Baruch Samuel Blumberg

Baruch Samuel Blumberg - Physicians, Birthday and Childhood

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Baruch Samuel Blumberg's Personal Details

Baruch Samuel Blumberg was a Jewish-American physician and geneticist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976

InformationDetail
BirthdayJuly 28, 1925
Died onApril 5, 2011
NationalityAmerican
FamousPhysicians, Geneticists
SpousesJean Liebesman
ChildrensAnne, George, Jane, Noah
Universities
  • Union College
  • Balliol College
  • Oxford College of Physicians and Surgeons
Discoveries / Inventions
  • Hepatitis B Virus
Birth PlaceBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenderMale
FatherMeyer Blumberg
MotherIda
Sun SignLeo
Born inBrooklyn, New York, U.S.
Famous asPhysician, Geneticist
Died at Age85

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Baruch Samuel Blumberg's photo

Who is Baruch Samuel Blumberg?

Baruch Samuel Blumberg also known as Barry Blumberg was a Jewish-American physician and geneticist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1976 together with American physician and medical researcher Daniel Carleton Gajdusek for their individual research work on infectious viral diseases. Blumberg’s work included identification of the virus that caused Hepatitis B, which often posed to be fatal and many times transferred through blood transfusions. He showed that the virus had capability of causing liver cancer. Later he developed diagnostic tests of the disease and discovered an antigen in the blood sample of an aborigine of Australia, which eventually helped in developing an effective vaccine to counter the disease. Just after completing high school he served the US Navy during the ‘Second World War’. At one time he became a merchant seaman and also worked as a doctor on a ship. He remained University Professor of Anthropology and Medicine at the ‘University of Pennsylvania’ and also served the ‘Balliol College’, of the ‘Oxford University’ as Master. Blumberg remained Director of the ‘NASA Astrobiology Institute’ at the ‘Ames Research Center’ in California. He also served as the President of ‘American Philosophical Society’.

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Childhood & Early Life

He was born on July 28, 1925, in Brroklyn, New York, in a Jewish family to Meyer Blumberg and his wife Ida. Meyer was a lawyer.

He completed his elementary education from ‘Yeshivah of Flatbush’, a Modern Orthodox private Jewish day school in Brooklyn. Here he was taught to read and write in Hebrew and studied the Jewish texts and the Bible in their original form. The school produced another Nobel Laureate, Eric Kandel, one of his contemporaries.

Thereafter he studied at ‘James Madison High School’ following which he relocated to Far Rockaway, Queens, where he joined ‘Far Rockaway High School’. The other Nobel Laureates having studied in the school were Richard Feynman and Burton Richter.

Soon after completing high school studies from ‘Far Rockaway High School’ in 1943, he joined the US Navy as a deck officer in the midst of the ‘Second World War’.

He completed college studies from ‘Union College’ in Schenectady, New York, under military sponsorship graduating with honors in BS Physics in 1946. The same year he left active military duty.

In 1947 he completed MS in mathematics from ‘Columbia University’ and then switched his field and joined ‘Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons’ to study medicine.

In 1951 he earned his MD from ‘Columbia University’.

From 1951 to 1955 he remained an intern and thereafter a resident at the ‘Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center’.

Thereafter he enrolled at the ‘Balliol College’ of the ‘University of Oxford’ and started his graduation work in biochemistry. He obtained his Ph.D from the college in 1957.

Career

He was inducted as Chief of the ‘Geographic Medicine and Genetics Section’ of the ‘National Institutes of Health’ (NIH) of the US in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1960.

In 1964, the ‘Institute for Cancer Research’ (presently the ‘Fox Chase Cancer Center’) located in Philadelphia inducted him as the ‘Associate Director for Clinical Research’. He began his notable research work on epidemiology and virology in this institute during the 1960s which led him travel around the world with his colleagues.

During such field trips he investigated blood samples from hugely diverse population across the globe from Japan to Africa striving to resolve the reasons behind varying exposure and reaction to disease by people of different national and ethnicity. He tried to find out the reason behind contraction of disease by some people exposed to similar environments but not by all.

While he was examining yellow jaundice, in 1964, Blumberg found a surface antigen in the blood serum of an aborigine of Australia. In 1967 he discovered that the antigen is a component of a virus that is responsible for the most dangerous type of hepatitis, which is hepatitis B. He displayed that the virus has capacity of causing liver cancer.

