Poland was an exception, however, as their stamp was issued in 1986. The majority appeared in 1975 to mark his birth centenary. Approached by two schoolgirls during a trip in America the great man was asked politely ‘Dr Einstein, can we have your autograph, please?’ Not wanting to disappoint them, he took the book and wrote ‘Albert Einstein, by his friend Albert Schweitzer.’ Schweitzer also had a great sense of humour. He was elected to the French Academy in 1951, and four years later, the Queen awarded Schweitzer the Order of Merit. Many journalists visited the hospital and news of his work spread. Among the last additions was a leper colony, funded by the $33,000 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to him in 1952. Thankfully, after four months of negotiation, the pair were released and continued their work, and by the time he died, the hospital included more than 70 buildings with 350 beds.
As Alsatian (German) citizens in a French colony, they were interned as prisoners of war. But construction work was interrupted when World War One broke out. The pair travelled to the village of Lambarene and founded a hospital. He continued his musical studies in Paris becoming an accomplished organist and an authority on Johann Sebastian Bach.Īt the age of 30, Schweitzer decided that his life’s work should be as a medical missionary in Africa, and after studying Medicine for seven years he set out for Gabon, then a province of French Equatorial Africa, with his wife, Helene, who was a trained nurse. After completing his schooling, Schweitzer enrolled at the University of Strasbourg as a student of philosophy, theology, and musical theory.ĭuring his university years, Schweitzer wrote books on theological subjects and philosophy. His father was a pastor in the Lutheran church and it was assumed that he would follow in his footsteps. After the Franco-Prussian War the territory became part of the German Empire but was later reallocated to France under the Treaty of Versailles. The debate arises because he was born in Alsace, the tiny province on the French/German border, part of France from 1648 until 1870. Some biographies describe Albert Schweitzer as a Frenchman, while others believe he was German.
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