Linus Pauling (1901-1994)
Linus Pauling attended only one Solvay Conference, the 1953 Conference on Chemistry. And yet his presence was crucial since it enabled him to debate the structure of DNA with Francis Crick and James Watson, thereby offering him the opportunity to recognize that his rivals were right.
When he arrives in Brussels in April 1953, Pauling is already an eminent and renowned chemist. His entire scientific oeuvre focuses on the question of the relation between the structure of molecules, both mineral and organic, and their physical and chemical properties: he develops quantum chemistry.
But Linus Pauling is also a brilliant crystallographer: he determines the structure of a good many organic molecules, such as the haemoglobin and other proteins and trace elements.