Menu ☰

Back to Top

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 Books

Collections

Emilio Segré Visual Archives Digital Collections Oral Histories Archival Finding Aids Physics History Network Member Society Portals Ethical Cataloging Statement

Preservation and Support

Donating Materials Suggest a Book Purchase Saving Archival Collections Grants to Archives Documentation Projects History Newsletters

Center for History of Physics

Scholarship & Outreach

Main Navigation

HomeAboutTopic GuidesFeedback

Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as Subject

George Eugène Uhlenbeck

Photo

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

Jakarta (Indonesia)

Graduate Education

Leiden (Netherlands)

Employment

Ann Arbor (Mich.)

New York (N.Y.)

Death

Boulder (Colo.)

Subjects

Cosmic rays.

Nuclear physics.

Quantum theory.

Statistical mechanics.

Theoretical physics.

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

Case, Kenneth M.

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.

Ehrlich, Gert

Both employed at University of Michigan.

Glaser, D. A.

Both employed at University of Michigan.

Goudsmit, Samuel A. (Samuel Abraham), 1902-1978

Both employed at University of Michigan.

Laporte, Otto, 1902-1971

Both employed at University of Michigan.

Luttinger, Joaquin M.

Both employed at University of Michigan.

Nierenberg, William Aaron, 1919-2000

Both employed at University of Michigan.

Perl, Martin L., 1927-2014

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.

Trilling, George H.

Both employed at University of Michigan.

Additional

Adel, Arthur, 1908-1994

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

Berlin, Theodore H., 1917-1962

Bohr, Niels, 1885-1962

Bok, Bart J. (Bart Jan), 1906-1983

Born, Max, 1882-1970

Brillouin, Léon, 1889-1969

Broglie, Louis de, 1892-1987

Casimir, H. B. G. (Hendrik Brugt Gerhard), 1909-2000

Chapman, Sydney, 1888-1970

Debye, Peter J. W. (Peter Josef William), 1884-1966

Delbrück, Max

Dirac, P. A. M. (Paul Adrien Maurice), 1902-1984

Elsasser, Walter M., 1904-

Ewald, Paul Peter, 1888-1985

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

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

Goodman, Ralph R.

Goudsmit, Esther

Griffel, Maurice

Hanau, Richard, 1917-

Heisenberg, Werner, 1901-1976

Inglis, David Rittenhouse, 1905-1995

Klein, Martin J.

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

Pauli, Wolfgang, 1900-1958

Petersen, Aage

Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988

Reiche, F. (Fritz), 1883-1969

Sandage, Allan

Schwinger, Julian, 1918-1994

Smith, Gail Preston, 1915-

Thomas, Llewellyn Hilleth, 1903-1992

Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981

Zeeman, Pieter, 1865-1943

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

American Institute of Physics

American Physical Society

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

Oral history interview with George Eugene Uhlenbeck, 1962 March 30, 31, April 5, May 10 and 1963 December 9.

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

"Quantum Numbers and Electronic Spin: The History of a Discovery," Archives Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences 40 (1990): 305-331

"The Konopinski-Uhlenbeck Theory of β Decay: Its Proposal and Refutation," in Wrong for the Right Reasons, ed. Jed Z. Buchwald and Allan Franklin (Dordrecht: Springer: 2005), 209-228

George E. Uhlenbeck Physics Today obituary.