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Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as Subject

Charles Christian Lauritsen

Photo

Dates

April 4, 1892 – April 13, 1968

Authorized Form of Name

Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968

Biography

Abstract

Charles Christian Lauritsen was Emeritus Professor of Physics at the California Institute of Technology (1930-1968). Other institutional affiliations included the Kennedy Radio Corporation and the Federal Telegraph Company. His research interests included radiative capture and x-rays.

Important Dates

April 4, 1892Birth, Holstebro (Denmark).

1911Obtained Architecture degree, Odense Technical School, Odense (Denmark).

1911 – 1912Infantryman, Danish Infantry.

1914 – 1915Infantryman, Danish Infantry.

1919 – 1921Engineer, Ohio Body and Blower Company.

1921 – 1923Radio Engineer, Federal Telegraph Company.

1923 – 1926Chief Engineer, Kennedy Radio Corporation.

1929Obtained PhD in Physics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1930 – 1968Assistant Professor of Physics (1930-1931); Associate Professor of Physics (1931-1935); Professor of Physics (1935-1962); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1962-1968), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).

1940 – 1942Vice Chair, Division A (Armor and Ordnance), National Defense Research Committee.

1941Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1942Chair, Division 3, Section L, National Defense Research Committee, Office of Scientific Research and Development.

1950 – 1951Project Vista, California Institute of Technology, United States Air Force.

1950 – 1951Member, Long Range Objectives Panel, Committee on Atomic Energy, Research and Development Board, United States Department of Defense.

1951President, American Physical Society.

1952 – 1957Member, Science Advisory Committee, United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

1967Awarded Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics, American Physical Society.

April 13, 1968Death.

Occupation

Nuclear physicist.

Places

Birth

Holstebro (Denmark)

Undergraduate Education

Odense (Denmark)

Graduate Education

Pasadena (Calif.)

Employment

Pasadena (Calif.)

Subjects

Nuclear astrophysics.

Nuclear physics.

Particle accelerators.

Radiative capture.

X-rays.

Relationships

People

Family

Lauritsen, Eric

Grandson.

Lauritsen, Sigrid Henriksen

Wife.

Lauritsen, Thomas, 1915-1973

Son; advised by Charles Lauritsen at California Institute of Technology, "Construction of a pressure Van de Graaff generator and its application to nuclear physics;" and both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Press, Margaret Ann Lauritsen

Granddaughter.

Advisors & Collaborators

Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991

Collaborated on Caltech artillery rocket project for the Navy and both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Crane, H. R. (Horace Richard), 1907-2007

Advised by Lauritsen at California Institute of Technology, "Artificial Radioactivity," and both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Fowler, William A.

Advised by Lauritsen at California Institute of Technology, "Radioactive elements of a low atomic number," and both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Kavanagh, Ralph William

Advised by Lauritsen at California Institute of Technology, "Scintillation and magnetic spectrometer studies of nuclear reactions."

Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953

PhD advisor at California Institute of Technology, "Electron emission from metals in intense electron fields," and both employed there.

Oppenheimer, Frank, 1912-1985

Advised by Lauritsen at California Institute of Technology, "Beta ray spectra."

Tollestrup, Alvin

Advised by Lauritsen at California Institute of Technology, "Precision determination of the energy released in nuclear reactions in the light elements," and both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Colleagues

Adelberger, Eric G.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bahcall, John N.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bardeen, James Maxwell, 1939-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Barish, B. C. (Barry Clark), 1936-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bateman, Harry, 1882-1946

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bitter, Francis, 1902-1967

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Boehm, Felix

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bonner, Tom Wilkerson, 1910-1961

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Bowman, J. D. (J. David)

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Christy, Robert F.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Dashen, Roger F.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994

Both employed at California Institute of Technology and worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Duwez, Pol

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Feynman, Richard P. (Richard Phillips), 1918-1988

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Gell-Mann, Murray

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Glashow, Sheldon L.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Glauber, Roy J., 1925-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Gordy, Walter, 1909-1985

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Gould, Roy W. (Roy Walter), 1927-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Hellwarth, Robert Willis, 1930-2021

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Houston, W. V. (William Vermillion), 1900-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Leighton, Robert B.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Neddermeyer, Seth H. (Seth Henry), 1907-1988

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Robertson, H. P. (Howard Percy), 1903-1961

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Schiff, Leonard I. (Leonard Isaac), 1915-1971

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Sciulli, Frank J.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Slichter, Louis B. (Louis Byrne), 1896-1978

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Spitzer, Frank, 1926-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Thorne, Kip S.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Tolman, Richard C. (Richard Chace), 1881-1948

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Trilling, George H.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Tsuei, Chang C.

