Nobel Prize Winner Was Born on Today\'s

¶ … Nobel Prize winner was born on today's date? What was his field? And what was his political belief system or affiliation?

George de Hevesy was born on August 1, 1885 and received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1943. He was known for his work on "the use of isotopes as tracers in the study of chemical processes" and "studied, amongst other things, the effect of X-rays on the formation of nucleic acid in tumours and in normal organs, and iron transport in healthy and cancerous organisms" (George de Hevesy, 1943, Nobel Prize). De Hevesy's political affiliation is not noted by the Nobel Prize Committee.

Conservative politics enjoyed a revival during the 1980s and 1990s. Identify conservative goals and assess the impact conservative policies had on U.S. society.

Until the 1970s, the Republican Party in America was not necessarily a traditionally 'conservative' party. There were many moderate Republicans, such as Nelson Rockefeller and John Lindsay who advocated a program of fiscal responsibility and government non-intervention combined with an equally laissez-faire attitude towards social policies. However, during the failed primary challenge of Ronald Reagan to Gerald Ford, this began to change. Republican politics became more and more associated with an evangelical social agenda, advocacy of a moral and military war against the Soviet Union (manifested in a defense build-up and increased military spending) and a reduction in government spending on social programs. Reagan, once considered radically conservative by the majority of the nation, became to be regarded as more mainstream in the wake of the perceptions of a weakened American world presence under the leadership of President Jimmy Carter. The rise of Republicanism ultimately created a more polarized America but also a more cohesive Republican Party.

Today, moderate Republicanism seems non-existent, as manifested in the resignation of moderate Maine Republican Olympia Snowe, and the criticism of Mitt Romney for his record of compromise in Massachusetts. Ironically, Romney's greatest achievement as governor -- extending healthcare coverage to every citizen of the state -- is something he must effectively 'run against' in his run for the presidency, to assure he has the support of his Republican base. Republicanism and conservatism has been increasingly associated with a very rigid agenda, with little room for compromise. This has been intensified by the increasingly vocal 'Tea Party' wing, while not always officially associated with the Republicans, have tended to back conservative Republican candidates and pressured those who do not 'toe the line' with threats of withdrawing their support. This polarization is also reflected in the media today, in which even 'legitimate' news organizations such as Fox and MSNBC are widely known for having strong political agendas.