As chance of transmission of the virus through blood transfusions was a common possibility, Blumberg and his associates further investigated and developed a test to screen for the virus to restrict it from spreading via blood donations.

Moving forward he developed a vaccine to curb the disease and later distributed the patent of the vaccine freely. Proper channelization and implementation of the vaccine in China saw an impressive reduction in the rate of children infected with hepatitis B to 1 % from earlier level of 15% in a span of ten years.

Beginning 1977 he worked as University Professor of Anthropology and Medicine at the ‘University of Pennsylvania’.

In 1986 he was elected as a member of the ‘American Philosophical Society’ and later in 2005 he was made the President of the society.

From 1989 to 1994 he remained Master of the ‘Balliol College’ of the ‘University of Oxford’.

In 1994 Blumberg had the honour of getting elected as a Fellow of one of the oldest and most renowned honorary societies and a prominent centre for policy research in the US, the ‘American Academy of Arts and Sciences’.

He held the position of Director of the ‘NASA Astrobiology Institute’ at the ‘Ames Research Center’ located in Moffett Field in California from 1999 to 2002.

He became a member of the ‘Library of Congress Scholars Council’, a group of remarkable and noted scholars, in 2001and served it till he was alive. The members, who are inducted by the Librarian of Congress, advise the latter on scholarship related matters.

The ‘United Therapeutics Corporation’, a biotechnology company headquartered at Silver Spring, Maryland, US inducted him as the Chairman of its ‘Scientific Advisory Board’ in November 2004. He held the post till his death. During this tenure he organised three conferences related to Telemedical and Nanomedical Technology and also guided the company in developing a comprehensive anti-viral drug.

He authored many books including ‘Australia Antigen and Hepatitis’ (1972), ‘Hepatitis B and the Prevention of Cancer of the Liver’ (2000) and ‘Hepatitis B: The Hunt for a Killer Virus’ (2002).

Awards & Achievements

In 1976 he jointly received the ‘Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine’ with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek.

Personal Life & Legacy

In 1954 he married Jean Liebesman, an artist and the couple was blessed with two sons, George and Noah and two daughters, Anne and Jane.

He considered the mental discipline of the Jewish Talmud as one of the influencing factors in his life and always tried, as far as possible, to attend the weekly Talmud sessions throughout his life.

On April 5, 2011, he died shortly after delivering a speech at the ‘International Lunar Research Park Exploratory Workshop’ which was held at the ‘Ames Research Centre’, of the ‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration’ (NASA) in California. According to his family he supposedly suffered a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, four children and nine grandchildren.

His funeral proceedings took place at the ‘Society Hill Synagogue’, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 10, 2011. He was a long-time member of the synagogue.

Trivia

‘NASA’ and ‘Library of Congress’ declared in 2011 the establishment of a Chair, ‘Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology’, in his name.

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Baruch Samuel Blumberg's awards

YearNameAward

Other

0Nobel Prize in Medicine (1976)

