5 Nobel Prize Winners from Africa

Many individuals from around the world have been the recipient of an international Nobel Prize for their achievements in a variety of fields.

Hailing from the African continent, these five individuals have earned this prestigious accolade:

Dr Max Theiler

Born in South Africa, Theiler was a virologist and physician who developed a vaccine to combat yellow fever in 1937. As a result, Theiler received the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his efforts.

Nelson Mandela

Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and the first democratically-elected president of South Africa. For negotiating the end of apartheid rule – and bringing about the first democratic elections in the country’s history – he was awarded the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize alongside then-president, F.W. de Klerk.

Professor Ahmed Zewail

In 1999, this Egyptian scientist received a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, after he developed a rapid laser technique that allowed scientists to study the action of atoms during chemical reactions.

Kofi Annan

Ghanian-born Annan served as the as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the United Nations in recognition of their work for a more peaceful world.

Leymah Gbowee

Liberian women’s rights and peace activist, Leymah Gbowee, played a vital role in uniting warring factions in her country of Liberia. For rallying women into pressuring leaders to end the country’s second civil war in 2003, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.