Abhijit Banerjee And Wife Esther Duflo Bag Nobel Prize in Economics: List of Married Couples Who Won The Nobel

Kolkata, October 15: Economist Abhijit Banerjee, his wife Esther Duflo and Harvard professor Michael Kremer were awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for 2019 on Monday. After Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo bagged the coveted Nobel Prize, the Royal Swedish Academy for Sciences released a list of Nobel prize-awarded couple. With Abhijeet and Esther, six couples have won the prestigious award in different fields since the inception of the Nobel Prize in 1895. Indian Economy 'Doing Very Badly': Abhijit Banerjee.

Marie and Pierre Curie:

The first couple to win the Nobel prize were Marie and Pierre Curie. Married in 1895, the coupe won the Nobel award in Physics in 1911 for discovering polonium and radium. After Henri Becquerel discovered that minerals containing uranium emitted a strong radiation, Marie became interested in these “uranium rays”. Her research resulted in the idea of a totally new element. Subsequently, Pierre kept his own research aside and decided to join Marie’s project. In 1898, the couple discovered two new elements – polonium and radium. Abhijit Banerjee, On Winning Nobel Prize 2019 For Economic Sciences, Says 'Entire Movement to Alleviate Poverty Honoured'.

Irene Curie and Frederic Joliot:

Irene, the eldest daughter of Marie and Pierre Curie, repeated the history made by her parents. Irene, who was working at their Radium Institute, met Frederic Joliot in 1924 when he came to the institute to work as an assistant to Marie Curie. Joliot learned the techniques around the research on radioactivity from Irene. The couple tied the knot in 1926. They were jointly awarded the Nobel Chemistry Prize in 1935 for discovering artificial radioactivity.

Gerty and Carl Cori:

Gerty and Carl Cori who recieved the honour in 1947. They met in medical school and completed graduation together. After getting married, they emigrated from Vienna to Buffalo, sensing the rising anti-Semitism. They were awarded the Medicine Prize for their research on glycogen and glucose metabolism.

Alva and Gunnar Myrdals:

Alva and Gunnar Myrdals were the first married couple to the Nobel award in different categories. Gunnar had already been jointly awarded the 1974 Prize in Economic Sciences on research on the interrelations between economic, social and political processes. Alva was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1982 for her work countering nuclear proliferation.

May-Britt and Edvard Moser:

In 2014, May-Britt and her then-husband Edvard Moser were awarded the Nobel prize in Medicine for their discovery of our "inner GPS". The couple had discovered a type of cell that is important for determining position close to the hippocampus, an area located in the centre of the brain. They divorced in 2016.

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo:

India-born Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo shared the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences for their "experimental approach to alleviating global poverty", along with Michael Kremer. Both are professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology or MIT in the US.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 15, 2019 09:20 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).