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Waterman, Alan Tower, 1892-1967

Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

Wilson, Robert Woodrow, 1936-

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both worked at United States Office of Defense Mobilization.

Zweig, George

Both employed at California Institute of Technology.

Additional

Alvarez, Luis W., 1911-1988

Barnes, C. A.

Bethe, Hans A. (Hans Albrecht), 1906-2005

Cockcroft, John, Sir, 1897-1967

Darrow, Karl K. (Karl Kelchner), 1891-

Evans, Robley Dunglison, 1907-

Greenstein, Jesse L. (Jesse Leonard), 1909-2002

Kent, R. H. (Robert Harrington), 1886-1961

King, Robert B. (Robert Burnett)

McCrea, William Hunter

Morrison, Philip

Rutherford, Ernest, 1871-1937

Salpeter, Edwin E.

Serber, R. (Robert)

Tombrello, Thomas A.

Tuve, Merle Antony, 1901-1982

Whaling, Ward, 1923-

Institutions

Major Positions

California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy

Obtained PhD in Physics (1929). Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.

Federal Telegraph Company

Chief Engineer.

Kennedy Radio Corporation

Chief Engineer.

Ohio Body and Blower Company

Engineer.

United States. Air Force

Project Vista, California Institute of Technology.

United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. National Defense Research Committee

Vice Chair, Division A (Armor and Ordnance) and Chair, Division 3, Section L.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Physical Society

Received 1967 Tom W. Bonner Prize in Nuclear Physics and President.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

United States. Department of Defense. Research and Development Board

Member, Long Range Objectives Panel, Committee on Atomic Energy.

United States. Science Advisory Committee

Member.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Charles C. Lauritsen papers, 1927-1977 (bulk 1946-1973).

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Charles Christian Lauritsen, 1966 June 27.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Speech at the dedication of the Naval Ordnance Test Station Weapons Center in Inyokern, California [sound recording], 1964 November 4.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Oral history interview with Alvin Virgil Tollestrup, 1994.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Carl Anderson, 1979 January 9 -February 8.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Charles A. Barnes, 1987 July and August.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Edwin Ernest Salpeter, 1978 March 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Frank Oppenheimer, 1973 February 9 and May 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Frank Oppenheimer, 1984 November 16.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with H. R. Crane, 1973 March 28 and 1974 June 18.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Hans Bethe, 1982, 1993.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Jesse Leonard Greenstein, 1982 February 25, and March 16 and 23.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Luis Alvarez, 1967 February 14 and 15.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Philip Morrison, 1967 February 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Robert F. Christy, 1994.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Robert Serber, 1967 February 10.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Robley D. Evans, 1972 May 2, 3, 1974 May 5 and 1978 June 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Sir John Cockcroft, 1967 March 28.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Thomas Tombrello, 2010 December 26-31.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with Ward Whaling, 1999 April-May.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with William A. Fowler, 1983 May 3 - May 31, 1984.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Oral history interview with William Alfred Fowler, 1972 June 8, 9, 1973 February 5, 6, and 1974 May 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with William Hunter McCrea, 1978 September 22.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Wolfgang Kurt Hermann Panofsky, 1973 May 15 and 1974 March 6 and June 3.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Robert B. King collection on fuzes, 1943-1945.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Thomas Lauritsen papers, 1922-1974 (bulk 1952-1973).

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Twenty-four minutes to checkmate, [unpublished manuscript] 1953-1957.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Library

Abilene, KS 67410, USA

William A. Fowler papers, 1917-1995.

Institute Archives

California Institute of Technology

1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA

Published Resources

Subject

"Charles C. Lauritsen: A Reasonable Man in an Unreasonable World," Physics in Perspective 5 (2003): 419-472

"Charles Christian Lauritsen: 1892-1968", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

Charles C. Lauritsen was Nuclear-Research Pioneer Physics Today obituary.

Danskeren bag bomben : om tømrerlærlingen fra Holstebro, der hjalp atombomben til verden og bestemte, hvor den skulle kastes.