Werner Heisenberg was born on 5 December 1901 in Würzburg. A German theoretical physicist, Heisenberg was one of the founders of quantum mechanics. In 1925 he developed matrix mechanics, and in 1927 he formulated the uncertainty principle, which states that certain pairs of properties, such as position and momentum, cannot both be known precisely at the same time. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1932. During the Second World War he led the German nuclear energy project, and historians still debate his role and whether he tried to build an atomic weapon. His 1941 visit to Niels Bohr in occupied Copenhagen remains controversial. After the war he directed the Max Planck Institute for Physics.
Before and after
- 20 August 1901Birth of Salvatore Quasimodo
- 7 September 1901Boxer Protocol
- 14 September 1901Death of William McKinley
- 29 September 1901Birth of Enrico Fermi
- 5 December 1901Birth of Werner Heisenberg
- 5 December 1901Birth of Walt Disney
- 10 December 1901The first Nobel Prizes are awarded
- 27 December 1901Birth of Marlene Dietrich
- 1902Construction of Egyptian Museum
More in Science & technology
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- 1797Discovery of chromium
- 6 March 1869Periodic table
- 1884Car
- 1894Discovery of argon
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 20th century.