The following is a list of couples who were awarded and nominated for the Nobel Prize.[1][2] The latest couple to receive the Prize were Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo for Economics.[3][4]

Laureates

Year Husband Wife Category Citation Sources
Portrait Name Portrait Name
1903 Pierre Curie
(1859–1906) 		Marie Skłodowska-Curie[a]
(1867–1934) 		Physics "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."
(awarded together with French physicist Henri Becquerel) 		[6]
1935 Frédéric Joliot
(1900–1958) 		Irène Joliot-Curie
(1897–1956) 		Chemistry "in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements." [7]
1947 Carl Ferdinand Cori
(1896–1984) 		Gerty Theresa Radnitz-Cori
(1896–1957) 		Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the course of the catalytic conversion of glycogen."
(awarded together with Argentine physiologist Bernardo Alberto Houssay) 		[8]
1974
and
1982 		Gunnar Myrdal
(1898–1987) 		Alva Reimer-Myrdal
(1902–1986) 		Economics (1974) and Peace (1982) "for [his] pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena."
(awarded together with Austrian-British economist and philosopher Friedrich Hayek) 		[9]
"for [her] work for disarmament and nuclear and weapon-free zones."
(awarded together with Mexican diplomat Alfonso García Robles) 		[10]
2014 Edvard Moser[b]
(born 1962) 		May-Britt Moser[b]
(born 1963) 		Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain."
(awarded together with American-British neuroscientist John O'Keefe) 		[13]
2019 Abhijit Banerjee
(born 1961) 		Esther Duflo-Banerjee
(born 1972) 		Economic Sciences "for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty."
(awarded together with American development economist Michael Kremer) 		[14]

Nominations

The first couple nominated for the Nobel Prize were the American pacifists Edwin Mead (1849–1937) and Lucia Ames Mead (1856–1936). They were endorsed by Samuel Train Dutton (1849–1919) for their numerous contributions in the promotion of peace.[15] Henceforth, other couples began getting nominated for the prestigious Swedish prize whether jointly or separately in their respective fields. Aside from the following couples with verified nominations from the Nobel Committee, there are also other couples purportedly endorsed and whose nominations are yet to be verified since the archives are revealed 50 years after,[16] among them are Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci-Şahin[17][18] (for Medicine), John Q. Trojanowski and Virginia Man-Yee Lee[19] (for Medicine), Patrick S. Moore and Yuan Chang-Moore[20] (for Medicine), John Kappler and Philippa Marrack-Kappler[21] (for Medicine), Jerome Karle[c] and Isabella Lugoski Karle[22] (for Chemistry), Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky-Pevear (for Literature), Paul Auster and Siri Hustvedt (for Literature), Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates[23] (for Peace), Amory Lovins and Hunter Sheldon-Lovins (for Peace), Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Engle-Suvanjieff[24] (for Peace), and Søren Johansen and Katarina Juselius-Johansen[21] (for Economics).

