Physics History Network
Over 1000 biographies of physicists and histories of institutions with information pertaining to their lives, careers, and research.
Tip: Search within this page by using Ctrl + F or ⌘ + F
Search Our Catalogs
Archives BooksCollections
Emilio Segré Visual Archives Digital Collections Oral Histories Archival Finding Aids Physics History Network Member Society Portals Ethical Cataloging StatementPreservation and Support
Donating Materials Suggest a Book Purchase Saving Archival Collections Grants to Archives Documentation Projects History NewslettersCenter for History of Physics
Scholarship & OutreachMain Navigation
HomeAboutTopic GuidesFeedbackTable of Contents
Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectGeorge Eugène Uhlenbeck
Dates
December 6, 1900 – October 31, 1988
Authorized Form of Name
Uhlenbeck, George Eugène, 1900-1988
Additional Forms of Names
Uhlenbeck, G. E. (George Eugène), 1900-1988
Uhlenbeck, George E. (George Eugène), 1900-1988
Uhlenbeck, George Eugene
Biography
Abstract
George Uhlenbeck was Emeritus Professor of Physics at Rockefeller University (1974-1988). Other institutional affiliations included University of Michigan and University of Utrecht. His research interests included nuclear physics, random processes, statistical mechanics, and cosmic rays.
Important Dates
December 6, 1900Birth, Jakarta (Indonesia).
1927Obtained PhD, University of Leiden, Leiden (Netherlands).
1927 – 1935Instructor to Associate Professor of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Mich.).
1935 – 1939Professor of Physics, University of Utrecht.
1939 – 1960Professor of Physics (1939-1954) and Henry S. Carhart Professor of Physics (1954-1960), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Mich.).
1943 – 1945Researcher, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Radiation Laboratory.
1954 – 1955Lorentz Professor, University of Leiden.
1955Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1959President, American Physical Society.
1960 – 1988Professor of Physics (1960-1974) and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1974-1988), Rockefeller University, New York (N.Y.).
1963 – 1964Van de Waals Professor, University of Amsterdam.
1976Awarded National Medal of Science.
1979Awarded Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics.
October 31, 1988Death, Boulder (Colo.).
Occupation
Theoretical physicist.
Places
Birth
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Beeger, Anne Marie
Mother.
Ophurst, Else
Wife.
Uhlenbeck, Annie, 1895-
Sister.
Uhlenbeck, E. M., 1913-
Brother.
Uhlenbeck, Eugenius Marius
Father.
Uhlenbeck, Olke
Son.
Uhlenbeck, Willen Jan
Brother.
Advisors & Collaborators
Dresden, Max, 1918-
Advised by Uhlenbeck at University of Michigan, "On the problem of the approach to equilibrium in statistical mechanics."
Ehrenfest, Paul, 1880-1933
PhD advisor at University of Leiden, "Over statistische methoden in de theorie der quanta."
Konopinski, Emil Jan, 1911-
Advised by Uhlenbeck at University of Michigan.
Pais, Abraham, 1918-2000
Research Assistant at University of Amsterdam.
Uehling, Edwin A. (Edwin Albrecht), 1901-1985
Advised by Uhlenbeck at University of Michigan, "Transport phenomena in Einstein-Bose and Fermi-Dirac gases."
Colleagues
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Crane, H. R. (Horace Richard), 1907-2007
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Dennison, David M. (David Mathias), 1900-1976
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Goudsmit, Samuel A. (Samuel Abraham), 1902-1978
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Nierenberg, William Aaron, 1919-2000
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Randall, Harrison M. (Harrison McAllister), 1870-
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Satchler, G. R. (George Raymond)
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Both employed at University of Michigan.
Additional
Adel, Arthur, 1908-1994
Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004
Berlin, Theodore H., 1917-1962
Bok, Bart J. (Bart Jan), 1906-1983
Casimir, H. B. G. (Hendrik Brugt Gerhard), 1909-2000
Chapman, Sydney, 1888-1970
Debye, Peter J. W. (Peter Josef William), 1884-1966
Dirac, P. A. M. (Paul Adrien Maurice), 1902-1984
Ewald, Paul Peter, 1888-1985
Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-
Goodman, Ralph R.
