Theodore Roosevelt Park

The Daily Plant : Monday, October 3, 2011

American Nobel Laureates Honored At Theodore Roosevelt Park

Photo by Malcolm Pinckney

New inscriptions to the nation’s only Nobel Monument were unveiled on Tuesday, September 27, by Parks & Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S. Jonas Hafstrom, and Ambassador of Norway to the U.S. Wegger Chr. Strommen. They were joined by Dr. Peter A. Diamond, Nobel Laureate in Economics of 2010 and Dr. Dale T. Mortensen, Nobel Laureate in Economics of 2010. Also in attendance was Marjorie Tiven, Commissioner of the NYC Commission for the UN, Consular Corps and Protocol; former NYC Parks & Recreation Commissioner Henry J. Stern; Dr. Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate of Economics of 2006; and Dr. Torsten Wiesel, Nobel Laureate of Medicine of 1981.

“It is an honor to unveil the inscriptions for the 2010 American Nobel Laureates on the nation’s only Nobel Monument, which is located in Theodore Roosevelt Park,” said Commissioner Benepe. “This park, like all parks, serves as an agora where New Yorkers come together, congregate, take inspiration from the beauty of nature, and share ideas. No country in the world boasts as many Nobel Laureates as the United States, and many Nobel Prize-winning ideas have come from New Yorkers. The Nobel Monument bears inscriptions of the names of all 320 American Laureates, reinforcing its role as a monument to intellectual achievement.”

No other country has had as many Nobel Prize recipients as the United States since the awards were first presented in 1901. The first American to be awarded the Nobel was President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Since then, 320 Americans have had universal recognition of their achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and for work in peace.

The American Nobel Laureates of 2010, whose name inscriptions were unveiled on the monument, are:

Richard F. Heck, Chemistry
Peter A. Diamond, Economics
Dale T. Mortensen, Economics

The Nobel Monument was dedicated in 2003 in a joint project initiated and overseen by the Consulate General of Sweden and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation with the purpose of honoring all American Nobel Laureates as well as the
founder of the Nobel Prize, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The monument was fittingly placed in the park named after President Roosevelt, the United States’ very first recipient of the Nobel Prize. It is the only monument in a City park with the names of living persons inscribed.

The monument, which now includes the names of all 320 American Nobel Laureates, was designed by renowned Swedish sculptor Sivert Lindblom and financed through the generous support of Merck Company Foundation, Skanska, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, Ambassador and Mrs. Lyndon L. Olson Jr., and NCR Corporation.

QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

Mark Twain
(1835 – 1910)