Mario Molina

Mexican chemist

Born: March 19, 1943 · Died: October 7, 2020

Famous Persons

Who was Mario Molina?

Mario José Molina-Pasquel Henríquez (19 March 1943 – 7 October 2020) was a Mexican physical chemist. He was the first Mexican-born scientist to receive a Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the third Mexican-born person to receive a Nobel prize. In his career, Molina held research and teaching positions at University of California, Irvine, California Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, San Diego, and the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Molina was born in Mexico City to Roberto Molina Pasquel and Leonor Henríquez. His father was a lawyer and diplomat who served as an ambassador to Ethiopia, Australia and the Philippines. Molina was also Director of the Mario Molina Center for Energy and Environment in Mexico City. Molina was a climate policy advisor to the President of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto.

Molina at the 2011 Nobel Laureate Global Symposium

Historical significance

He played a pivotal role in the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, and was a co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his role in discovering the threat to the Earth's ozone layer from chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) gases.

Molina (left) with his countryman Luis E. Miramontes, co-inventor of the first oral contraceptive, c. 1995

Sources and further reading

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Wikipedia source

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MLA

“Mario Molina.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/mario-molina/. Accessed 7 Oct. 2026.

APA

Mario Molina. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 7, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/mario-molina/

Chicago

“Mario Molina.” thisDay. Accessed October 7, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/mario-molina/.

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