Linus Carl Pauling (February 28, 1901 – August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topics. New Scientist reportedly called him one of the 20 greatest scientists of all time, and as of 2000, he was rated the 16th most important scientist in history.