CHEMIST

Sidney Altman

1939 - 2022

Photo of Sidney Altman

Icon of person Sidney Altman

Sidney Altman (May 7, 1939 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian-American molecular biologist, who was the Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Chemistry at Yale University. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Sidney Altman has received more than 205,210 page views. His biography is available in 56 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 51 in 2019). Sidney Altman is the 248th most popular chemist (down from 234th in 2019), the 64th most popular biography from Canada (down from 63rd in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Canadian Chemist.

Sidney Altman is most famous for his discovery of catalytic RNA, which showed that RNA molecules can act as enzymes and catalyze chemical reactions. This discovery earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989.

Memorability Metrics

  • 210k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 59.82

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 56

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 10.88

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.62

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among CHEMISTS

Among chemists, Sidney Altman ranks 248 out of 602. Before him are Elias James Corey, Thomas Graham, Ryōji Noyori, William C. Campbell, Paul Lauterbur, and Ida Noddack. After him are Thomas A. Steitz, Joseph L. Goldstein, Bernard Courtois, Walter Gilbert, Andreas Libavius, and Michael Polanyi.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1939, Sidney Altman ranks 81. Before him are Claudio Magris, Joaquim Chissano, Ratko Janev, Milva, Amarildo Tavares da Silveira, and Yael Dayan. After him are Warda Al-Jazairia, Ruggero Deodato, Silvana Armenulić, Ion Țiriac, Fritjof Capra, and Lucia Popp. Among people deceased in 2022, Sidney Altman ranks 73. Before him are Teresa Berganza, Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela, Klaus Schulze, Boris Pahor, Cüneyt Arkın, and Javier Marías. After him are Edward C. Prescott, Ruggero Deodato, Frank Drake, David Warner, Wim Jansen, and Eric Walter Elst.

Others Born in 1939

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Others Deceased in 2022

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In Canada

Among people born in Canada, Sidney Altman ranks 64 out of 1,622. Before him are Norman Jewison (1926), Maud Lewis (1903), John Candy (1950), Brian Tracy (1944), Donald O. Hebb (1904), and Lester B. Pearson (1897). After him are A. E. van Vogt (1912), Elizabeth Arden (1878), Mike Myers (1963), Glenn Ford (1916), Joe Weider (1919), and Charles Taylor (1931).

Others born in Canada

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Among CHEMISTS In Canada

Among chemists born in Canada, Sidney Altman ranks 2. Before him are William Giauque (1895). After him are Henry Taube (1915), Rudolph A. Marcus (1923), Maud Menten (1879), and Martin Kamen (1913).

Canadian born Chemists

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