Daniel Bovet had the distinction of making basic contributions in at least three distinct areas of pharmacology, the science of drugs. His research made possible the commercial development of sulfa drugs, antihistamines, and muscle relaxants. For his accomplishments in pharmacology he was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1957.

Bovet was born on March 23, 1907, in Neuchatel, Switzerland, the only son among the four children of Pierre Bovet and Amy Babut Bovet. Pierre Bovet was a professor of experimental education at the University of Geneva and the founder of the Institut J. J. Rousseau. His son later recalled in Time that he and his sisters were "guinea pigs" for testing his father's educational theories. Daniel Bovet received his primary and secondary school education in Neuchatel, then studied biology at the University of Geneva, from which he received his license in 1927. He did his graduate study in physiology...