The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1967
Manfred Eigen, Ronald G.W. Norrish, George Porter
George Porter's speech at the Nobel Banquet in Stockholm, December 10, 1967
Your Majesty, Your Royal Highnesses, Your
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentemen:
It is a joyous occasion for a scientist when the subject which
interests him most is recognised by the highest honour that the
world can bestow. When the honour is given to that scientist
personally the happiness is sweet indeed. Science is, on the
whole, an informal activity, a life of shirt sleeves and coffee
served in beakers. Indeed, as the newspapers have shown us, one
of the new Nobel Laureates drinks even his champagne from a
beaker. No wonder if we are overawed by the splendour of the
occasion tonight. But none of us, I am sure, would have it
otherwise. Science and Literature are splendid, and it is really
to science and literature themselves that this distinguished
company pays its homage.
We three chemists here are the most fortunate of Nobel Laureates, many of whom are rewarded after years of patient and painstaking work. We are rewarded for work the very essence of which is that we were so impatient that we spent only a millionth of a second over an experiment.
It was at my new home, the Royal Insitution, that I received the news and this was pleasant and appropriate in many ways. Four earlier professors there received the prize and our illustrious benefactor, Alfred Nobel, became a member in 1889. It is not only my laboratory and my place of work but also my home, so that on the 30th October I was able to share my happiness immediately with my students and collaborators and, at the same time, with my wife and family. Tonight I should like to thank all those who have shared my work and to acknowledge the debt that I owe to my wife whose encouragement to put research before all other things has been a great strength to me.
Slutligen, samtidigt med att tacka Nobelkommittén för den stora äran som visats mig, vill jag tacka er alla i detta stora fredsälskande och vänliga land för er stora gästfrihet mot oss.
From Les Prix Nobel en 1967, Editor Ragnar Granit, [Nobel Foundation], Stockholm, 1968
Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1967
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