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List of Greek Nobel laureates and nominees

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As of 2026, there have been 7 Greek Nobel Laureates, 4 of which won the Nobel Prize of Literature, 1 of which won the Nobel Prize of Physiology or Medicine, 1 of which won the Nobel Prize of Economics and 1 of which won the Nobel Prize of Chemistry.

Greek Nobel Laureates

Laureates from Greece

More information Year, Image ...
YearImageLaureateBornDiedFieldCitation
Citizens
1963 Giorgos [Seferiadis] Seferis 13 May 1900 in Urla, İzmir, Ottoman Empire 20 September 1971 in Athens, Greece Literature "for his eminent lyrical writing, inspired by a deep feeling for the Hellenic world of culture."[1]
1979 Odysseas [Alepoudellis] Elytis 2 November 1911 in Heraklion, Crete, Greece 18 March 1996 in Athens, Greece Literature "for his poetry, which, against the background of Greek tradition, depicts with sensuous strength and intellectual clear-sightedness modern man's struggle for freedom and creativeness."[2]
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Laureates not from Greece, but of Greek descent

More information Year, Image ...
YearImageLaureateBornDiedFieldCitation
Citizens
1934 Luigi Pirandello 28 June 1867 in Agrigento, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy 10 December 1936 in Rome, Kingdom of Italy Literature "for his bold and ingenious revival of dramatic and scenic art"[3]
1959 Salvatore Quasimodo 20 August 1901 in Modica, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy 14 June 1968 in Naples, Italy Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own times"[4]
1974 George Emil Palade November 19, 1912 in Iași, Kingdom of Romania October 8, 2008 in Del Mar, California, United States Physiology or Medicine "for their discoveries concerning the structural and functional organization of the cell" (prize shared with Albert Claude and Christian de Duve))
2010 Christopher A. Pissarides 20 February 1948 in Nicosia, British Cyprus Economics "for their analysis of markets with search frictions" (prize shared with Peter A. Diamond and Dale T. Mortensen)
2024 Demis Hassabis 27 July 1976 in London, United Kingdom Chemistry "for protein structure prediction" (prize shared with John M. Jumper and David Baker)
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Greek Nobel Nominees

More information Image, Nominee ...
ImageNomineeBornDiedYears NominatedCitationNominator(s)
Chemistry
Leonidas Zervas 21 May 1902 in Megalopolis, Greece 10 July 1980 in Athens, Greece 1974 "For his works on the chemistry of proteins." Nominated the only time by Paul Sakellaridis (b. 1920) from Athens[5]
Literature
Demetrios Bernardakis 3 December 1833 in Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 12 January 1907 in Mytilene, Lesbos, Greece 1904, 1905 Athanasios Bernardakis
(1844–1922)
Greece
Georgios Souris 2 February 1853 in Ermoupoli, Syros, Greece 26 August 1919 in Athens, Greece 1907 Nikolaos Levidis
(1868–1942)
Greece
9 members of the Greek Artists' Association
1907, 1912 Georgios Hatzidakis
(1848–1941)
Greece
1908 name ineligible
1909
members of the Parnassos Literary Society
1911 Hellenic Philological Society of Constantinople[a]
Kostis Palamas 13 January 1859 in Patras, Greece 27 February 1943 in Athens, Greece 1926, 1927, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933 Simos Menardos
(1872–1933)
Greece
1928, 1930, 1935 Verner von Heidenstam
(1859–1940)
Sweden
1930, 1934 Frederik Poulsen
(1876–1950)
Denmark
1931 10 members of the Academy of Athens[b]
1934, 1936 Harry Fett
(1875–1962)
Norway
1935 Three professors[c]
1936 Sofia Antoniadou (?)
Greece
1937 Nikos Athanasiou Veēs
(1882–1958)
Greece
1938 3 members of the Athens Academy of Science
1940 Iōannēs Kalitsounakēs
(1878–1966)
Greece
Yiorgos Theotokas 27 April 1906 in Istanbul, Turkey 30 October 1966 in Athens, Greece 1945 Sigfrid Siwertz
(1882–1970)
Sweden
Angelos Sikelianos 28 March 1884 in Lefkada, Greece 19 June 1951 in Athens, Greece 1946 Anders Österling
(1884–1981)
Sweden
1947 Nikos Athanasiou Veēs
(1882–1958)
Greece
1948 Elin Wägner
(1882–1949)
Sweden
Axel Waldemar Persson
(1888–1951)
Sweden
1949, 1951 Sigfrid Siwertz
(1882–1970)
Sweden
1950 Hjalmar Gullberg
(1898–1961)
Sweden
Hellenic Authors' Society
Gregorios Xenopoulos 9 December 1867 in Istanbul, Turkey 14 January 1951 in Athens, Greece 1947 Iōannēs Kalitsounakēs
(1878–1966)
Greece[d]
Nikos Kazantzakis 18 February 1883 in Heraklion, Crete, Greece 26 October 1957 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany 1947 Nikos Athanasiou Veēs
(1882–1958)
Greece
1950 Hjalmar Gullberg
(1898–1961)
Sweden
1951 Sigfrid Siwertz
(1882–1970)
Sweden
1952 Norwegian Authors' Union
1953 Hans Heiberg
(1904–1978)
Norway
1954 Henry Olsson
(1896–1985)
Sweden
1955, 1956, 1957 Society of Men of Letters of Greece
1955 Lorentz Eckhoff
(1884–1974)
Norway
1956 Johannes Andreasson Dale
(1898–1975)
Norway
1956, 1957 Samuel Baud-Bovy (1906–1986)
Georgios Drossinis 9 December 1859 in Athens, Greece 3 January 1951 in Kifisia, Attica, Greece 1947 Phaidōn Koukoules[e]
(1881–1956)
Greece
Iōannēs Kalitsounakēs[e]
(1878–1966)
Greece
1947, 1948 Geōrgios Oikonomos
(1882–1951)
Greece
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Notes

  1. [a]
    The nomination was made by the president and secretary of the Hellenic Philological Society in Constantinople, Turkey.
  2. [b]
    Kostis Palamas was also nominated by professors of Modern Greek in Paris, France and Leiden, Netherlands.
  3. [c]
    Three professors of literature and/or history from the University of Athens, Greece.
  4. [d]
    Several other members of the Academy of Athens joined in the nomination.
  5. [e]
    Several other members of the Academy of Athens joined in the nomination.

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