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Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as Subject

Henri Becquerel

Photo

Dates

December 15, 1852 – August 25, 1908

Authorized Form of Name

Becquerel, Henri, 1852-1908

Additional Forms of Names

Becquerel, Antoine Henri, 1852-1908

Becquerel, Antoine-Henri, 1852-1908

Biography

Abstract

Henri Becquerel was a nuclear physicist at the École Polytechnique, specializing in radiation and radioactivity. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity."

Important Dates

December 15, 1852Birth, Paris (France).

1874 – 1894Ingénieur (Engineer) (1877-1894) and Ingénieur-en-chef (Chief Engineer) (1894), École des ponts ParisTech (École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées), Paris (France).

1878Chair of Applied Physics, National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers), Paris (France).

1878 – 1908Assistant (1878); Professional of Applied Physics (1892), Museum of National History (Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France)), Paris (France).

1888Obtained docteur-ès-sciences degree in engineering, École Polytechnique, Paris (France).

1889Member and Life Secretary, French Academy of Sciences (Académie des sciences (France)).

1895Professor, École Polytechnique, Paris (France).

1900Officer, Legion of Honour.

1900Awarded Rumford Medal.

1901Awarded Helmholtz Medal, Royal Academy of Sciences in Berlin.

1903Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics with Pierre and Marie Curie "in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity" and was split with Pierre and Marie Curie.

1905Awarded Barnard Medal, U. S. National Academy of Sciences.

1908Foreign member, Royal Society.

August 25, 1908Death, Le Croisic (France).

Occupation

Nuclear physicist.

Places

Birth

Paris (France)

Undergraduate Education

Paris (France)

Graduate Education

Paris (France)

Employment

Paris (France)

Death

Le Croisic (France)

Subjects

Nuclear physics.

Radioactivity.

X-ray radiation.

Relationships

People

Family

Becquerel, Ed., 1820-1891

Father.

Becquerel, Jean, 1878-

Son.

Becquerel, Mlle. Janin

Wife.

Advisors & Collaborators

Curie, Marie, 1867-1934

Awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics along with P. Curie "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."

Curie, Pierre, 1859-1906

Awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics along with M. Curie "in recognition of the extraordinary services they have rendered by their joint researches on the radiation phenomena discovered by Professor Henri Becquerel."

Friedel, Charles

PhD advisor at the Sorbonne.

Additional

Hansen, W. W. (William Webster), 1909-1949

Thomson, J. J. (Joseph John), 1856-1940

Institutions

Major Positions

Conservatoire national des arts et métiers (France)

Chair of Applied Physics.

Ecole nationale des ponts et chaussées (France)

Ingénieur (Engineer) and Ingénieur-en-chef (Chief Engineer).

Ecole polytechnique (France)

Obtained docteur-ès-sciences degree in engineering (1888). Professor.

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (France)

Assistant and Professor of Applied Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Académie des Sciences (France)

Member and Life Secretary.

Accademia nazionale dei Lincei

Member.

Königliche Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlín)

Member.

Légion d'honneur (France)

Officer.

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Awarded 1905 Barnard Medal.

Royal Society (Great Britain)

Foreign member.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Henri Becquerel autograph letters, 1900-1906.

Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine

Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine

183 Fuston Rd., London NW1 2BN, England UK

Henri Becquerel papers, ca. 1870-ca. 1908.

Bibliotheque

Muséum national d'histoire naturelle

38 rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, 75005 Paris France

Subject

French government records concerning the Services des Missions (in charge of scientific expeditions during the 19th century), 1864-1945.

Archives nationales de France

60 rue de Francs-Bourgeois, 75141 Paris France

History of atomic energy collection, 1896-1991.

Libraries, Special Collections

Oregon State University

Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

Sir J. J. Thomson papers and correspondence, 1836-1956.

Library

Trinity College

Cambridge CB2 1TQ

W. W. Hansen miscellaneous materials, 1899-1931.

Library for the History and Understanding of Medicine

Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine

183 Fuston Rd., London NW1 2BN, England UK

Published Resources

Author

Recherches sur l'absorption de la lumiére / par Henri Becquerel.

Subject

APS News March 1, 1896: Henri Becquerel Discovers Radioactivity.

Becquerel, Antoine-Henri (1852-1908).

Biography.com - Henri Becquerel.

Conférences prononcées à l'occasion du cinquantième anniversaire de la découverte de la radioactivité (Henry Becquerel, 1896).

Henri Becquerel Nobel Prize biography.

Pioneers of Nuclear Medicine - Henri Becquerel.