Dorothy Hodgkin vs Efim Bogoljubov
Two child prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Dorothy Hodgkin | Efim Bogoljubov | |
| Field | Science | Sports |
| Sub-field | Chemistry | Chess |
| Born | 1910 | 1889 |
| Died | 1994 | 1952 |
| Country of birth | Egypt | Russia |
| Star sign | Taurus | Aries |
Who they are
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 →
Efim Bogoljubov
A story — possibly apocryphal, certainly too good not to record — holds that when someone asked Efim Bogoljubov why he was so confident before a particular game, he replied: "When I have White, I win because I have White. When I have Black, I win because I am Bogoljubov." The line captures the man perfectly: large ego, enormous confidence, an infectious delight in chess, and enough genuine talent to partially justify every bit of it. Bogoljubov was not quite the best chess player of his era, but he was very nearly so, and the…
Full biography of Efim Bogoljubov →
What they share
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Different fields: Science for Dorothy Hodgkin, Sports for Efim Bogoljubov.
- Born in different countries: Egypt and Russia.
- 21 years separate their births (1910 and 1889).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Dorothy Hodgkin or Efim Bogoljubov?
- Efim Bogoljubov. Dorothy Hodgkin was born in 1910, Efim Bogoljubov in 1889.
- What field is each of them in?
- Dorothy Hodgkin is filed under Science (Chemistry). Efim Bogoljubov is filed under Sports (Chess).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.