Nobel Prize for Physics

Physics is one of the five prize areas mentioned in Alfred Nobel’s will. The will was, however, partly incomplete. Nobel simply stated that prizes be given to those who, during the preceding year, “shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” and that one part be given to the person who “shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics.”

Nobel Prize Physics Laureates

1901 : W. C. Röntgen ( Germany, 1845 – 03 – 27 – 1923 – 02 – 10 ) Discovery of X rays.

1902 : Hendrik A. Lorentz ( Netherlands, 1853 – 07 – 18 – 1929 – 02 – 04 ) Pieter Zeeman ( Netherlands, 1865 – 05 – 25 – 1943 – 10 – 09 ).

1903 : Henri A. Becquerel ( France, 1852 – 12 – 15 – 1908 – 08 – 25 ) Marie Curie ( France, Poland, 1867 – 11 – 07 – 1934 – 07 – 04 ) Pierre Curie ( France, 1859 – 05 – 15 – 1906 – 04 – 19 ) Discovery of radioactivity.

1904 : Lord Rayleigh ( United Kingdom ).

1905 : Philipp E. Lenard ( Germany, 1862 – 06 – 07 – 1947 – 05 – 20 ).

1906 : Joseph J. Thomson ( United Kingdom, 1856 – 12 – 18 – 1940 – 04 – 30 ) Conduction of electricity in gases.

1907 : Albert A. Michelson ( USA, 1852 – 12 – 19 – 1931 – 05 – 09 ) Measurement of the speed of light.

1908 : G. Lippmann ( France ).

1909 : Karl Ferdinand Braun ( Germany, 1850 – 06 – 06 – 1918 – 04 – 20 ) Guglielmo Marconi ( Italy, 1874 – 04 – 25 – 1937 – 07 – 20 ) wireless telegraphy.
1910 : Johann D. van der Waals ( Netherlands, 1837 – 11 – 23 – 1923 – 03 – 07 ) Molecular forces.
1911 : Wilhelm Wien ( Germany, 1864 – 01 – 13 – 1928 – 08 – 30 ) Heat radiation.
1912 : G. Dalén ( Sweden ).
1913 : H. Kamerlingh Onnes ( Netherlands ).
1914 : Max von Laue ( Germany, 1879 – 10 – 09 – 1960 – 04 – 24 ) Diffraction and interference of X rays by the arrangement of atoms in crystals ( Laue diagrams ).
1915 : Sir William Henry Bragg ( United Kingdom, 1862 – 07 – 02 – 1942 – 03 – 12 ) William Lawrence Bragg ( United Kingdom, 1890 – 03 – 31 – 1971 – 07 – 01 ) Investigation of crystal structures by X ray spectroscopy.
1917 : Ch. G. Barkia ( United Kingdom ).
1918 : Max Planck ( Germany, 1858 – 04 – 23 – 1947 – 10 – 04 ) Studies on thermodynamics and radiation.
1919 : Johannes Stark ( Germany, 1874 – 04 – 25 – 1957 – 06 – 21 ) Splitting of spectral lines in electrical fields ( Stark effect ).
1920 : Ch. E. Guillaume ( Switzerland ).
1921 : Albert Einstein ( Germany, 1879 – 03 – 14 – 1955 – 04 – 18 ) Theory of the photoelectric effect ( light quantum hypothesis ).
1922 : Niels Bohr ( Denmark, 1885 – 10 – 07 – 1962 – 11 – 18 ) Quantum theoretical atomic model.
1923 : Robert A. Millikan ( USA, 1868 – 03 – 22 – 1953 – 12 – 19 ) Measurement of the electron charge.
1924 : Karl M. G. Siegbahn ( Sweden, 1886 – 1978 ).
1925 : James Franck ( Germany, 1882 – 08 – 20 – 1964 – 05 – 21 ) Gustav Hertz ( Germany, 1887 – 07 – 21 – 1975 – 10 – 30 ) Studies on atomic and quantum theory ( excitation and ionization spectra of dilute gases ).
1926 : Jean B. Perrin ( France, 1870 – 09 – 30 – 1942 – 04 – 17 ) Studies on the discontinuous structure of matter.
1927 : Arthur H. Compton ( USA ) Ch. Th. R. Wilson ( United Kingdom ).
1928 : O. W. Richardson ( United Kingdom ).
1929 : Prince Louis Victor de Broglie ( France, 1892 – 08 – 15 – 1987 – 03 – 19 ) Studies on wave mechanics.
1930 : Sir Ch. V. Raman ( India, 1888 – 11 – 07 – 1970 – 11 – 21 ) Raman effect on light scattering by molecules.
1932 : Werner Heisenberg ( Germany, 1901 – 12 – 05 – 1976 – 02 – 01 ) Quantum theory.
1933 : Paul A. M. Dirac ( United Kingdom, 1902 – 08 – 08 – 1984 – 10 – 21 ) Erwin Schrödinger ( Austria, 1887 – 08 – 12 – 1961 – 01 – 04 ) Quantum theory, wave mechanics.
1935 : James Chadwick ( United Kingdom, 1891 – 10 – 20 – 1974 – 07 – 24 ) Discovery of the neutron.
1936 : C. D. Anderson ( USA ) V. F. Heß ( Austria ).
1937 : C. J. Davisson ( USA ) G. P. Thomson ( United Kingdom ).
1938 : Enrico Fermi ( Italy, 1901 – 09 – 29 – 1954 – 11 – 28 ) Discovery of nuclear transformations by irradiation with neutrons.
1939 : Ernest O. Lawrence ( USA, 1901 – 08 – 08 – 1958 – 08 – 27 ) Invention of the cyclotron.
1943 : Otto Stern ( USA, 1888 – 02 – 17 – 1969 – 08 – 18 ) Molecular rays, magnetic properties of the proton.
1944 : Isidor I. Rabi ( USA, 1898 – 07 – 29 – 1988 – 01 – 11 ) Studies on the magnetic properties of atomic nuclei.
1945 : Wolfgang Pauli ( Austria, 1900 – 04 – 25 – 1958 – 12 – 15 ) quantum physical Pauli principle.
1946 : Percy W. Bridgman ( USA ).
1947 : Sir Edward Victor Appleton ( United Kingdom, 1892 – 1965 ) for his discovery of the so – called Appleton layer of the ionosphere, which is a dependable reflector of radio waves and as such useful in communication.
1948 : Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett ( United Kingdom, 1897 – 1974 ) for his discoveries in the field of cosmic radiation.

