Salvador Luria

Geneticist

Birthday August 13, 1912

Birth Sign Leo

Birthplace Italy

DEATH DATE Feb 6, 1991 (78)

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About

His work on bacteria led to the discovery of genes, and as such could be studied in genetic research. He won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his revolutionary work in 1969.

Before Fame

He fled Benito Mussolini's fascist regime to France, only to flee again, this time to the U.S. after the German invasion in 1940.

Trivia

Settling in the U.S., he took up work at Vanderbilt University, where his experiments with viruses infection bacteria showed that bacteria can mutate and develop resistance.

Family Life

He was born to a prominent Italian Sephardic Jewish Family, which lost much of its fortune after the rise to power of Mussolini.

Associated With

He shared his 1969 Nobel Prize with fellow researchers Max Delbruck and Alfred Hershey.