Max Theiler was a South African-American virologist and physician. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951 for developing a vaccine against yellow fever in 1937, becoming the first African-born Nobel laureate. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1951, announced October 18, 1951. Max Theiler, “for his discoveries concerning yellow fever and how to combat it”. Max Theiler: born 1899, Pretoria, South Africa. Wiki link Data: the Nobel Foundation (CC0).