Andrei Sakharov was born on 21 May 1921 in Moscow. A Soviet nuclear physicist, Sakharov was a principal designer of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, for which he was lauded as a hero of socialist labor. Troubled by the dangers of nuclear weapons and testing, he turned to advocacy for peace, human rights and political reform, writing the 1968 essay Reflections on Progress, Peaceful Coexistence and Intellectual Freedom. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 but not allowed to travel to receive it. After criticizing the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 he was exiled to the city of Gorky, until Gorbachev freed him in 1986. He was elected to the Congress of People's Deputies shortly before his death.
Before and after
- from 25 February 1921 to 1 January 1991Georgian SSR
- from 1 March 1921 to 18 March 1921Kronstadt rebellion
- 18 March 1921Peace of Riga
- 2 May 1921Birth of Satyajit Ray
- 21 May 1921Birth of Andrei Sakharov
- 8 June 1921Birth of Suharto
- 10 June 1921Birth of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- 21 June 1921Founding of International Hydrographic Organization
- 6 July 1921Birth of Nancy Reagan
More in Science & technology
- 15 September 1917Launch of Forbes
- 11 January 1922Insulin is first used to treat diabetes
- 1927Hubble–Lemaître law
- 1936Alan Turing defines the universal machine
- from 1939 to 1946Manhattan Project
- from c. 1940s to 1960sGreen Revolution
The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.