himself, Fermi's legacy is marked by violence. Fermi worked on the Manhattan Project with Robert Oppenheimer and helped to create the atomic bomb.

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  6. Otto Hahn

  Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1944

  Otto Hahn's claim to fame is relatively simple -- he discovered nuclear fission. This nuclear process helps create electricity which makes it a potent way to produce power.

  Hahn work with Fermi, Oppenheimer and Lise Meitner. While Meitner was on the team that helped Hahn discover nuclear fission, she did not receive a Nobel Prize for her contributions to the research.

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  7. Linus Pauling

  Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1954, and Nobel Peace Prize, 1962

  One of the few people to receive two Nobel Prizes, Linus Pauling's first prize was for his research on chemical bonds and their role in complex substances, as well as the nature of ionic and covalent bonds.

  He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his activism against weapons of mass destruction and the nuclear arms race. He was also known as a proponent of megavitiamin therapy and using Vitamin C to help cure cancer.

  VIDEO: YOUTUBE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA TELEVISION

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  8. Ernest Hemingway

  Nobel Prize in Literature, 1954

  It’s difficult to see the lasting effects of literature on the public consciousness. Those who have won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature have all made an impact on the literary world. Still, none have left such a mark as Ernest Hemingway.

  Praised by the Nobel Committee for his "mastery of the art of narrative," Hemingway wrote classics such as The Old Man and the Sea, A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls. His works are still read the world over by both children and adults.

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  9. Norman Borlaug

  Nobel Peace Prize, 1970

  Known as father of the "green revolution," Norman Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Price due to his work developing high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat.

  He took this crop to India, Pakistan and Mexico, which helped save many people from starvation. In essence, his life was dedicated to trying to solve world hunger by creating stronger, better crops.

  IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

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  10. Ronald Coase

  Nobel Prize in Economics, 1991

  Ronald Coase described himself as an accidental economist, as he spent the majority of his career at the University of Chicago as a law professor. His article "The Nature of the Firm" changed the way economists understood why people create their own companies.

  Another of his papers, "The Problem of Social Cost," examined the lack of effectiveness of the use of government intervention to restrain people and companies from using harmful practices. It also altered the way economists viewed property rights and licenses.

  VIDEO: YOUTUBE, UCHICAGO

SOURCE: 10 Nobel Laureates Who Changed The World (Mashable)