Nominees

Husband Wife Motivation Year(s) Nominated[d] Sources
Portrait Name Portrait Name
Physiology or Medicine
Oskar Vogt
(1870–1959) 		Cécile Vogt-Mugnier
(1875–1962) 		"for their work concerning the anatomy and genetics of the brain (the architectonics of the cerebral cortex, cortex localization, function of corpus striatum, cerebral cytoarchitecture and myeloarchitectonics, diseases of the striatum system, aging of glial cells and their changes in schizophrenia)." 1922, 1923,
1926, 1928,
1929, 1930,
1950, 1951, 1953 		[25][26]
George Frederick Dick
(1881–1967) 		Gladys Rowena Henry-Dick
(1881–1963) 		"for their work on scarlet fever (the etiology, identification of scarlet fever streptococci by neutralization of the toxin with specific antitoxin, passive immunization and treatment with antitoxin, toxin test for susceptibility and active immunization)." 1925, 1926,
1927, 1928, 1935 		[27][28]
Edward Mellanby
(1884–1955) 		May Tweedy-Mellanby
(1882–1978) 		"for their work on the relation of dietary deficiencies to human diseases (rickets and the nervous conditions produced by lack of vitamin A, and dental structure and dental diseases)." 1939 [29][30]
David Tillerson Smith
(1898–1981) 		Susan Gower-Smith
(1897–1983) 		"for their work on the use of nicotinic acid in the pellagra therapy." 1939 [31][32]
George Van Siclen Smith
(1900–1984) 		Olive Watkins Smith
(1901–1983) 		"for their investigation of a possible hormonal cause of toxemia of pregnancy. 1940 [33][34]
Physics
Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge (1925–2010) Margaret Peachey-Burbidge
(1919–2020) 		"for their fundamental theory on stellar nucleosynthesis that most heavier chemical elements were formed through stellar evolution." 1964 [35][36]
Pierre Connes
(1928–2019) 		Janine Roux-Connes
(b. 1934) 		"for their development of the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy method." 1970 [37][38]
Chemistry
Walter Noddack
(1893–1960) 		Ida Tacke-Noddack
(1896–1978) 		"for their discovery of the chemical elements technetium and rhenium." 1933, 1935,
1937 		[39][40]
Jacques Tréfouël
(1897–1977) 		Thérèse Broyer-Tréfouël
(1892–1978) 		"for their research on sulfanilamide, a novel class of antibiotic drug." 1950 [41][42]
Bernard Pullman
(1919–1996) 		Alberte Bucher-Pullman
(1920–2011) 		"for their contributions to the application of quantum chemistry to predicting the carcinogenic properties of aromatic hydrocarbons." 1963, 1965,
1968, 1969 		[43][44]
Literature
Jean Paul Sartre[e]
(1905–1980) 		Simone de Beauvoir[e]
(1908–1986) 		J. P. Sartre: Nausea (1938)
The Roads to Freedom (1945–49)
Existentialism Is a Humanism (1946)
Being and Nothingness (1954) 		1957, 1958,
1959, 1960,
1961, 1962,
1963, 1964 		[46]
S. de Beauvoir: She Came to Stay (1943)
The Ethics of Ambiguity (1947)
The Second Sex (1949)
The Mandarins (1954) 		1961, 1969 [47]
Peace
Edwin Doak Mead
(1849–1937) 		Lucia James Ames-Mead
(1856–1936) 		"for promoting together international justice and peace through peace conferences, managed to open a free peace academy in Boston (The International School of Peace), and publishing and distributing literature on peace." 1913 [48][49]
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(1882–1945) 		Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
(1884–1962) 		F. D. Roosevelt "for taking an active part in the fields of politics, economics and culture in order to secure world peace, and for his efforts to end World War II." 1934, 1938,
1939, 1945 		[50]
A. E. Roosevelt "for her work to further understanding between people of different races and between people from different nations, especially while serving as Chairman of the UN Commission on Human Rights." 1947, 1949,
1955, 1956, 1962 		[51]
Juan Domingo Perón
(1895–1974) 		María Eva Duarte-Perón
(1919–1952) 		"for their humanitarian efforts in Argentina particularly on promoting labor rights, championing women's suffrage, eliminating poverty and establishing charities to the working-class Argentines." 1949 [52][53]
Robert Baden-Powell
(1857–1941) 		Olave St. Clair Baden-Powell
(1889–1977) 		R. Baden-Powell "for having founded the Boys Scouts movement that embodies brotherly mentality and non-militaristic characters." 1928, 1933,
1937, 1938, 1939 		[54]
O. Baden-Powell "for her international contribution as a founder of the Scout movement for girls." 1959 [55]
Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire
(1917–1992) 		Margaret Susan Ryder-Cheshire
(1924–2000) 		"for establishing numerous charitable health and welfare organizations for the physically disabled and people living with terminal illnesses and neurological conditions." 1967 [56][57]
Gunnar Myrdal
(1898–1987) 		Alva Reimer-Myrdal
(1902–1986) 		"for their many services to the international community and their promotion of international understanding." 1970 [58][59]

Notes

  1. ^ Marie Curie was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry "in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element."[5]
  2. ^ a b Edvard and May-Britt Moser announced their divorce in 2016, but still continue their scientific work together. [11][12]
  3. ^ The Karles developed what is known as the direct method of determining molecular structures, which has been used by scientists to develop new compounds for industry and medicine. This breakthrough earned Jerome the 1958 Nobel Prize in Chemistry — though it snubbed Isabella's effort which greatly upset Jerome. Isabella apparently was unmoved by the slight, as she already had a distinguished record of awards for her experimental work.[22]
  4. ^ Years the couple were nominated together (some couples were nominated separately).
  5. ^ a b Sartre famously proposed an open relationship and de Beauvoir agreed. Though not officially married in any ceremony, Sartre and De Beauvoir lived as a couple for over 50 years until their deaths in the 1980s. Sartre alone won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1964 but he declined the prize.[45]

