Famous Physicists - List of Famous Physicists

Physicists are the scientists who study the field of physics in great detail. They conduct research into physical phenomena or the natural science that involve the study of matter and related concepts. They analyze the general happenings in nature and try to understand how the universe behaves. On the basis of research through observation and experiments, they discover physical laws and propound theories that explain the functioning of natural forces like gravity, electromagnetism, and nuclear interactions. The discovery of new physical laws and theories contribute to the existing base of theoretical knowledge and can also be used for more practical applications such as development of medial equipment, electronic devices, nuclear reactors, etc. During the earlier days, physics was considered a field of philosophy; it was only during the 19th century that physics was realized as a discipline separate from philosophy. Some of the major branches of physics are classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, theory of relativity and electromagnetism. Since physics covers a vast number of fields, most physicists specialize in one of the many subfields. However, the various subfields may overlap with each other and also with other sciences resulting in interdisciplinary fields such as biophysics, geophysics, meteorology, etc. Browse through this section to explore the biographies, life and works of various famous physicists from all over the world.

The Most Famous Physicists

NameBirthdayNationalityBio
Henry CavendishOctober 10, 1731BritishHenry Cavendish was a theoretical chemist and physicist, renowned for discovery of hydrogen and calculation of the mass of earth
Walter KohnMarch 9, 1923AustrianNobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist
Isaac NewtonJanuary 4, 1643BritishIsaac Newton was an English scientist and mathematician, who discovered gravitation and Newtonian Mechanics
Ernst RuskaDecember 25, 1906GermanErnst Ruska was a German physicist who invented the electron microscope
Amedeo AvogadroAugust 9, 1776ItalianAmedeo Avogadro was an Italian scientist who formulated what is now known as Avogadro's law
Paul DiracAugust 8, 1902BritishPaul Dirac was an English theoretical physicist known for his contributions to quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics
Nikola TeslaJuly 10, 1856AmericanNikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, best known for his development of alternating current electrical systems
Franklin Chang DíazApril 5, 1950Chinese, Costa Rican, AmericanFranklin Chang-Diaz is an American-Costa Rican physicist and former NASA astronaut
Richard FeynmanMay 11, 1918AmericanRichard Feynman was a Nobel Prize winning American physicist who proposed the theory of quantum electrodynamics
J. J. ThomsonDecember 18, 1856BritishJ.J
Walter Kohn

Walter Kohn

Nobel Laureate Walter Kohn was an Austrian-born American theoretical chemist and physicist

AustrianMarch 9, 1923896 views

Bertram Brockhouse

Bertram Brockhouse was a Nobel Prize-winning Canadian physicist who is remembered for his development of the neutron-scattering technique

CanadianJuly 15, 1918159 views

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji is a French physicist who won a share of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics

FrenchApril 1, 1933105 views

William Daniel Phillips

William Daniel Phillips is an American physicist who won a share of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997

Robert Coleman Richardson

Robert Coleman Richardson was an American experimental physicist who won a share of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics

AmericanJune 26, 193792 views

Horst Ludwig Störmer

Horst Ludwig Störmer is a German-born American physicist who was one of the co-recipients the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physics.

GermanApril 6, 1949106 views

Herbert Kroemer

Herbert Kroemer is an eminent German-American physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2000

GermanAugust 25, 1928122 views

Daniel Chee Tsui

Daniel Chee Tsui is a Chinese-born American physicist known for his research in semiconductors and solid-state physics

AmericanFebruary 28, 1939172 views