The Nobel Prizes were established according to the will of the Swedish industrialist and inventor, Alfred Nobel and are awarded to individuals who have excelled in the fields of chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine, literature, economics and peace. Since 1951, eleven South African-born individuals have been awarded.
Laureates Year Image Laureate Born Died Field Citation Citizens1951Max Theiler30 January 1899 Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa11 August 1972 New Haven, Connecticut, United StatesPhysiology or Medicine"for his discoveries concerning yellow fever and how to combat it."The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1951 nobelprize.org1960Albert Luthulic. 1898 Bulawayo, Zimbabwe27 July 1967 KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaPeace"for his non-violent struggle against apartheid."The Nobel Peace Prize 1961 nobelprize.org1979Allan MacLeod Cormack23 February 1924 Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa7 May 1998 Winchester, Massachusetts, United StatesPhysiology or Medicine"for the development of computer assisted tomography."The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1979 nobelprize.org(awarded together with Godfrey Hounsfield)1984Desmond Tutu7 October 1931 Klerksdorp, North West, South Africa26 December 2021 Cape Town, South AfricaPeace"for his role as a unifying leader figure in the non-violent campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa."The Nobel Peace Prize 1984 nobelprize.org1991Nadine Gordimer20 November 1923 Springs, Gauteng, South Africa13 July 2014 Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaLiterature"who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity."The Nobel Prize in Literature 1991 nobelprize.org1993Nelson Mandela18 July 1918 Mvezo, OR Tambo, Eastern Cape, South Africa5 December 2013 Houghton Estate, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South AfricaPeace"for their work for the peaceful termination of the apartheid regime, and for laying the foundations for a new democratic South Africa."The Nobel Peace Prize 1993 nobelprize.orgFrederik Willem de Klerk 18 March 1936 Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa11 November 2021 Cape Town, South Africa2002Sydney Brenner13 January 1927 Germiston, Transvaal, South Africa5 April 2019 SingaporePhysiology or Medicine"for their discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death."The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2002 nobelprize.org(awarded together with H. Robert Horvitz and John E. Sulston)2003John Maxwell Coetzee9 February 1940 Cape Town, South AfricaLiterature"who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider."The Nobel Prize in Literature 2003 nobelprize.org2013Michael Levitt9 May 1947 Pretoria, Gauteng, South AfricaChemistry"for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems."The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013 nobelprize.org(awarded together with Martin Karplus and Arieh Warshel) Expatriates1982Aaron Klug11 August 1926 Želva, Ukmergė, Lithuania20 November 2018 Cambridge, United KingdomChemistry"for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes."The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1982 nobelprize.org
Members of laureate organizations The following South African-based organizations and individuals were significant members who contributed largely in making a larger organization become a Nobel laureate. Year Image Individual/organization Born Died Laureate organization Citation 1963South African Red Cross Society (SARCS)founded in 1921 in Cape Town, South AfricaLeague of Red Cross Societies"for promoting the principles of the Geneva Convention and cooperation with the U.N."The Nobel Peace Prize 1963 nobelprize.org1965UNICEF South Africafounded in 1946 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South AfricaUnited Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)"for its effort to enhance solidarity between nations and reduce the difference between rich and poor states"The Nobel Peace Prize 1965 nobelprize.org2007Debra Roberts13 January 1961 Harare, ZimbabweIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)"for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change."The Nobel Peace Prize 2007 nobelprize.org
Nominations The first South African nominee for the Nobel Prize was a certain P. B. de Ville who was unsuccessfully recommended twice (in 1930 and 1932) by South African Minister of Health and Social Welfare Karl Bremer (1885–1953). Since then, other South African influential figures and organizations started receiving nominations as well. The following list are the nominees with verified nominations from the Nobel Committee and recognized international organizations. There are also other purported nominees whose nominations are yet to be verified since the archives are revealed 50 years after, among them: For Physics: Tikvah Alper (1909–1995), Mike Pentz (1924–1995), Friedel Sellschop (1930–2002), Frank Nabarro (1916–2006), Stanley Mandelstam (1928–2016), Jan H van der Merwe (1922–2016) and George F. R. Ellis (born 1939). For Physiology or Medicine: Christiaan Barnard (1922–2001) and Phillip Tobias (1925–2012). For Literature: Mary Renault (1905–1983), Laurens van der Post (1906–1996), Es'kia Mphahlele (1919–2008), Dan Jacobson (1929–2014), André Brink (1935–2015), Peter Abrahams (1919–2017), Karel Schoeman (1939–2017), Wilbur Smith (1933–2021), Athol Fugard (1932–2025), Breyten Breytenbach (1939–2024), Sindiwe Magona (born 1943), Zoë Wicomb (born 1948), Zakes Mda (born 1948), Antjie Krog (born 1952), Ivan Vladislavic (born 1957), Gcina Mhlophe (born 1958) and Damon Galgut (born 1963). For Peace: Oliver Tambo (1917–1993), Walter Sisulu (1912–2003), Fatima Meer (1928–2010), Thabo Mbeki (born 1942), Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (born 1949), African National Congress (founded in 1912), International Defence and Aid Fund (founded in 1956) and Centre for Human Rights (founded in 1986).
