Jonas Salk, born on this date in 1914, is renowned for creating the first successful polio vaccine. In 1963, the March of Dimes helped subsidize the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif. Salk maintained a laboratory at the institute but retired as director in 1975. In books such as "The Survival of the Wisest," "World Population and Human Values" and "Anatomy of Reality," Salk discussed the social consequences of science and technology, noting that nuclear weapons, pollution, Third World development and economic crises are the key threats to humankind. He said, "For me, the critical determinant of human evolution is the realm of human values; and that is a matter of education and choice."

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