Pieter Zeeman was born on 25 May 1865 in Zonnemaire. A Dutch physicist, Zeeman discovered in 1896 that spectral lines split when a light source is placed in a magnetic field, an effect now called the Zeeman effect. Hendrik Lorentz gave a theoretical explanation based on the motion of charged particles in atoms, and the two shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics. The discovery provided evidence for the electron theory of matter and gave scientists a powerful tool for studying atoms, the Sun and stars. Zeeman worked at the universities of Leiden and Amsterdam, where he directed the physics laboratory for many years.
Before and after
- 15 April 1865Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
- 15 April 1865Death of Abraham Lincoln
- 12 May 1865Founding of Nokia
- 17 May 1865Founding of International Telecommunication Union
- 25 May 1865Birth of Pieter Zeeman
- 3 June 1865Birth of George V
- 13 June 1865Birth of William Butler Yeats
- 27 August 1865Birth of Charles G. Dawes
- 2 November 1865Birth of Warren G. Harding
More in Science & technology
- 1774Discovery of chlorine
- 1789Discovery of uranium
- 1807Discovery of potassium
- 30 June 1808Discovery of boron
- 1810Discovery of fluorine
- 1823Discovery of silicon
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.