1949 : Hideki Yukawa( Japan, 1907 – 07 – 23 – 1981 – 09 – 09 ) Prediction of the existence of mesons.
1950 : C. F. Powell ( United Kingdom ).
1951 : Sir J. D. Cockcroft ( United Kingdom ) E. Th. S. Walton ( Ireland ).
1952 : Felix Bloch ( USA, 1905 – 10 – 23 – 1983 – 09 – 10 ) Edward M. Purcell ( USA, *1912 – 08 – 30 ) Development of a novel precision method of nuclear magnetism ( NMR ).
1953 : F. Zernike ( Netherlands ).
1954 : Max Born ( United Kingdom, Germany, 1882 – 12 – 11 – 1970 – 01 – 05 ) Walther Bothe ( Germany, 1891 – 01 – 08 – 1957 – 02 – 08 ).
1955 : P. Kusch ( USA ) W. E. Lamb ( USA ).
1956 : John Bardeen ( USA, 1908 – 05 – 23 – 1991 – 01 – 30 ) Walter H. Brattain ( USA, 1902 – 02 – 10 – 1987 – 10 – 14 ) William Shockley ( USA, *1910 – 02 – 13 ) Development of the transistor.
1957 : T. D. Lee ( China ) Ch. N. Yang ( China ).
1958 : I. M. Frank ( Soviet Union ) I. E. Tamm ( Soviet Union ) P. A. Cherenkov ( Soviet Union ).
1959 : O. Chamberlain ( USA ) E. Segre ( USA, Italy ).
1960 : D. A. Glaser ( USA ).
1961 : R. Hofstadter ( USA ) Rudolf Mößbauer ( Germany, *1929 – 01 – 29 ).
1962 : L. D. Landau ( Soviet Union ).
1963 : Maria Goeppert – Mayer ( USA, Germany ) H. D. Jensen ( Germany ) Eugene Paul Wigner ( USA, Hungary, 1902 – 02 – 17 – 1995 – 01 – 03 ).
1964 : N. Basov ( Soviet Union, *1922 – 12 – 14 ) A. Prokhorov ( Soviet Union, *1916 – 07 – 11 ) Charles Townes ( USA, *1915 – 07 – 28 ) Laser, Maser.
1965 : Richard P. Feynman ( USA, 1918 – 05 – 11 – 1988 – 02 – 15 ) J. Schwinger ( USA ) S. Tomonaga ( Japan ).
1966 : A. Kastler ( France ).
1967 : Hans A. Bethe ( USA, Germany, *1906 – 07 – 02 ) Studies on the theory of nuclear reactions.
1968 : L. W. Alvarez ( USA ).
1969 : M. Gell – Mann ( USA ).
1970 : H. Alfvén ( Sweden ) L. Néel ( France ).
1971 : D. Gabor ( United Kingdom ).
1972 : John Bardeen ( USA, 1908 – 05 – 23 – 1991 – 01 – 30 ) L. N. Cooper ( USA ) J. R. Schrieffer ( USA ) Theory of superconductivity.
1973 : L. Esaki ( Japan ) I. Giaever ( USA, Norway ) B. Josephson ( United Kingdom ).
1974 : M. Ryle ( United Kingdom ) A. Hewish ( United Kingdom ).
1975 : A. Bohr ( Denmark ) B. Mottelson ( Denmark ) J. Rainwater ( USA ).
1976 : B. Richter ( USA ) S. Ting ( USA ).
1977 : Ph. W. Anderson ( USA ) J. v. Vleck ( USA ) Neville F. Mott ( United Kingdom, 1905 – 09 – 30 – 1996 – 08 – 08 ).
1978 : P. L. Kapitsa ( Soviet Union, 1894 – 06 – 26 – 1984 – 04 – 08 ) A. Penzias ( USA ) R. Wilson ( USA ).
1979 : Sheldon Lee Glashow ( USA, *1932 – 12 – 05 ) Steven Weinberg ( USA, *1933 – 05 – 03 ) Unification of the weak and electromagnetic interaction A. Salam ( Pakistan ).
1980 : J. W. Cronin ( USA ) V. L. Fitch ( USA ).
1981 : N. Bloembergen ( USA ) A. L. Schawlow ( USA ) Kai Manne Siegbahn ( Sweden, *1918 – 04 – 20 ).
1982 : Kenneth G. Wilson ( USA, *1936 – 06 – 08 ) Theory of phase transitions and critical phenomena.
