Bohr, Nils

Bohr, who won the 1922 Nobel Prize for physics for his work on radiation, was a top scientist in the first half of the 20th Century. Best known for his investigations of atomic structure, his quantum theory (as opposed to Albert Einstein's) was accepted by the scientific community. The two spent many hours in deep dicussion, but Bohr's view prevailed.

When the Nazis occupied Denmark, Bohr escaped in a fishing boat to Sweden in 1943. He then moved to England where he worked on the project to make a nuclear fission bomb; he continued this work at Los Alamos in the United States. However, Bohr maintained reservations about the control of nuclear weapons, and received the first U.S. Atoms for Peace Award in 1957.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. Oct. 7, 1885 - d. Nov. 18, 1962

Career Highlights:
Bohr and his younger brother Harald Bohr, gained prominence as soccer players in Denmark. Nils played at the University of Copenhagen while a student.

Origin:
Copenhagen, Denmark

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