CHEMIST

Michael Polanyi

1891 - 1976

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Michael Polanyi ( poh-LAN-yee; Hungarian: Polányi Mihály; 11 March 1891 – 22 February 1976) was a Hungarian-British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and philosophy. He argued that positivism is a false account of knowing. His wide-ranging research in physical science included chemical kinetics, x-ray diffraction, and adsorption of gases. He pioneered the theory of fibre diffraction analysis in 1921, and the dislocation theory of plastic deformation of ductile metals and other materials in 1934. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Michael Polanyi is the 295th most popular chemist (down from 254th in 2019), the 161st most popular biography from Hungary (down from 143rd in 2019) and the 6th most popular Hungarian Chemist.

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Among CHEMISTS

Among chemists, Michael Polanyi ranks 295 out of 602. Before him are Thomas Andrews, Andreas Sigismund Marggraf, Kikunae Ikeda, Leopold Gmelin, Per Teodor Cleve, and William C. Campbell. After him are Bernard Courtois, Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, Carl Gustaf Mosander, Christian Friedrich Schönbein, Alexander Mikhaylovich Zaytsev, and Rasmus Bartholin.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1891, Michael Polanyi ranks 47. Before him are Ole Kirk Christiansen, Arthur Drewry, Max Amann, Grant Wood, Yevhen Konovalets, and Bronislava Nijinska. After him are Alexander Wienerberger, Cole Porter, Pier Luigi Nervi, Anton Dostler, Hu Shih, and Kurt von Tippelskirch. Among people deceased in 1976, Michael Polanyi ranks 59. Before him are Carlo Gambino, Mitsuo Fuchida, Phil Ochs, Lee J. Cobb, Mikhail Gurevich, and Ivan Yakubovsky. After him are Gilbert Ryle, David Elazar, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Walter Warlimont, Walther von Seydlitz-Kurzbach, and Arnold Gehlen.

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In Hungary

Among people born in Hungary, Michael Polanyi ranks 161 out of 1,077. Before him are Gusztáv Sebes (1906), Hans Richter (1843), Susan Polgár (1969), Gyula Gömbös (1886), László Papp (1926), and Ferenc Mádl (1931). After him are Bayan I (600), Lajos Tichy (1935), Péter Nádas (1942), Béla Balázs (1884), Coloman of Galicia (1208), and Rosika Schwimmer (1877).

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Among CHEMISTS In Hungary

Among chemists born in Hungary, Michael Polanyi ranks 6. Before him are George de Hevesy (1885), Avram Hershko (1937), George Andrew Olah (1927), Katalin Karikó (1955), and Mária Telkes (1900). After him are Elizabeth Roboz Einstein (1904).

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