1983 : S. Chandrasekhar ( USA ) William A. Fowler ( USA, *1911 – 08 – 09 ) Importance of nuclear reactions for the formation of chemical elements in the universe.
1984 : Carlo Rubbia ( Italy, *1934 ) Simon van der Meer ( Netherlands, *1925 – 11 – 24 ) Basic studies on particle physics.
1985 : Klaus v. Klitzing ( Germany, *1943 – 06 – 28 ) Discovery of the quantum Hall effect.
1986 : Ernst Ruska ( Germany, 1906 – 12 – 25 – 1988 – 05 – 27 ) Gerd Binnig ( Germany, *1947 – 07 – 20 ) Heinrich Rohrer ( Switzerland, *1933 – 06 – 06 ) Electron microscope and raster tunnel microscope, respectively.
1987 : Johannes Georg Bednorz ( Germany, *1950 – 05 – 16 ) Karl Alex Müller ( Switzerland, *1927 – 04 – 20 ) High temperature superconductors.
1988 : Leon Max Lederman ( USA ) Melvin Schwartz ( USA ) Jack Steinberger ( USA ).
1989 : Wolfgang Paul ( Germany, *1913 – 08 – 10 ) Hans Georg Dehmelt ( USA, Germany ) Norman Foster Ramsey ( USA, *1915 – 08 – 27 ).
1990 : Jerome I. Friedman ( USA, *1930 – 03 – 28 ) Henry W. Kendall ( USA, *1926 – 12 – 09 ) Richard E. Taylor ( Canada, *1929 – 11 – 02 ) Inelastic scattering of electrons by protons and bound neutrons, development of the quark model.
1991 : Pierre – Gilles de Gennes ( France, *1932 ) Theoretical description of ordering phenomena of liquid crystals, polymers, magnets and superconductors.
1992 : Georges Charpak ( France, *1924 ) Invention of detectors for the detection of rare interactions of elementary particles.
1993 : Russell A. Hulse ( USA, *1950 ) Joseph Taylor jr. ( USA, *1941 ).
1994 : Bertram N. Brockhouse ( Canada ) Clifford G. Shull ( USA ) Studies on neutron beams.
1995 : Martin L. Perl ( USA, *1927 ) for the discovery of the tau lepton Frederick Reines ( USA, *1918 ) for the detection of the neutrino.
1996 : David M. Lee ( USA, *1931 ) Douglas D. Osheroff ( USA, *1945 ) Robert C. Richardson ( USA, *1937 ) for their discovery of superfluidity in helium – 3.
1997 : Steven Chu ( USA, *1948 ) Claude Cohen – Tannoudji ( France, *1933 ) William D. Phillips ( USA, *1948 ) for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light.
1998 : Robert B. Laughlin ( USA, *1950 ) Horst L. Störmer ( Germany / USA, *1949 ) Daniel C. Tsui ( USA, *1939 ) for their discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations ( electrons acting together in strong magnetic fields, fractional quantum Hall effect ).
1999 : Gerardus ‘t Hooft ( Netherlands, *1946 ) Martinus J.G. Veltman ( Netherlands, *1931 ) for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions in physics.
2000 : Zhores I. Alferov ( Russia, *1930 ) Herbert Kroemer ( Germany / USA, *1928 ) for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high – speed – and opto – electronics Jack S. Kilby ( USA, *1923 ) for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit.