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Here are a few people who have intrigued me lately. Â
Mario R. Capecchi
University of Utah researcher, Dr. Mario Capecchi was just awarded the Nobel Prize for scientific advancement. Dr. Capecchi has lead a incredible life - consider his amazing story of survival during WWII:
“Mario Capecchi was born in the Italian city of Verona in 1937. His father was Luciano Capecchi, an Italian airman who would be later reported as missing in action while manning an anti-aircraft gun in the Western Desert Campaign, His mother was Lucy Ramberg, an American-born daughter of Impressionist painter Lucy Dodd Ramberg and German archaeologist Walter Ramberg. During World War II, his mother was sent to the Dachau concentration camp as punishment for pamphleteering and belonging to an anti-Fascist group. Prior to her arrest she had made contingency plans by selling her belongings and giving the proceeds to a peasant family near Bolzano to provide housing for her son. However, after one year, the money was exhausted and the family was unable to care for him. At four-and-a-half years old he was left to fend for himself on the streets of northern Italy for the next four years, living in various orphanages and roving through towns with groups of other homeless children.
He almost died of malnutrition. His mother, meanwhile, had been freed from Dachau and began a year-long search for him. She finally found him in a hospital bed in Reggio Emilia, ill with a fever and subsisting on a daily bowl of chicory coffee and bread crust. She took him to Rome, where he had his first bath in six years.”Â
What an astonishing story of survival and the power of the human spirit. From the Salt Lake Tribune:
“The Italian-born Capecchi came to the University of Utah in 1974 to pioneer what was then a bold new line of genetics inquiry, which is now credited with paving the way for major advances in understanding and treating a broad range of diseases. In his Nobel interview he stressed the importance of “passion,” and likened his work to play.”
Congratulations to Dr. Capecchi for overcoming the odds, winning the Nobel Prize, and bettering the human race with his scientific research.
Elon Musk
Elon Musk was recently named Inc Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Elon was one of the founders of PayPal, which was acquired by eBay. Elon is also the brilliant mind behind Solar City, Tesla Motors, and SpaceX - three amazing companies that are turning their industries and the world on its head.
Not a lot of people outside of Silicon Valley know Elon. He’s just one of those legitimate guys who makes things happen rather than spending his time self-promoting. He’s the perfect example of the type of entrepreneur I’d like to be someday.
Ron Paul
You may not agree with Ron Paul but you have to give him credit for standing up for what he believes. The man has integrity. I think if all politicians were like Ron Paul then the world would be a different place. Here’s a recent interview Dr. Paul did John Stossel of ABC’s 20/20:Â