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Philipp Lenard

German physicist (1862-1947) · Germany · Scientists · Died at 84

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He won a Nobel Prize for cathode ray work that helped unlock the photoelectric effect, then spent his final decades as a zealous Nazi ideologue attacking Einstein's relativity as "Jewish physics."

A life in dates

1947Died20 May 19471942Honorary Doctor of Comenius UniversityAward1932Franklin MedalAward1905Nobel Prize in PhysicsAward1896Matteucci MedalAwardRumford MedalAward1862Born7 June 1862

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Awards

Honorary Doctor of Comenius University1942
Franklin Medal1932
Nobel Prize in Physics1905
Rumford Medal1896
Matteucci Medal1896
Golden Party Badge

In their orbit

Spouse: Katharina Lenard

About this person

Philipp Eduard Anton von Lenard was born on 7 June 1862 in what was then Hungary. His experiments with cathode rays earned him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1905, and he realized the photoelectric effect experimentally - finding that ejected electron energy depends on light's frequency, not its intensity. In the 1920s he became an active proponent of Nazi ideology and supported Adolf Hitler. During the Third Reich, Lenard served as an important role model for the Deutsche Physik movement, which sought to purge theoretical physics of what he and others labeled "Jewish physics" - a direct attack on Albert Einstein's contributions. He died on 20 May 1947.

Country
Germany
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1862 to 1947 · aged 84

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