1868-1943

Austrian-American Immunologist and Pathologist

Karl Landsteiner is recognized for his pioneering research into the workings of the human immune system. He was awarded the 1930 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of human blood groups, which he classified in the ABO blood type system. He also discovered the polio virus and developed a test for syphilis.

Born in Vienna on June 14, 1868, Landsteiner was the only child of Dr. Leopold Landsteiner, a noted journalist. His father was the Paris correspondent for several German newspapers and later founded his own newspaper, Presse. When Karl was six, his father died of a massive heart attack, and he was placed under the guardianship of a family friend.

At age 17, Landsteiner entered the medical school at the University of Vienna, where he developed an interest in organic chemistry. He remained close to his mother, and in 1889 they both...