About This Stamp
This issuance in the Distinguished Americans series honors virologist Albert Sabin (1906–1993), whose successful efforts to develop a polio vaccine made him one of the most esteemed scientists in the world. For his dedication to fighting polio and other infectious diseases, he received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science (1970) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1986).
Artist Mark Summers created the portrait on the stamp, using as a reference a photograph of Dr. Sabin taken in 1982 at the Medical University of South Carolina. The artist is well known for his scratchboard technique, a style distinguished by a dense network of horizontal lines etched with exquisite precision.
Summers also created stamp art for the other issuances in the Distinguished Americans series: Joseph W. Stilwell (2000), Claude Pepper (2000), Hattie W. Caraway (2001), Edna Ferber (2002), and Wilma Rudolph (2004).