Chinua Achebe vs Dorothy Hodgkin
Two child prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Chinua Achebe | Dorothy Hodgkin | |
| Field | Literature | Science |
| Sub-field | Novelist | Chemistry |
| Born | 1930 | 1910 |
| Died | 2013 | 1994 |
| Country of birth | Colonial Nigeria | Egypt |
| Star sign | Scorpio | Taurus |
Who they are
Chinua Achebe
Father of African Literature · Author of Things Fall Apart 20 million copies sold · 57 languages translated · Most widely read African novel in history Born November 16, 1930 · Ogidi, Nigeria · Died March 21, 2013
Full biography of Chinua Achebe →
Dorothy Hodgkin
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1964 — Structures of penicillin, vitamin B12 & insulin X-ray crystallography · Oxford University · Third woman Nobel Chemistry laureate Born May 12, 1910 · Cairo · Died July 29, 1994
Full biography of Dorothy Hodgkin →
What they share
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Different fields: Literature for Chinua Achebe, Science for Dorothy Hodgkin.
- Born in different countries: Colonial Nigeria and Egypt.
- 20 years separate their births (1930 and 1910).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Chinua Achebe or Dorothy Hodgkin?
- Dorothy Hodgkin. Chinua Achebe was born in 1930, Dorothy Hodgkin in 1910.
- What field is each of them in?
- Chinua Achebe is filed under Literature (Novelist). Dorothy Hodgkin is filed under Science (Chemistry).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.