- Born
- Died
- Birth nameJonas Edward Salk
- Jonas Salk was born on October 28, 1914 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (2019), Louis Kahn: Silence and Light (1996) and The Levin Interviews (1980). He was married to Françoise Gilot and Donna Lindsay. He died on June 23, 1995 in La Jolla, California, USA.
- SpousesFrançoise Gilot(June 29, 1970 - June 23, 1995) (his death)Donna Lindsay(June 9, 1939 - 1968) (divorced, 3 children)
- Children
- Developed the polio vaccine. Salk never patented it nor earned any money from his discovery, preferring to see it distributed as widely as possible. He injected his wife, their sons and himself during the experimental stages of his vaccine.
- His second wife, Françoise Gilot, was the longtime companion of Pablo Picasso.
- Son of Russian-Jewish immigrants.
- Brother of Dr. Lee Salk, a distinguished specialist in neuromuscular diseases.
- Engaged in a four decade long rivalry with Dr. Albert Sabin. Sabin's live oral polio vaccine was developed at about the same time as Salk's injected killed virus vaccine, and the debate rages on over which vaccine has been more effective in combating polio in the long run.
- Asked who owned the patent on his vaccine: "The people, I suppose. Could you patent the sun?"
- I think that we have an instinct, an impulse to improve our world. And I think that's quite universal.
- Hope lies in dreams, in imagination, and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.
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