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John Archibald Wheeler

American physicist (1911-2008) · United States · On the map · Scientists · Died at 96

John Archibald Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist. He was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr to explain the basic principles of nuclear fission.

John Archibald Wheeler is read about 415 times a day, in 49 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 104 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2008Died13 April 20082003Einstein PrizeAward1999Science Writing AwardAward1995Foreign Member of the Royal SocietyAward1993Matteucci MedalAward1989Marcel Grossmann AwardAward1988Albert Einstein MedalAward1984J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial PrizeAward1982Niels Bohr International Gold MedalAward1970National Medal of ScienceAward1969Franklin MedalAward1966Golden Plate AwardAward1965Albert Einstein AwardAward1949Guggenheim FellowshipAward1946Guggenheim FellowshipAward1911Born9 July 1911

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Also in Deutsch

Awards

Einstein Prize2003
Science Writing Award1999
Wolf Prize in Physics1996
Foreign Member of the Royal Society1995
Matteucci Medal1993
Oskar Klein Medal1992
Marcel Grossmann Award1989
Albert Einstein Medal1988
J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Prize1984
Oersted Medal1983
Niels Bohr International Gold Medal1982
National Medal of Science1970
Franklin Medal1969
Enrico Fermi Award1968
Golden Plate Award1966
Albert Einstein Award1965
Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award1954
Guggenheim Fellowship1949
Guggenheim Fellowship1946
Fellow of the American Physical Society

About this person

Together with Gregory Breit, Wheeler explored positron-electron pair production from the collision of two photons, now known as the Breit-Wheeler process. He is known for popularizing the term "black hole" to describe the gravitationally completely collapsed objects predicted by general relativity. He also coined "quantum foam", "neutron moderator", "wormhole" and "it from bit", and hypothesized the "one-electron universe". Stephen Hawking called Wheeler the "hero of the black hole story".

Country
United States
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
Deceased
Dates
Lived 1911 to 2008 · aged 96