Origins & Early Life

Karl Landsteiner (German: [kaʁl ˈlantˌʃtaɪnɐ]; 14 June 1868 – 26 June 1943) was an Austrian-American biologist, physician, and immunologist. He emigrated with his family to New York in 1923 at the age of 55 for professional opportunities, working for the Rockefeller Institute. He had distinguished the main blood groups in 1901, having developed the modern system of classification of blood groups from his identification of the presence of agglutinins in the blood. In 1937, with Alexander S.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Wiener, he identified the Rhesus factor, thus enabling physicians to transfuse blood without endangering the patient's life. With Constantin Levaditi and Erwin Popper, he discovered the polio virus in 1909. He received the Aronson Prize in 1926. In 1930, he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He was posthumously awarded the Lasker Award in 1946, and has been described as the father of transfusion medicine.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He was born into a Jewish family. His father Leopold Landsteiner (1818–1875), a renowned Viennese journalist and editor-in-chief of Die Presse, died at age 56, when Karl was 6. The boy became very close to his mother Fanny (née Hess; 1837–1908). After...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

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• Ahmad Sirhindi — Shared historical date (06-26 · Born) (1564): Influential Naqshbandi Sufi scholar who championed Islamic orthodoxy in the Mughal era.
• Antoine de Rivarol — Shared historical date (06-26 · Born) (1753): French royalist writer and translator active during the tumultuous Revolutionary era.
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• June 14 (06-14) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on June 14
• 1943 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1943
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