Biologist

Margarita Salas

Spanish biochemist

1938 - 2019

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Her biography is available in 30 different languages on Wikipedia. Margarita Salas is the 520th most popular biologist, the 1,021st most popular biography from Spain and the 5th most popular Spanish Biologist.

Margarita Salas, a pioneering Spanish biochemist and molecular geneticist from Asturias, is most famously known for discovering and characterizing the Φ29 DNA polymerase enzyme from the bacteriophage Φ29, which she patented and which revolutionized DNA amplification by enabling faster, simpler, and more reliable replication of trace amounts of DNA—making it the highest-grossing patent in the history of Spain's National Research Council (CSIC) and widely applied today in forensics, oncology, archaeology, and biotechnology for genomic testing. Through her groundbreaking work on this enzyme, she introduced and advanced molecular biology as a field in Spain after training with Nobel laureate Severo Ochoa in the US, authored over 350 publications, mentored generations of scientists, and became a trailblazing figure for women in science amid Franco-era gender barriers. Surprisingly, despite facing significant prejudice as a woman in mid-20th-century Spanish academia—where higher education and careers were often restricted for females—she was awarded the hereditary title of Marchioness of Canero by King Juan Carlos I in recognition of her contributions, and shortly before her death received the 2019 European Inventor Award in both Lifetime Achievement and Popular Prize categories.

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Among Biologists

Among biologists, Margarita Salas ranks 520 out of 1,097. Before her are Alec Jeffreys, Louisa Bolus, François Marie Daudin, Johan Andreas Murray, Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield, and Amédée Louis Michel le Peletier, comte de Saint-Fargeau. After her are Charles Chamberland, Kaspar Maria von Sternberg, Petter Adolf Karsten, Jacques Loeb, Johann Bauhin, and Georg August Schweinfurth.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1938, Margarita Salas ranks 244. Before her are Lee Morgan, Deniz Baykal, Paolo Romeo, Ralph Bakshi, Liya Akhedzhakova, and Venedikt Yerofeyev. After her are Gianluigi Saccaro, Fred Anton Maier, Andrei Amalrik, Larry Niven, Angela Luce, and Myechyslaw Hryb. Among people deceased in 2019, Margarita Salas ranks 200. Before her are Lydia Wideman, Fritz Hollings, Robert Walker, John Havlicek, José Antonio Reyes, and Stefano Delle Chiaie. After her are Lê Đức Anh, Seymour Cassel, Gyoji Matsumoto, Michel Aumont, Paul Volcker, and José José.

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In Spain

Among people born in Spain, Margarita Salas ranks 1,021 out of NaN. Before her are Miguel Ricardo de Álava (1772), Mariano Martín (1919), Enrique Barón Crespo (1944), Ramón Franco (1896), José Antonio Reyes (1983), and José Manuel Fuente (1945). After her are Francesc Pi i Margall (1824), Juan Benlloch i Vivó (1864), Carlos Moyá (1976), Pascual Cervera y Topete (1839), Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (1519), and José Manuel Pinto (1975).

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Among Biologists In Spain

Among biologists born in Spain, Margarita Salas ranks 5. Before her are Santiago Ramón y Cajal (1852), Ibn al-Baitar (1197), Antonio José Cavanilles (1745), and Francisco Manuel Blanco (1778). After her are Francisco J. Ayala (1934), José Antonio Pavón Jiménez (1754), Francisco Hernández de Toledo (1515), Hipólito Ruiz López (1754), Abu al-Abbas al-Nabati (1166), Ángel Cabrera (1879), and Cristina Garmendia (1962).

Spanish born Biologists

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