Photo: Dona Mapston / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Kary Mullis was born on December 28, 1944 in Lenoir, North Carolina, United States and was credited as a biochemist, molecular biologist and chemist. Kary Mullis died on August 7, 2019, aged 74. Schooling on record includes Dreher High School and University of California, Berkeley. Listed accolades include Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1993), Canada Gairdner International Award (1991), National Inventors Hall of Fame (1998) and 5 more.
My Take
Kary Mullis is one of my favorite reminders that genius rarely fits the mold we expect. Inventing PCR earned him the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Japan Prize, yet he remained famously unconventional, a surfer and free spirit as much as a Berkeley-trained biochemist. I admire that he embodied the idea that breakthrough thinking often comes from people who refuse to stay in their lane. Whatever one makes of his eccentricities, his invention quietly underpins modern medicine and saves lives every single day. That is an extraordinary legacy, and it makes him impossible to forget.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kary Mullis
- Name (Japanese)
- キャリー・マリス
- Reading
- きゃりー・まりす
- Born
- December 28, 1944 – August 7, 2019
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Monkey
- Origin
- Lenoir, North Carolina, United States
- Occupation
- biochemist / molecular biologist / chemist
2. Background
- High school
- Dreher High School
- University
- University of California, Berkeley
Awards & achievements
- 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- 1991 Canada Gairdner International Award
- 1998 National Inventors Hall of Fame
- 1990 ASHG Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1992 Robert Koch Prize
- 1993 Japan Prize
- 2010 honorary doctorate of the Masaryk University
- 1992 John Scott Award
3. Links
- Official sitehttps://karymullis.com
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kary%20Mullis
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A3%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%9E%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q157224
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-20
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Kary Mullis born?
Born December 28, 1944.
When did Kary Mullis die?
Died August 7, 2019, aged 74.
Where was Kary Mullis from?
Kary Mullis was from Lenoir, North Carolina, United States.
What did Kary Mullis do?
Kary Mullis worked as biochemist, molecular biologist, chemist.
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