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CHEMIST

Kary Mullis

1944 - 2019

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Kary Banks Mullis (December 28, 1944 – August 7, 2019) was an American biochemist. In recognition of his role in the invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, he shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith and was awarded the Japan Prize in the same year. PCR became a central technique in biochemistry and molecular biology, described by The New York Times as "highly original and significant, virtually dividing biology into the two epochs of before PCR and after PCR." Mullis downplayed humans' role in climate change, expressed doubt that HIV is the cause of AIDS, and professed a belief in astrology and the paranormal. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Kary Mullis has received more than 2,310,210 page views. His biography is available in 53 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 51 in 2019). Kary Mullis is the 60th most popular chemist (up from 71st in 2019), the 514th most popular biography from United States (up from 619th in 2019) and the 6th most popular American Chemist.

Kary Mullis is most famous for inventing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, which is used to amplify DNA sequences.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.3M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 66.32

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 53

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.84

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.87

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Page views of Kary Mullis by language


Among CHEMISTS

Among chemists, Kary Mullis ranks 60 out of 509. Before him are Adolf Butenandt, Hans Fischer, Kurt Alder, Jacques Monod, Melvin Calvin, and Claude Louis Berthollet. After him are Friedrich Bergius, Irving Langmuir, Tadeusz Reichstein, Adolf Windaus, Arne Tiselius, and Dorothy Hodgkin.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1944, Kary Mullis ranks 26. Before him are Jacqueline Bisset, Joe Frazier, Omar al-Bashir, Diana Ross, Danny Trejo, and Ronnie Peterson. After him are Ulrich Beck, Dietrich Mateschitz, Helmut Berger, Rem Koolhaas, Alan Parker, and Ibrahim Rugova. Among people deceased in 2019, Kary Mullis ranks 20. Before him are Anna Karina, Franco Zeffirelli, Karel Gott, Jeffrey Epstein, I. M. Pei, and Immanuel Wallerstein. After him are Marie Fredriksson, Peter Fonda, Michel Legrand, Doris Day, João Gilberto, and Bibi Andersson.

Others Born in 1944

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Others Deceased in 2019

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Kary Mullis ranks 514 out of 18,182. Before him are John Kerry (1943), Robert Mitchum (1917), Leonard Nimoy (1931), Romina Power (1951), John Malkovich (1953), and Allen Ginsberg (1926). After him are Richard Kiel (1939), George R. R. Martin (1948), William Alfred Fowler (1911), Peter Fonda (1940), Betty White (1922), and Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921).

Others born in United States

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Among CHEMISTS In United States

Among chemists born in United States, Kary Mullis ranks 6. Before him are Linus Pauling (1901), Edwin McMillan (1907), John Stith Pemberton (1831), Gertrude B. Elion (1918), and Melvin Calvin (1911). After him are Irving Langmuir (1881), John Howard Northrop (1891), Theodore William Richards (1868), Gilbert N. Lewis (1875), Marshall Warren Nirenberg (1927), and Edward Adelbert Doisy (1893).

American born Chemists

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