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CORVALLIS - During his lengthy career, Linus Pauling received literally hundreds of awards, medals and honorary degrees - in addition to his two Nobel Prizes.

And on Saturday, the 103rd anniversary of his birth, digitized images of those awards will be available online for the first time through a special initiative by Oregon State University Special Collection, where Pauling's papers and other memorabilia reside, and the library's Technical Services Department.

Pauling, an OSU alumnus who is the only individual to win two unshared Nobel Prizes, was born on Feb. 28, 1901, in Portland. He died in 1994. Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, by proclamation, declared Feb. 28 in perpetuity to be Linus Pauling Day in Oregon.

"We're making high-quality, online images available to researchers, as well as the public," said Chris Petersen, a research assistant with OSU Special Collections. "In addition to the images, there is 'metadata' - or descriptor information - underlying Pauling's many accolades."

The Pauling Awards Digital Library is available through OSU Libraries at: http://osulibrary.orst.edu/specialcollections/coll/pauling/awards/.

A 1922 graduate of the university - then known as Oregon Agricultural College - Pauling was one of the 20th century's most decorated scientists. He received his first honorary doctorate in 1933 from Oregon State, and in rapid succession was similarly honored by Oxford University, the University of Chicago, Princeton University, Cambridge University and the Sorbonne.

By the time of his death, Pauling had been awarded 47 honorary doctorates.

He also received nearly every important award a chemist can receive, including the Nobel Prize in chemistry, 1954; the first A.C. Langmuir Prize, 1931; and the first Linus Pauling Medal, given by the American Chemical Society in 1966.

Other major awards by Pauling include his 1962 Nobel Peace Prize; the Humphry Davy Medal, 1947; the Amedeo Avogadro Medal, 1956; the Lenin Peace Prize, 1970; the National Medal of Science, 1975; and the Joseph Priestly Medal, 1984.

One of his most intriguing awards was an honorary diploma Pauling received in 1962 from Washington High School in Portland. Linus Pauling, perhaps the pre-eminent chemist of the 20th century, never officially graduated from high school, having neglected to take a required course in American history.