Baruch Samuel Blumberg biography timelines

  • // 28th Jul 1925
    He was born on July 28, 1925, in Brroklyn, New York, in a Jewish family to Meyer Blumberg and his wife Ida. Meyer was a lawyer.
  • // 1943
    Soon after completing high school studies from ‘Far Rockaway High School’ in 1943, he joined the US Navy as a deck officer in the midst of the ‘Second World War’.
  • // 1946
    He completed college studies from ‘Union College’ in Schenectady, New York, under military sponsorship graduating with honors in BS Physics in 1946. The same year he left active military duty.
  • // 1947
    In 1947 he completed MS in mathematics from ‘Columbia University’ and then switched his field and joined ‘Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons’ to study medicine.
  • // 1951
    In 1951 he earned his MD from ‘Columbia University’.
  • // 1951 To 1955
    From 1951 to 1955 he remained an intern and thereafter a resident at the ‘Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center’.
  • // 1954
    In 1954 he married Jean Liebesman, an artist and the couple was blessed with two sons, George and Noah and two daughters, Anne and Jane.
  • // 1957
    Thereafter he enrolled at the ‘Balliol College’ of the ‘University of Oxford’ and started his graduation work in biochemistry. He obtained his Ph.D from the college in 1957.
  • // 1960
    He was inducted as Chief of the ‘Geographic Medicine and Genetics Section’ of the ‘National Institutes of Health’ (NIH) of the US in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1960.
  • // 1964
    In 1964, the ‘Institute for Cancer Research’ (presently the ‘Fox Chase Cancer Center’) located in Philadelphia inducted him as the ‘Associate Director for Clinical Research’. He began his notable research work on epidemiology and virology in this institute during the 1960s which led him travel around the world with his colleagues.
  • // 1964 To 1967
    While he was examining yellow jaundice, in 1964, Blumberg found a surface antigen in the blood serum of an aborigine of Australia. In 1967 he discovered that the antigen is a component of a virus that is responsible for the most dangerous type of hepatitis, which is hepatitis B. He displayed that the virus has capacity of causing liver cancer.
  • // 1976
    In 1976 he jointly received the ‘Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine’ with Daniel Carleton Gajdusek.
  • // 1977
    Beginning 1977 he worked as University Professor of Anthropology and Medicine at the ‘University of Pennsylvania’.
  • // 1986 To 2005
    In 1986 he was elected as a member of the ‘American Philosophical Society’ and later in 2005 he was made the President of the society.
  • // 1989 To 1994
    From 1989 to 1994 he remained Master of the ‘Balliol College’ of the ‘University of Oxford’.
  • // 1994
    In 1994 Blumberg had the honour of getting elected as a Fellow of one of the oldest and most renowned honorary societies and a prominent centre for policy research in the US, the ‘American Academy of Arts and Sciences’.
  • // 1999 To 2002
    He held the position of Director of the ‘NASA Astrobiology Institute’ at the ‘Ames Research Center’ located in Moffett Field in California from 1999 to 2002.
  • // Nov 2004
    The ‘United Therapeutics Corporation’, a biotechnology company headquartered at Silver Spring, Maryland, US inducted him as the Chairman of its ‘Scientific Advisory Board’ in November 2004. He held the post till his death. During this tenure he organised three conferences related to Telemedical and Nanomedical Technology and also guided the company in developing a comprehensive anti-viral drug.
  • // 2011
    ‘NASA’ and ‘Library of Congress’ declared in 2011 the establishment of a Chair, ‘Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology’, in his name.
  • // 5th Apr 2011
    On April 5, 2011, he died shortly after delivering a speech at the ‘International Lunar Research Park Exploratory Workshop’ which was held at the ‘Ames Research Centre’, of the ‘National Aeronautics and Space Administration’ (NASA) in California. According to his family he supposedly suffered a heart attack. He is survived by his wife, four children and nine grandchildren.
  • // 10th Apr 2011
    His funeral proceedings took place at the ‘Society Hill Synagogue’, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 10, 2011. He was a long-time member of the synagogue.

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Baruch Samuel Blumberg's FAQ

  • What is Baruch Samuel Blumberg birthday?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg was born at 1925-07-28

  • When was Baruch Samuel Blumberg died?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg was died at 2011-04-05

  • Where was Baruch Samuel Blumberg died?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg was died in Mountain View, California, U.S.

  • Which age was Baruch Samuel Blumberg died?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg was died at age 85

  • Where is Baruch Samuel Blumberg's birth place?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

  • What is Baruch Samuel Blumberg nationalities?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg's nationalities is American

  • Who is Baruch Samuel Blumberg spouses?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg's spouses is Jean Liebesman

  • Who is Baruch Samuel Blumberg childrens?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg's childrens is Anne, George, Jane, Noah

  • What was Baruch Samuel Blumberg universities?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg studied at Union College, Balliol College, Oxford College of Physicians and Surgeons

  • What is Baruch Samuel Blumberg's inventions/discoveries?

    Hepatitis B Virus was invented (or discovered) by Baruch Samuel Blumberg

  • Who is Baruch Samuel Blumberg's father?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg's father is Meyer Blumberg

  • Who is Baruch Samuel Blumberg's mother?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg's mother is Ida

  • What is Baruch Samuel Blumberg's sun sign?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg is Leo

  • How famous is Baruch Samuel Blumberg?

    Baruch Samuel Blumberg is famouse as Physician, Geneticist