Severo Ochoa was a Spanish physician and biochemist, who, along with Arthur Kornberg, won the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid”. Born in Luarca, Spain, he lost his father early in life and was brought up by his mother at the coastal town of Málaga. He developed an enthusiasm for natural science while he was a student at school. Later he joined University of Madrid School of Medicine, not because he wanted to be a doctor, but because he thought it was the best way to get into the depths of his favorite subject, biology. He also wanted to study under Santiago Ramón y Cajal, the renowned Spanish neuroscientist and Nobel laureate, but unfortunately, Cajal retired before Ochoa got his admission. Nonetheless, he got chance to work in the laboratory of Juan Negrín while was still in college and developed a passion for research. He spent the first part of his career travelling from country to country, carrying on his research with unparalleled enthusiasm. Ultimately, he found stability when he joined New York University at the age of thirty-seven. His Nobel Prize winning work on the biological synthesis of RNA was done here. Although he received American citizenship in 1956, he never forgot his homeland and spent his last years in Spain, where he continued to contribute significantly in the field of science.