Har Gobind Khorana
Born 9 January 1922 · Pakistan
Died 9 November 2011
Shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for deciphering the genetic code's nucleotide sequence.
🔔 Add birthday reminderHar Gobind Khorana was an Indian-American biochemist. While on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell and control the cell's synthesis of proteins.
✨ A detail that surprised us
Har Gobind Khorana lived off his savings for nearly a year in Switzerland working unpaid in Vladimir Prelog's lab before launching his distinguished scientific career.
1. 🌱 Born in 1922 in Raipur, Punjab (now in Pakistan), Har Gobind Khorana's early education took place under a tree in a village of just 100 people, where his family was among the only literate ones, and he did not own a pencil until age 6.
2. 📜 In 1948, Khorana earned his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Liverpool under Roger J. S. Beer, after which he spent a year working unpaid with Nobel laureate Vladimir Prelog in Switzerland.
3. 📍 After struggling to find work in post-Partition Delhi in 1949, Khorana moved to Cambridge in 1950, collaborating with George Wallace Kenner and Alexander R. Todd on peptides and nucleotides until 1952.
4. 🧬 In 1960, he joined the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his lab played a pivotal role in deciphering the genetic code, culminating in the synthesis of the first artificial gene.
5. 🎖️ In 1968, Khorana shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for determining the nucleotide sequences that dictate protein synthesis in cells.
6. 🌍 Khorana became a naturalized US citizen in 1966 and received the National Medal of Science in 1987, underscoring his influence on molecular biology in America.
7. ❓ How did a boy from a rural Punjabi village without basic school supplies transform the understanding of the genetic code and create synthetic genes that paved the way for modern genetic engineering?
Awards & Honours
- 🏅Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine · 1968
- 🏅National Medal of Science
- 🏅Padma Vibhushan
🔍 One thing most people don't know
Khorana's birth date was uncertain; he believed it to be January 9, 1922, a date later officially accepted despite lack of formal records due to rural poverty in British India.
🖼️ Through the Years
📅 The Journey
🗝️ Discoveries
"Although poor, my father was dedicated to educating his children and we were practically the only literate family in the village inhabited by about 100 people."
— Har Gobind Khorana
🎥 Speeches & Recordings
🎥 Know a speech or documentary about Har Gobind Khorana?
📖 Curated Sources
🌱 What changed because of them
Khorana's work cracking the genetic code directly enabled the birth of genetic engineering and synthetic biology, influencing research protocols at institutions like the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His synthesis of the first artificial gene laid foundations for biotechnology industries and gene therapy advances worldwide. The Khorana Scholars Program continues to encourage collaborations between India and the United States in scientific research.
💬 Social Buzz
🐦
What are people saying about Har Gobind Khorana?
Found a post from a historian, journalist or notable voice? Share it here and help tell their story. 🇮🇳