Goudsmit, Esther
Griffel, Maurice
Hanau, Richard, 1917-
Inglis, David Rittenhouse, 1905-1995
Klein, Oskar
Koehler, James S. (James Stark), 1914-2006
Kronig, R. (Ralph), 1904-
Lamb, Willis E. (Willis Eugene), 1913-2008
Landé, Alfred, 1888-
Lorentz, H. A. (Hendrik Antoon), 1853-1928
Oppenheimer, Frank, 1912-1985
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Petersen, Aage
Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988
Reiche, F. (Fritz), 1883-1969
Sandage, Allan
Smith, Gail Preston, 1915-
Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth, 1903-1992
Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981
Institutions
Major Positions
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Radiation Laboratory
Researcher.
Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden
Obtained PhD (1927). Lorentz Professor.
Rijksuniversiteit te Utrecht
Professor of Physics.
Rockefeller University
Professor of Physics and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Universiteit van Amsterdam
Van der Waals Professor.
University of Michigan. Department of Physics
Instructor to Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; and Henry S. Carhart Professor of Physics.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
President.
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
University of California, Berkeley. Department of Physics
Wolf Foundation Prizes
Received 1979 Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics.
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Aage Petersen collection of reprints and manuscripts, 1922-1976.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Dedication ceremony of the Niels Bohr Library [sound recording], 1962 September 26.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Esther M. Goudsmit papers, 1925-1995.
Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113, USA
Esther Marianne Goudsmit papers, 1927-1981.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
General interest session on history of physics [sound recording], 1972 April 25.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
George Uhlenbeck papers, 1918-1982 (bulk 1925-1970).
Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113, USA
George Uhlenbeck papers, 1925-1988.
Rockefeller Archive Center
15 Dayton Ave., Pocantico Hills, North Tarrytown, NY 10591-1598, USA
Oral history interview with Fritz Reiche, 1962 March 30 to May 9.
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 Léon Brillouin, 1962 March 29 and 3 April.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Llewellyn Hilleth Thomas, 1962 May 10.
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 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 Samuel Abraham Goudsmit, 1963 December 5 and 7.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Subject
Archive for the History of Quantum Physics, 1898-1950 (bulk).
Library.
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Arthur Adel response to History of Modern Astrophysics Survey, 1980.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Copies of papers from elsewhere not directly related to Niels Bohr, 1920-
Niels Bohr Archive
Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark
David M. Gates student notebooks, 1940-1946.
Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113, USA
Gail P. Smith autobiography, circa 1965.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Harry E. Moses student notebooks, 1943-1947.
Bentley Historical Library
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113, USA
Informal moments, Summer Symposia at the University of Michigan [motion picture] / taken by David Dennison ; 1933-1937.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Maurice Griffel notebooks, 1940-1948.
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 Allan Sandage, 1974 May 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Bart Jan Bok, 1978 May 15, 17, 19 and 1978 June 14.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with David Mathias Dennison, 1964 January 27, 28 and 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with David Rittenhouse Inglis, 1977 May 9 and 10.
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 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 Harold Clayton Urey, 1964 March 24.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Harrison M. Randall, 1964 February 19, 20 and 1965 June 21.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir, 1963 July 5 and 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with J. Robert Oppenheimer, 1963 November 18 and 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with James Stark Koehler, 1981 March 6.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Ralph de Laer Kronig, 1962 November 12.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Ralph R. Goodman, 2007 September 19.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Robert F. Bacher, 1981, 1983.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Samuel Goudsmit 1976 May 7.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Wendell Furry, 1971 August 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Willis E. Lamb, 1985 March 7 and May 10.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oskar Klein papers [microform], 1922-1927.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Paul Ehrenfest correspondence and lectures [microform], 1914-1932.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Richard Hanau lecture notes, 1946-1947.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Samuel A. Goudsmit correspondence [microform], 1921-1933.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Samuel A. Goudsmit papers, 1921-1979.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Sydney Chapman festschrift material [microform], 1968.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Theodore Berlin papers, 1944-1962.
Rockefeller Archive Center
15 Dayton Ave., Pocantico Hills, North Tarrytown, NY 10591-1598, USA
Published Resources
Author
"Fifty Years of Spin: Personal Reminiscences," Physics Today 29 (1976): 43-48
Over statische methoden in de theorie der quanta / door dr. G.E. Uhlenbeck.
Proceedings of the Summer Seminar, Boulder, Colorado, 1960. Mark Kac, editor.
Threshold signals / edited by James L. Lawson, George E. Uhlenbeck.
Subject
"George E. Uhlenbeck and Statistical Mechanics," American Journal of Physics 58 (1990): 619-625
"George Eugene Uhlenbeck: 1900-1988", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
"George Uhlenbeck and the Discovery of Electron Spin," Physics Today 41 (1989): 34-40