Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 - August 19, 1994)
According to Wikipedia, Pauling "was an American quantum chemist and biochemist. He also called himself a crystallographer, molecular biologist, and medical researcher. Pauling is widely regarded as the premier chemist of the twentieth century. He pioneered the application of quantum mechanics to chemistry (quantum mechanics can, in principle, describe all of chemistry and molecular biology), and in 1954 was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work describing the nature of chemical bonds. He also made important contributions to crystal and protein structure determination, and was one of the founders of molecular biology. He came near to discovering the "double helix," the ultrastructure of DNA, when Watson and Crick made the discovery in 1953. Pauling is noted as a versatile scholar for his expertise in inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, metallurgy, immunology, anesthesiology, psychology, debate, radioactive decay, and the aftermath of nuclear warfare, in addition to quantum mechanics and molecular biology.
"Pauling's contribution to science is held by many in the utmost regard. He was included in a list of the 20 greatest scientists of all time by the British magazine New Scientist, with Albert Einstein being the only other scientist from the twentieth century on the list."
