Gullstrand, Einstein, and the Nobel Prize

nly one individual who practiced ophthalmology for a significant period has ever received a Nobel Prize. This was Allvar Gullstrand, MD (1862-1930) (Figure Although Gullstrand is often said to be the only Nobel laureate who was an ophthalmologist, this is incorrect. Fritz Pregl, MD (1869-1930), an Austrian ophthalmologist who deserted the eye for analytical chemistry, received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1923. Walter Hess, MD (1881-1973), a Swiss ophthalmologist and physiologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine in 1949 for his work on autonomic control by the hypothalamus.