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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectPeter J. W. Debye
Dates
March 24, 1884 – November 2, 1966
Authorized Form of Name
Debye, Peter J. W. (Peter Josef William), 1884-1966
Additional Forms of Names
Debaĭ, Peter, 1884-1966
Debije, Petrus Josephus Wilhelmus, 1884-1966
Debije, Pie, 1884-1966
Biography
Abstract
Peter Debye was Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Cornell University (1940-1966). Other institutional affiliations included the University of Berlin and Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics. His research spanned chemistry and physics.
Important Dates
March 24, 1884Birth, Maastricht (Netherlands).
1905Obtained Dipl. Ing., RWTH Aachen University (Rheinisch-Westfalische Technische Hochschule Aachen).
1906 – 1910Lecturer, University of Munich, Munich (Germany).
1908Obtained EE and PhD, University of Munich, Munich (Germany).
1911 – 1912Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Zurich.
1912 – 1914Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Utrecht.
1914 – 1920Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Göttingen, Göttingen (Germany).
1915 – 1940Editor, Physical Journal (Physikalische Zeitschrift).
1920 – 1927Principal and Professor of Physics, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zurich (Switzerland).
1927 – 1934Professor of Physics and Director of the Physical Institute, University of Leipzig, Leipzig (Germany).
1934 – 1939Director, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics, Berlin (Germany).
1934 – 1940Professor of Physics, Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Berlin, Berlin (Germany).
1936Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for his contributions to our knowledge of molecular structure through his investigations on dipole moments and on the diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases".
1940 – 1966Chair, Department of Chemistry (1940-1952); Professor of Chemistry (1940-1952); and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry (1952-1966), Cornell University, Ithaca (N.Y.).
1947Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1965Awarded National Medal of Science.
1965Awarded Polymer Physics Prize, American Physical Society.
November 2, 1966Death, Ithaca (N.Y.).
Occupation
Physical chemist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Advisors & Collaborators
Kirkwood, John Gamble, 1907-1959
Advised by Debye at University of Leipzig and both employed at Cornell University.
Advised by Debye at ETH Zurich.
Colleagues
Both employed at Cornell University.
Both employed at Cornell University.
Fisher, Michael E. (Michael Ellis)
Both employed at Cornell University.
Additional
Alexander, Jerome, 1876-1959
Biermann, Ludwig, 1907-1986
Bragg, William Henry, 1862-1942
Brodskii, Aleksandr Il'ich, 1895-1969
Bueche, Arthur Maynard, 1920-1981
Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962
Darrow, Karl K. (Karl Kelchner), 1891-
Ehrenfest, Paul, 1880-1933
Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966
Ewald, Paul Peter, 1888-1985
Fajans, Kasimir, 1887-1975
Frank, Charles, Sir
Friedrich, Walter, 1883-1968
Gerlach, Walther, 1889-1979
Herring, William Conyers, 1914-
Hess, Victor Francis, 1883-1964
Hildebrand, Joel Henry, 1881-1983
Hoddeson, Lillian
Hund, Friedrich, 1896-1997
Jordan, Pascual, 1902-1980
Kamerlingh Onnes, Heike, 1853-1926
Klein, Oskar
Korn, Arthur
Kuhn, Thomas S.
Kurti, Nicholas
Landé, Alfred, 1888-
Loeb, Leonard B. (Leonard Benedict), 1891-
Lorentz, H. A. (Hendrik Antoon), 1853-1928
Pauling, Linus, 1901-1994
Pearson, Gerald L. (Gerald Leondus)
Peierls, Rudolf E. (Rudolf Ernst), 1907-1995
Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988
Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959
Rogowski, Fritz
Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad, 1845-1923
Rozental, S. (Stefan)
Scherrer, Paul
Schrödinger, Annemarie, 1896-1965
Smyth, Charles Phelps, 1895-1990
Sponer, Hertha, 1895-1968
Ueberreiter, Kurt, 1912-
Uhlenbeck, George Eugène, 1900-1988
Unsold, Albrecht, 1905-
Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980
Von Kármán, Theodore, 1881-1963
Weizsacker, Carl Friedrich, Freiherr von, 1912-2007
Institutions
Major Positions
Cornell University. Department of Chemistry
Chair, Department of Chemistry; Professor of Chemistry; and Professor Emeritus of Chemistry.
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Principal and Professor of Physics.
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Professor of Physics.
Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institut fur Physik
Director.
Physikalische Zeitschrift
Editor.
Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht
Professor of Theoretical Physics.
Universität Göttingen
Professor of Theoretical Physics.
Universität Leipzig (1409-1953)
Professor of Physics and Director of the Physical Institute.
Universitat Zurich
Professor of Theoretical Physics.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Received 1965 Polymer Physics Prize.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen
Received Dipl. Ing.
Universitat Munchen. Fakultat fur Physik
Received EE and PhD, and Lecturer.
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Ceremonial session [sound recording], 1965 March 26.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
History of quantum theory [sound recording] / 1966 March 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Holograph student notes, 1901, and lectures given at the Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht, 1912, and Universität Göttingen, 1914-1915, 1901-1915.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Lectures on quantum theory [microform], 1914-1918.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Peter J. W. Debye, 1962 May 3 and 4.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Peter J. W. Debye, 1965 December 22 to 16 June 1966.
Carl A. Kroch Library. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University
2B Carl A Kroch Library, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Peter Debye lectures on quantum theory, 1914-1918.
Mathematisches Institut
Universität Göttingen
Bunsenstrasse 10, Göttingen
Peter J. W. Debye papers, 1901-1906 and 1918-1945.
Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften
Boltzmannstr. 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Peter J. W. Debye papers, 1920-1938.
Handschriftenabteilung
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Zurich, Switzerland
Peter J. W. Debye papers, circa 1959-1966.
Carl A. Kroch Library. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections
Cornell University
2B Carl A Kroch Library, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Subject
"Peter Joseph Wilhelm Debye: 1884-1966", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
Aleksandr Brodskii papers, 1896-1969 (bulk) 1920-1969.
Archive
Ukrainian Academy of Sciences
Vladimirskaja 62, Kiev 252601
Archive for the History of Quantum Physics, 1898-1950 (bulk).
Library
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Arthur Korn correspondence on mathematical physics, 1898-1932.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Arthur Korn correspondence, 1898-1934.
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Columbia University
Butler Library, 6th Floor East, New York, NY 10027, USA
Arthur M. Bueche autobiography, 1965.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
David Hilbert papers.
Abteilung für Handschriften und seltene Drucke
Niedersächsische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen
Papendiek 14, D-37073 Göttingen
Henry H. Barschall response to 1981 History of Nuclear Physics Survey, 1982.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
International Science and Technology Journal interviews, 1962-1967.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Jerome Alexander correspondence, 1908-1953.
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
New York Public Library
Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York, NY 10018, USA
Johannes Stark correspondence, 1904-1927.
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1, 80306 Munich, Germany
Johannes Stark selected correspondence [microform], 1904-1927.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
John Clarke Slater papers, 1908-1976.
Library
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Kasimir Fajans papers, 1912-1975.
Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113, USA
Lillian Hoddeson papers, 1904-2001.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr material collected elsewhere, 1912-1962.
Niels Bohr Archive
Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark
Nobel laureates on scientific research project: oral history, 1964.
Oral History Research Office
Columbia University
Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA
O. W. Richardson papers, 1897-1959 (bulk 1920-1940).
Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
University of Texas at Austin
P.O. Drawer 7219, Austin, TX 78713-7219, USA
Oral history interview with Albrecht Unsöld, 1978 June 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Alfred Landé, 1962 March 5, 6, 7, 8 and June 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Annamarie Bertel Schrödinger, 1963 April 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Carl Friedrich Weizsacker, 1978 April 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Carl Friedrich Weizsacker, 1985 May 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Carl Friedrich Weizsacker, 1986 January 28.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Charles P. Smyth, 1986 May 30.
The Beckman Center for History of Chemistry
Chemical Heritage Foundation
315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2702, USA
Oral history interview with Ernst Pascual Jordan, 1963 June 17, 18, 19 and 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Felix Bloch, 1964 May 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Felix Bloch, 1968 August 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Friedrich Hund, 1963 June 25 and 26.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Gerald Leondus Pearson, 1976 August 23 and 8 April 1980.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Gregor Wentzel, 1964 February 3 to 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with I. I. Rabi, 1963 December 8.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Joel Henry Hildebrand,, 1962 August 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Karl Friedrich (Fritz) Rogowski, 1982; 1983.
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1, 80306 Munich, Germany
Oral history interview with Kurt Ueberreiter, 1988 June 29.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Leonard B. Loeb, 1962 August 7.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Linus Carl Pauling, 1964 March 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Linus Pauling, 1984 May 10.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Ludwig Franz Benedikt Biermann, 1978 June 23 and July 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Max Born, 1960 June 1, 1962 October 17 and 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Nicholas Kurti, 1968 September 11 and 1972 November 22.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Oskar Benjamin Klein, 1962 September 25 to 16 July 1963.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Otto Laporte, 1964 January 29 and 31.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Paul Peter Ewald, 1962 March 29 and May 8.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Paul Peter Ewald, 1968 May 17 and 24.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Paul S. Epstein, 1965.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Paul Sophus Epstein, 1962 May 25, 26 and June 2.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Richard Courant, 1962 May 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Rudolf Ernst Peierls, 1977 May 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Sir Charles Frank, 1981 July 31.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Sir Rudolf Ernst Peierls, 1963 June 17 and 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Stefan Rozental, 1971 August 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Theodore Von Karman, 1962 June 29.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Walter Friedrich, 1963 May 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Walther Gerlach, 1963 February 18 and 23.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with William Conyers Herring, 1974 July 23, 29, and 31 October.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history joint interview with James Franck and Hertha Sponer-Franck, 1962 July 9 to 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Paul Ehrenfest papers [microform], 1903-1933.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Paul Scherrer papers, 1910-1960.
Handschriftenabteilung
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich
Zurich, Switzerland
Peter J. W. Debye biography, undated.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Reminiscences of Peter Joseph William Debye : oral history, 1964.
Oral History Research Office
Columbia University
Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA
William Henry Bragg papers, 1889-1960.
Royal Institution of Great Britain
London, Englank UK
Published Resources
Author
Die Quantentheorie der spezifischen Wärme.
Dipolmoment und chemische struktur.
Probleme der modernen Physik : Arnold Sommerfeld zum 60. Geburtstage gewidmet von seinen Schülern
Struktur der Materie : vier Vortrage
The collected papers of Peter J.W. Debye.
The interference of electrons.
Subject
"Fremde" Wissenschaftler im Dritten Reich : die Debye-Affäre im Kontext
"Peter Debye: Nazi Collaborator or Secret Opponent?," Ambix 57 (2010): 275-300
Peter Debye (1844-1966) : ein dossier / by Dieter Hoffmann.
Peter J. W. Debye Physics Today obituary.
Serving the Reich : the struggle for the soul of physics under Hitler / by Philip Ball.