Schweitzer, Albert (1875–1965)

Albert Schweitzer was an Alsatian born physician, theologian, musician, and philosopher. Winner of the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize, his contributions to global health stemmed largely from his time in Lambaréné in French Equitorial Africa, now Gabon, where he started a hospital to serve the local African population.

Schweitzer received his doctorate in philosophy in 1899 from the University of Strasbourg and received his licentiate in theology in 1900. He completed his medical studies in 1913, also at the University of Strasbourg. Schweitzer in part funded his education, and later his hospital, with proceeds earned as an internationally known organist.

Schweitzer first arrived in Africa in 1913 and set up his hospital in the village of Lambaréné. In 1917, during the First World War, as Germans in a French colony, Schweitzer and his wife were sent to an internment camp in France. Released in 1918, Schweitzer spent the next six years traveling throughout Europe giving lectures, concerts, and writing. In 1924, Schweitzer returned to Lambaréné and spent the majority of the rest of his life there.

By the 1960's, the hospital Lambaréné had grown to the point that is could provide medical and surgical care for up to 500 patients at a time. Schweitzer wrote important books related to all of his fields of work. His most well known published works regarding his medical practice and experiences in Africa include On the Edge of the Primeval Forrest and More from the Primeval Forrest, his account of his work in Lambaréné, and his autobiography Out of My Life and Thought.

In his later life, Schweitzer worked tirelessly along side Albert Einstein and others in the effort to limit the expansion and use of nuclear weapons. He received many awards and honors including the Goethe Prize of Frankfurt, numerous honorary university doctorates, and culminating in the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize. Schweitzer used the prize money from the Nobel Prize to build a leprosarium at Lambaréné.

After retiring as a practicing physician, Schweitzer continued to oversee his hospital until his death on September 4, 1965 at the age of 90. He was buried along side his wife in Lambaréné.