Christiaan Eijkman was a Dutch physician and professor of physiology whose demonstration that beriberi is caused by poor diet led to the discovery of antineuritic vitamins (thiamine). Together with Sir Frederick Hopkins, he received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1929 for the discovery of vitamins. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1929, announced October 31, 1929. Christiaan Eijkman (1/2), “for his discovery of the antineuritic vitamin”. Sir Frederick Hopkins (1/2), “for his discovery of the growth-stimulating vitamins”. Christiaan Eijkman: born 1858, Nijkerk, the Netherlands. Sir Frederick Hopkins: born 1861, Eastbourne, United Kingdom. Wiki link Wiki link Data: the Nobel Foundation (CC0).