Brillat-Savarin, Jean Anthelme
Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin was a French lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of Belley, the city where he was born, but his opposition to the Jacobins during the French Revolution made it necessary for him to flee to Switzerland in 1792.
Funk, Casimir
Casimir Funk was born in Warsaw, Poland. The son of a dermatologist, Funk earned a doctorate degree at the University of Bern, Switzerland, at the young age of twenty.
Glisson, Francis
Francis Glisson was born in Rampisham, England, and attended Cambridge University, with which he had a long relationship. During his life he acted as a dean, senior fellow, and professor at the university.
Goldberger, Joseph
Often considered a significant contributor to the field of nutrition science, Joseph Goldberger was born to a Jewish family in Girald, Austria-Hungary. When he was six years old, Goldberger and his family emigrated to the United States, settling on Manhattan's East Side.
Graham, Sylvester
Sylvester Graham, a Presbyterian minister and reformer, is best known for his creation of the Graham cracker. He also put forth the idea that moderation is beneficial, and that certain foods and behaviors are detrimental to both physical and spiritual health.
Johnson, Howard
Howard Deering Johnson had very humble beginnings in the food service business. Although he is mostly known for his motel, hotel, and restaurant chains, it was his branded ice cream that gave him a spectacular start in the business.
Kellogg, John Harvey
John Harvey Kellogg was an influential spokesman for vegetarianism, a leader in the invention of nut- and soy-based meat substitutes, a surgeon, and, for over fifty years, the director of the Battle Creek Sanitarium. In partnership with his brother Will, he made the Kellogg name famous.
Kroc, Ray
Raymond Albert Kroc was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Luis and Rose Kroc. He had two younger siblings, Robert and Lorraine.
Mellanby, Edward
The British physician and pharmacologist Sir Edward Mellanby was born in West Hartlepool, England, the youngest son of John Mellanby, a shipyard owner, and his wife Mary Isabella Lawson. Mellanby attended Barnard Castle School and Emmanuel College in Cambridge, England, where he studied physiology.
Pasteur, Louis
Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, France, on December 27, 1822. He was the only son of Jean Pasteur, a poorly educated leather tanner.
Pauling, Linus
Linus Carl Pauling was born in Portland, Oregon, on February 28, 1901, to Herman and Lucy Pauling. Growing up in Oregon, Pauling and his family Two-time Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling.
Pemberton, John S
John Stith Pemberton was born in Knoxville, Georgia, and spent his childhood in Rome, Georgia. He graduated from Southern Botanico Medical College of Georgia in 1850.
Rosenstein, Nils Rosén von
Nils Rosén von Rosenstein (1706–1773) was a Swedish physician, born in the city of Gothland. He is considered a founder of modern pediatrics, primarily because of a systematic treatise he wrote on the treatment of children and infants.
Stark, William
William Stark (1741–1770) was born in Birmingham, England, of Scottish parentage. He obtained his medical degree at Leiden, Netherlands, in 1769.
Tulp, Nicolaas
The Dutch physician Nicolaas Tulp was born on October 11, 1593, in Amsterdam, Holland, the fourth child of a prominent merchant family. He was originally named Claes (Nicolas) Pieterz, but he later adopted the name Tulp, meaning "tulip." Tulp attended Leiden University in Holland, receiving his medical degree in 1614.
White, Ellen G
Ellen Gould White was born eight miles east of Portland, Maine, in 1827, during a time characterized by the news analyst and commentator John Harvey as "an era of medical ignorance bordering on barbarism ... when doctors were still bloodletting and performing surgery with unwashed hands." With little education, Ellen White became a prolific writer and a strong advocate of good nutrition.
Wilson, Owen
A native of Tennessee, Owen Wilson was a pioneer in pediatric medicine. Born on July 20, 1870, he entered Vanderbilt University in 1884, at the age of fourteen, and graduated with an engineering degree in 1889.