Nominees Image Nominee Born Died Years Nominated Citation Nominator(s) PhysicsJohannes Frederik ("Hannes") de BeerWho's Who in Atoms, 5th ed. (George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1969), vol. 1, p.34419301966"for the development of the spark chamber"Yozo Nogami (1918-2008) from University of Tokyo ChemistryJohn Bockris5 January 1923 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa7 July 2013 in Gainesville, Florida, United States1970"for his research on the first model of the electrode-electrolyte surface that include the dipole moment of the solvent."Nomination archive – John O'Mara Bockris nobelprize.orgT. M. Salem (?) Physiology or MedicineJoseph Gillman3 December 1907 in Pretoria, South Africa5 September 1981 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France1953"for their contributions in addressing malnutrition and pellagra in South Africa."Nomination archive – Joseph Gillman nobelprize.orgNomination archive – Theodore Gillman nobelprize.orgTheodore Gillmanc. 1917 in South Africa12 July 1971 in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa LiteratureJ. R. R. Tolkien3 January 1892 in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa2 September 1973 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England1961The Hobbit (1937)The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955)The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (1962)The Road Goes Ever On (1967)Nomination archive – John Ronald Reuel Tolkien nobelprize.orgC. S. Lewis (1898–1963)1967Gösta Holm (1916–2011)1969Richard E. Wycherley (1909–1986)Nadine Gordimer20 November 1923 in Springs, Gauteng, South Africa13 July 2014 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa1972, 1973A World of Strangers (1958)The Conservationist (1974)Burger's Daughter (1979)July's People (1981)Artur Lundkvist (1906–1991)Alan Paton11 January 1903 in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa12 April 1988 in Botha's Hill, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa1972Cry, The Beloved Country (1948)Too Late the Phalarope (1953)Tales from a Troubled Land (1961)Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful (1983)Astley Cooper Partridge ( 1901–?) PeaceP. B. de Ville? South Africa? South Africa1930, 1932Nomination archive – P de Ville nobelprize.orgKarl Bremer (1885–1953)Jan Smuts24 May 1870 in Riebeek West, Swartland, Western Cape, South Africa11 September 1950 in Irene, Gauteng, South Africa1945"for his efforts to end World War II and for South Africa's main role in the war of helping the allies in preventing Germany and Italy from conquering North Africa."Nomination archive – Jan Christian Smuts nobelprize.orgHalvdan Koht (1873–1965)Marcus [Mordechai Aryeh] Wald1 June 1901 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania12 March 1957 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa1949"for his book on Jewish comprehensions of the peace problem."Nomination archive – Marcus Wald nobelprize.orgD. L. Smit (?)Helen Suzman7 November 1917 in Germiston, Transvaal, South Africa1 January 2009 in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa1972Richard Luyt (1915–1994)Stephen Biko18 December 1946 in Tarkastad, Eastern Cape, South Africa12 September 1977 in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa1978 American Friends Service CommitteeBeyers Naudé10 May 1915 in Roodepoort, Gauteng, South Africa7 September 2004 in Johannesburg, South Africa1993"for his role in the dismantling of apartheid, as fighter for human rights, and prophet and humane pastor to all who suffered under apartheid."Zackie Achmat21 March 1962 in Vrededorp, Gauteng, South Africa2004"for having helped to galvanize a global movement to provide hope and gain access to treatment for those with HIV and AIDS."Treatment Action Campaignfounded in 1998 in Cape Town, South Africa14 South African women (part of the 1000 PeaceWomen)began in 2003 in Bern, Switzerland2005"in recognition of women's efforts and visibility in promoting peace all over the world."PeaceWomen Across the Globe , www.1000peacewomen.org, retrieved 1 February 2023.Ruth-Gaby Vermont-Mangold (born 1941)Elon Musk28 June 1971 in Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa2024"for his adamant defense of dialogue, free speech and [enabling] the possibility to express one’s views in a continuously more polarized world."Marius Nilsen (born 1984)
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