THE British government has declared the London residence of scientist Dr Abdus Salam a national heritage site and installed a blue plaque.

The plaque was put outside his house in Putney where he lived from 1957 till his death in 1996. Dr Salam had founded the theoretical physics department at London’s Imperial College.

The plaque reads “Abdus Salam 1926-1996, Physicist, Nobel Laureate and Champion of Science in developing countries, lived here”.

He was the first Pakistani scientist to be awarded the Nobel Prize for physics in 1979 for his contribution to the electroweak unification theory. He was also the first Pakistani to be awarded the Nobel Prize at all.

“A blue plaque on the house in Putney where he lived for 40 years is a fitting tribute to [the] Nobel laureate,” Prof Micheal Duff, a professor at the Imperial College who completed his PhD under the supervision of the scientist, said.

“Abdus Salam, who was not only one of the finest scientists of the twentieth century, having unified two of the four fundamental forces of nature, but who also dedicated his life to the betterment of science and education in the developing world.”

A blue plaque, a symbol of pride in English heritage, is placed outside historically significant buildings to honour the people who have lived or worked there.

Charles Darwin, Rosalind Franklin and Alan Turing are some other recipients of the blue plaque.

Published in Dawn, December 15th, 2020