Jewish World Records emblemJewish World Records
Back to all records
JWR VerifiedFounding RecordJWR-2026-000131

First Jewish Person to Win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Record holder

Paul EhrlichPerson

Record value

10 December 1908

Country represented: GermanyAchievement location: Stockholm, SwedenAchievement date: 10 December 1908Current record

Challenge this record

Verified by Jewish World RecordsHow we verify records

Paul Ehrlich working in his laboratory, circa 1913

Paul Ehrlich in his laboratory, circa 1913 — direct scientific-work context for the first Jewish Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine.Wellcome Collection / Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY 4.0

Official record definition

The earliest Jewish person personally named as a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine laureate. Shared prizes count; nominations, institutional awards, other Nobel categories and ancestry-only cases without qualifying Jewish identity are excluded.

Measurement methodology

Official Nobel Prize chronology from 1901 through 1908, combined with evidence of the Jewish identity of each potential earlier laureate.

Measurement point: Personal receipt of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Record story

Paul Ehrlich became the "First Jewish person to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine" on 10 December 1908. The German physician and scientist received the award in Stockholm, Sweden, jointly with Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov. According to the official citation from NobelPrize.org, the prize was awarded “in recognition of their work on immunity.”

The record’s validation is based on an analysis of the official Nobel Prize chronology from 1901 through to the award year of 1908. This confirmed that no qualifying Jewish person had previously been named a laureate in the Physiology or Medicine category. While Ehrlich shared the 1908 prize, his co-recipient does not qualify as a joint holder of this specific Jewish-person record. Although Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov had documented Jewish maternal ancestry, his Orthodox baptism and later atheism exclude him from this title, which requires qualifying Jewish identity.

Media

How JWR verified this record

Verification date
13 September 2026
Verification standard
JWR Verification Standard 1.0

Achievement evidence

NobelPrize.org confirms that Paul Ehrlich and Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov jointly received the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “in recognition of their work on immunity.” The official award date used by JWR is 10 December 1908.

Superiority evidence

The official Nobel chronology for 1901–1907 contains no earlier qualifying Jewish laureate, and independent Jewish chronology begins the Medicine category in 1908 with Ehrlich. Mechnikov’s Jewish maternal ancestry is documented, but evidence of Orthodox baptism and later atheism means he does not qualify as a joint holder of this Jewish-person record.

Jewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Jewish eligibility verification

Evidence establishing that the holder qualifies as Jewish for JWR purposes.

  • Paul Ehrlich — Life and Jewish Background — Junges Museum Frankfurt
  • Paul Ehrlich — Science History Institute

Achievement / record verification

Evidence establishing that the holder achieved the result and holds the record as defined.

  • The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1908 — Nobel Prize Outreach / NobelPrize.org

Superiority / counter-candidate verification

Evidence comparing the result with other candidates relevant to the record claim.

  • All Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine, 1901–1909 — Nobel Prize Outreach / NobelPrize.org

Jewish eligibility, achievement and superiority evidence retain their separate classifications and are never merged. Context and provenance are not presented as proof of the achievement. Restricted evidence and internal research notes are never published. Learn more about the seven-stage process on the verification page.

Sources & Verification

History

  1. Verified

    Verified according to JWR Verification Standard 1.0.

  2. Publishedv1

    Published to the official JWR registry.

Related records

Albert A. Michelson seated at a desk, circa 1930
JWR VerifiedFounding Record
Awards · Nobel PrizeFirst

First Jewish Person to Win the Nobel Prize in Physics

Record holder

Albert A. Michelson

Record value

10 December 1907

Albert A. Michelson, an American physicist, holds the record as the first Jewish person to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics. The award was presented in Stockholm, Sweden, on 1907-12-10. Official sources from NobelPrize.org confirm Michelson as the sole 1907 laureate in the Physics category, an honour bestowed for his 'optical precision instruments and spectroscopic and metrological investigations'.

Country represented
United States
Achievement location
Stockholm, Sweden
Achievement date
10 December 1907
View full record
Portrait of Nobel Prize-winning economist Claudia Goldin
JWR VerifiedFounding Record
Awards · Nobel Memorial PrizeFirst

First Jewish Woman to Win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences

Record holder

Claudia Goldin

Record value

10 December 2023

Claudia Goldin became the "First Jewish woman to receive the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences" upon her receipt of the award in Stockholm, Sweden, on 10 December 2023. As the sole recipient of the 2023 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, Goldin was recognised for having advanced the understanding of women’s labour-market outcomes. Her archival research reconstructed more than two centuries of women’s participation and earnings, showing how structural change, social expectations, and parenthood shaped the gender gap.

Country represented
United States
Achievement location
Stockholm, Sweden
Achievement date
10 December 2023
View full record