Did ben carson win a nobel prize
Executive summary
Ben Carson has never received a Nobel Prize; multiple fact-checks and biographical sources note his many honors but do not list any Nobel laureates among them [1] [2]. His highest-profile awards include the Presidential Medal of Freedom , and while supporters have campaigned to nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, those petitions acknowledge he has not won that prize [3] [4].
1. The core fact: no Nobel on Carson’s résumé
Investigations and reference biographies state plainly that Ben Carson has not been awarded a Nobel Prize. A Snopes fact-check answers the question directly: “Ben Carson has never been the recipient of a Nobel Prize” [1]. Encyclopedic profiles of Carson enumerate other honors but do not include any Nobel Prize among them [2].
2. What honors he does hold — documented and verifiable
Carson’s career has earned him high-profile civilian awards and professional recognition. Notably, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2008, a fact recorded in institutional and biographical sources [3] [2]. Profiles emphasize his pioneering pediatric neurosurgery work — for example, separating craniopagus twins — and other distinctions such as the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP and recognition by the Library of Congress, but none of these are Nobel Prizes [3] [2].
3. Petitions and public campaigns: enthusiasm ≠ laureate status
Supporters have launched petitions and calls to nominate Carson for a Nobel Peace Prize; those campaigns themselves concede he has never been awarded that prize [4]. Public advocacy and nomination drives are common for prominent figures, but they are not evidence of having won the award [4].
4. How misinformation circulates: claims and debunking
A specific false claim circulated that Carson won a Nobel for “brain supplements”; Snopes examined and debunked that story, reaffirming that no Nobel recognition exists for Carson [1]. The existence of targeted false claims and overenthusiastic petitions shows how accolades can be inflated in public discourse, prompting fact-checks [1] [4].
5. The Nobel record and absence of Carson’s name
The official lists of Nobel laureates, maintained by the Nobel Prize organization, catalog every recipient through 2025; Carson’s name does not appear among those laureates [5] [6]. Given that comprehensive public lists exist and are regularly updated, the absence is a clear indicator that he is not a Nobel Prize winner [5] [6].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit agendas to note
Supporters emphasizing Carson’s achievements—surgical firsts, speaking engagements, and civic honors—may argue he merits top international recognition; petitions and public appeals reflect that view [4] [2]. Conversely, fact-checkers and reference sources focus on documentary evidence of awards and therefore expose claims that exceed the documented record [1] [5]. Readers should note that petition pages and advocacy blogs have an implicit agenda to raise prestige for their subject, while fact-check outlets and Nobel lists prioritize verifiable attribution [4] [1] [5].
7. Limitations and what the sources do not address
Available sources do not mention any private or informal honors that might be confused with Nobel Prizes; they focus on public, documented awards and official lists [1] [3] [5]. If someone cites an obscure or misnamed prize as a “Nobel,” that claim is not addressed in the current reporting and would require additional documentation to verify — available sources do not mention such a prize for Carson [1] [2].
8. Bottom line for readers
Ben Carson is a decorated neurosurgeon and public figure with major recognitions like the Presidential Medal of Freedom, but he has never been awarded a Nobel Prize. Claims to the contrary have been debunked by fact-checkers and are not supported by authoritative lists of Nobel laureates [1] [3] [5].