Lifelong Quest for Peace

Linus Pauling, the world's only winner of two unshared Nobel Prizes (chemistry in 1954 and peace in 1962), born in Portland Oregon, he received his B.S. in chemical engineering at Oregon State University. In 1925 he was awarded a Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the California Institute of Technology. A full professor there since 1932, Pauling left in 1963 to become a staff member at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions where he largely devoted himself to the study of the problems of peace and war. Returning to academia in 1967, Pauling spent most of his time teaching at Stanford University, 1969-1974, where he was appointed Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in 1974. Daisaku Ikeda, studied philosophy, politics, literature, art, economics, law, chemistry, and other subjects under his mentor Josei Toda and, in 1960, succeeded him as president of Soka Gakkai, a position held until 1979. Since 1975 he has been president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a lay Buddhist organization for the promotion of peace, culture, and education, with a membership of eight million in Japan and 1.2 million in other countries. He is the founder of a university, junior and senior high schools, elementary schools, a kindergarten, two art museums, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy, the Min-on Concert Association, now the largest group of international musical and cultural exchange in Japan, and is honorary president of the Seikyo Press.