Albert Schweitzer was a doctor, theologian, organist, and humanitarian. He is best known for his hospital work in Africa, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952. He was born in Alsace in 1875 and paid for much of his education with money earned as a concert organist. He obtained his medical degree at the age of 38 and established a hospital in French Equatorial Africa at Lambarene. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 and died at the age of 90 in 1965.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer was a man who wore many hats. He was a doctor, theologian, organist and humanitarian. Albert Schweitzer is probably best remembered for his hospital work in Africa which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952.
Albert Schweitzer was born in Alsace on January 14, 1875 into a religious family who valued education and music. He had organ and piano lessons as a child and performed musically in church at the age of nine. As a young adult, Albert Schweitzer was known worldwide as a concert organist. He paid for much of his education, including medical school, with money he earned playing the organ professionally.
At eighteen Albert Schweitzer began studying theology at the University of Strasbourg and at twenty-four he received a doctorate in philosophy. During his eleven years of service in prestigious administrative positions at the Theological College of St. Thomas at the University of Strasbourg, Albert Schweitzer wrote and published The Search for the Historical Jesus in 1906. The year before the book’s publication he began the school of medicine at the University of Strasbourg. By 1913, at the age of 38, Schweitzer had obtained his medical degree and established a hospital in French Equatorial Africa at Lambarene.
Four years after starting the African Hospital, Albert Schweitzer and his wife, Helen, were taken and held as prisoners of war for a year in a French internment camp before being released. Albert Schweitzer then wrote books in Europe between 1918 and 1924. The books were about world religions and civilization. He also continued to perform as organist and to preach in his church. In 1924 he returned to Lambrene and to his hospital work.
Albert Schweitzer is said to have been a stubborn workaholic who only slept four hours each night. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his African hospital work and used the money to further aid his humanitarian efforts. Albert Schweitzer died at the age of 90 on September 4, 1965. He was buried in Lambrene.
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