References

  1. ^ Nathaniel Whelan (10 July 2020). "Couples Who Won The Nobel Prize". worldatlas.com. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  2. ^ Nobel Prize-awarded couples nobelprize.org
  3. ^ "Five couples who won Nobel Prize before Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo". The Indian Express. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Not Just Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Here are Other Married Couples Who Won Nobel Prize". CNN-News18. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
  5. ^ The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1911 nobelprize.org
  6. ^ The Nobel Prize in Physics 1903 nobelprize.org
  7. ^ The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1935 nobelprize.org
  8. ^ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1947 nobelprize.org
  9. ^ The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1974 nobelprize.org
  10. ^ The Nobel Peace Prize 1982 nobelprize.org
  11. ^ "Nobelpris-paret Moser skilles". vg.no. 2016-01-25.
  12. ^ "May-Britt Moser". Women who changed science home. Nobel Foundation.
  13. ^ The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 nobelprize.org
  14. ^ The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2019 nobelprize.org
  15. ^ Nomination for Nobel Peace Prize nobelprize.org
  16. ^ "Nomination and selection of Nobel laureates". nobelprize.org. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  17. ^ Tim Stickings (3 October 2023). "A matter of time as BioNTech scientists wait for Nobel Prize". The National News. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  18. ^ David Gelles (10 November 2020). "The Husband-and-Wife Team Behind the Leading Vaccine to Solve Covid-19". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Clarivate Reveals Citation Laureates 2022 - Annual List of Researchers of Nobel Class". PR Newswire. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  20. ^ "The 2017 Clarivate Citation Laureates". Clarivate Analytics. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  21. ^ a b "The 2019 Clarivate Citation Laureates" (PDF). Clarivate Analytics. 1 April 2023.
  22. ^ a b John Loeffler (14 February 2019). "7 Scientific Couples Who Changed the Way We See The World". Interesting Engineering. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  23. ^ Martha Ross (7 May 2021). "Eyeing Nobel Prize, Bill and Melinda Gates will keep divorce civil". The Mercury News. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  24. ^ John Waltihanger (6 October 2015). "Couple Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize Explains What 'Peace' Means". Elite Daily. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  25. ^ Nomination archive – Oskar Vogt nobelprize.org
  26. ^ Nomination archive – Cécile Vogt nobelprize.org
  27. ^ Nomination archive – George F Dick nobelprize.org
  28. ^ Nomination archive – Gladys H Dick nobelprize.org
  29. ^ Nomination archive – Sir Edward Mellanby nobelprize.org
  30. ^ Nomination archive – Lady May Mellanby nobelprize.org
  31. ^ Nomination archive – David T Smith nobelprize.org
  32. ^ Nomination archive – Susan G Smith nobelprize.org
  33. ^ Nomination archive – George S Smith nobelprize.org
  34. ^ Nomination archive – Olive W Smith nobelprize.org
  35. ^ Nomination archive – Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge nobelprize.org
  36. ^ Nomination archive – Eleanor Margaret Burbidge nobelprize.org
  37. ^ Nomination archive – Pierre Connes nobelprize.org
  38. ^ Nomination archive – Janine Connes nobelprize.org
  39. ^ Nomination archive – Walter Noddack nobelprize.org
  40. ^ Nomination archive – Ida Noddack nobelprize.org
  41. ^ Nomination archive – Jacques Tréfouël nobelprize.org
  42. ^ archive – Thérèse Tréfouël nobelprize.org
  43. ^ Nomination archive – Bernard Pullman nobelprize.org
  44. ^ Nomination archive – Alberte Pullman nobelprize.org
  45. ^ "Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir". Dazed Digital. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  46. ^ "Nomination archive - Jean-Paul Sartre". nobelprize.org.
  47. ^ "Nomination Archive - Simone de Beauvoir". nobelprize.org.
  48. ^ Nomination archive – Edwin Doak Mead nobelprize.org
  49. ^ Nomination archive – Lucia True Ames Mead nobelprize.org
  50. ^ Nomination archive – Franklin Delano Roosevelt nobelprize.org
  51. ^ Nomination archive – Anna Eleanor Roosevelt nobelprize.org
  52. ^ Nomination archive – Juan Domingo Perón nobelprize.org
  53. ^ Nomination archive – María Eva Duarte (Evita) Perón nobelprize.org
  54. ^ Nomination archive – Sir Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell nobelprize.org
  55. ^ Nomination archive – Olave Lady Baden-Powell nobelprize.org
  56. ^ Nomination archive – Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire nobelprize.org
  57. ^ Nomination archive – Sue Ryder Cheshire nobelprize.org
  58. ^ "Nomination Archive – Alva Myrdal". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  59. ^ "Nomination Archive – Gunnar Myrdal". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 1 April 2023.

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