This Article is From Jan 28, 2021

The Nobel Laureate In Chemistry Who Flunked The Subject In High School

"I have the distinction of being the only Chemistry Laureate who failed the topic in high school!"

The Nobel Laureate In Chemistry Who Flunked The Subject In High School

Tomas Lindahl was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The Nobel Prize is widely considered the world's most prestigious award, so one would expect a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry to have excelled in the subject in school. However, there is actually one Chemistry Laureate who holds the distinction of having failed the topic in high school - although he says it's because his teacher took a dislike to him.

On Tomas Lindahl's 83rd birthday, the Nobel Prize Organisation celebrated the Swedish scientist and his achievements with an Instagram post reminding the world of his unique distinction - being the only Chemistry Laureate in the world who flunked the topic. 

"At school I had a teacher that didn't like me and I didn't like him. At the end of the year he decided to fail me," Dr Lindahl was quoted as saying by the official Instagram handle of the Nobel Prize.

"The ironic thing is that the topic was chemistry.

"I have the distinction of being the only Chemistry Laureate who failed the topic in high school!"

"Great story," wrote one person in the comments section. "I'm glad it didn't stop you from pursuing your path," said another. 

Tomas Lindahl was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry jointly with American chemist Paul L Modrich and Turkish chemist Aziz Sancar for "mechanistic studies of DNA repair". 

Born on January 28, 1938, in Stockholm, Sweden, he received his PhD degree from the Karolinska Institute. 

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