Hilary Koprowski

Hilary Koprowski (5 December 1916 – 11 April 2013) was a Polish virologist and immunologist active in the United States who demonstrated the world's first effective live polio vaccine. He authored or co-authored over 875 scientific papers and co-edited several scientific journals. Koprowski received many academic honors and national decorations, including the Belgian Order of the Lion, the French Order of Merit and Legion of Honour, Finland's Order of the Lion, and the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. Koprowski was the target of accusations in the press related to the "oral polio vaccine AIDS hypothesis", which posited that the AIDS pandemic originated from live polio vaccines such as Koprowski's. This allegation has long been refuted by evidence showing that the HIV-1 virus was introduced to humans before his polio-vaccine trials were conducted in Africa. The case was settled out of court with a formal apology from Rolling Stone magazine.