Albert Schweitzer

Born on January 14, 1875, in Kaysersberg in Alsace, Albert Schweitzer built an unusually wide-ranging career. He was first known in Europe as a Protestant theologian, an acclaimed organist, and a scholar of Johann Sebastian Bach before turning to medicine and training as a doctor.

In 1913, he and his wife, Hélène Bresslau, went to Lambaréné in French Equatorial Africa, where he established the hospital work that made him internationally famous. Over the years, his writing and public speaking spread his ethical idea of "reverence for life," a phrase closely tied to his reputation and later recognized by the Nobel Committee when he was awarded the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize.

Schweitzer died in Lambaréné on September 4, 1965. His life continues to draw interest because it joined music, religion, medicine, and moral philosophy in a way that still feels singular.