Origins & Early Life

Elizabeth Helen Blackburn (born 26 November 1948) is an Australian–American Nobel laureate who is the former president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. In 1984, Blackburn co-discovered telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the telomere, with Carol W. Greider. For this work, she was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing it with Carol W.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Greider and Jack W. Szostak, becoming the first Australian woman Nobel laureate. She also worked in medical ethics, and was controversially dismissed from the Bush administration's President's Council on Bioethics. 170 scientists signed an open letter to the president in her support, maintaining that she was fired because of political opposition to her advice. Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, the second of seven children, was born in Hobart, Tasmania, on 26 November 1948, with both her parents being family physicians.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Her family moved to the city of Launceston when she was aged four, where she attended the Broadland House Church of England Girls' Grammar School (later amalgamated with Launceston Church Grammar School) until the age of sixteen. Upon her family's relocation to Melbourne...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Abby Aldrich Rockefeller — Contemporary (Died in 1948) (1948): American socialite and influential philanthropist, key patron of modern art.
• Abdulrazak Gurnah — Contemporary (Born in 1948) (1948): Acclaimed Tanzanian novelist and Nobel laureate exploring themes of colonialism and refuge.
• Akira Mutō — Contemporary (Died in 1948) (1948): Imperial Japanese Army General implicated in war crimes during WWII.
• Adam Mickiewicz — Shared historical date (11-26 · Died) (1855): National Poet of Poland, Romantic master, and leading voice of Slavic literature.
• Bernard Lonergan — Shared historical date (11-26 · Died) (1984): Influential Canadian Jesuit philosopher and theologian of the 20th century.
• Al Gore — Historical peer (Born in 1948) (1948): American politician, businessman, and leading voice on environmental issues.
• Alan Lightman — Historical peer (Born in 1948) (1948): Physicist, writer, and social entrepreneur exploring science's intersection with humanities.
• AB de Villiers — Historical peer (Born in 1984) (1984): Legendary South African cricketer, celebrated for his all-around batting genius.
• Alfred Kastler — Historical peer (Died in 1984) (1984): Pioneering physicist known for developing the technique of optical pumping.
• Aage Bohr — Historical peer (Died in 2009) (2009): Pioneering Danish nuclear physicist, Nobel laureate for atomic structure theory.
• 1948 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1948
• November 26 (11-26) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on November 26