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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectH. A. Lorentz
Dates
July 18, 1852 – February 4, 1928
Authorized Form of Name
Lorentz, H. A. (Hendrik Antoon), 1853-1928
Additional Forms of Names
Lorentz, Hendrik (A.), 1853-1928
Biography
Abstract
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz won the Nobel Prize in Physics "in recognition of the extraordinary service they rendered by their researches into the influence of magnetism upon radiation phenomena". His work in atomic physics, electromagnetism, and hydraulic engineering are still considered to be of great value to the physics field. Lorentz also served as an advocate for the sciences and put in motion the steps which led to the creation of the T.N.O., the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research.
Important Dates
July 18, 1853Birth, Arnhem (Netherlands).
1871Obtained BSc in mathematics and physics, Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden), Leiden (Netherlands).
1872Became a night school teacher, Arnhem (Netherlands).
1875Obtained Ph.D, Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden), Leiden (Netherlands).
1878Professor of Mathematical Physics (1875) and Chair of Theoretical Physics (1878), Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden), Leiden (Netherlands).
1878Published essay on what is now known as the Lorenz-Lorentz formula.
1898Appointed Honorary Member, London Mathematical Society.
1902Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics alongisde P. Zeeman "in recognition of the extraordinary service they rendered by their researches into the influence of magnetism upon radiation phenomena".
1904Famed work on FitzGerald-Lorentz contraction, known as Lorentz transformations.
1905Gained membership, Royal Society.
1908Speaker, International Congress.
1908Awarded Rumford Medal, Royal Society.
1911Chairman, Solvay Conference.
1912Secretary, Dutch Society of Sciences (Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen).
1912Curator to Teylers Physical Cabinet, Teylers Museum.
1918Awarded Copley Medal, Royal Society.
1920Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh.
1923 – 1925Member (1923) and President (1925), International Committee of Intellectual Cooperation, League of Nations.
1926Presented a series of lectures on quantum mechanics, Cornell University, Ithaca (N.Y.).
February 4, 1928Death, Haarlem (Netherlands).
Occupation
Theoretical quantum physicist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Haas, Wander Johannes de, 1878-1957
Son-in-law and Director of the Cryogenic Laboratory, Leiden University.
Haas-Lorentz, Geertruida Luberta de
Daughter. Physicist and advised by Lorentz.
Kaiser, Aletta Catharina
Wife, married 1881.
Kaiser, Johann Wilhelm
Father-in-law.
Lorentz, Gerrit Frederik
Father.
Van Ginkel, Geertruida
Mother.
Advisors & Collaborators
De Haas, Marc
Advised by Lorentz at Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden).
Droste, Johannes
Advised by Lorentz at Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden).
Fokker, A. D. (Adriaan Daniël), 1887-1972
Advised by Lorentz at Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden).
Kaiser, F. (Frederik), 1808-1872
Advisor, Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden).
Ornstein, L. S. (Leonard Salomon), 1880-1941
Advised by Lorentz at Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden).
Pol, Balthasar van der, 1889-1959
Post doctorial student advised by Lorentz at Teylers Institute in Haarlem.
Rijke, P. L. (Pieter Leonard), 1812-1899
Advisor, Leiden University (Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden).
Advised by Lorentz, Co-awarded Nobel Prize of Physics, 1902.
Colleagues
Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad, 1845-1923
Both worked at University of Wurzburg.
Additional
Bjerknes, V. (Vilhelm), 1862-1951
Brillouin, Marcel Louis
Burgers, J. M. (Johannes Martinus), 1895-1981
Casimir, H. B. G. (Hendrik Brugt Gerhard), 1909-2000
Debye, Peter J. W. (Peter Josef William), 1884-1966
Dennison, David M. (David Mathias), 1900-1976
Ehrenfest, Paul, 1880-1933
Collaborator, colleague, and friend.
Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966
Gorter, C. J. (Cornelis Jacobus), 1907-
Goudsmit, Samuel A. (Samuel Abraham), 1902-1978
Gray, Arthur Wellington, 1875-1957
Hale, George Ellery, 1868-1938
Hertz, Paul, b. 1881
Hilbert, David, 1862-1943
Jordan, Pascual, 1902-1980
Kamerlingh Onnes, Heike, 1853-1926
Kasterin, Nikolaj Petrovich
Klein, Oskar
Korn, Arthur
Lebedev, P. N. (Petr Nikolaevich), 1866-1912.
Levi-Civita, Tullio, 1873-1941
Lewis, E. Percival (Exum Percival), 1863-1925
Loeb, Leonard B. (Leonard Benedict), 1891-
Marx, Erich Anselm
Poincare, Henri, 1854-1912
Poynting, J. H. (John Henry), 1852-1914
Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959
Runge, Carl, 1856-1927
Smoluchowski, Marian, 1872-1917
Sommerfeld, Arnold, 1868-1951
Struik, Dirk J. (Dirk Jan), 1894-2000
Tamm, I. E. (Igor' Evgen'evich), 1895-1971
Uhlenbeck, George Eugène, 1900-1988
Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981
Voigt, Woldemar
Webb, Harold Worthington, 1884-1974
Webster, Arthur Gordon, 1863-1923
Webster, David Locke, 1888-1976
Whiting, Sarah Frances
Wilson, Edwin Bidwell, 1879-1964
Institutions
Major Positions
Columbia University. Department of Physics
Earnest Kempton Adams (EKA) lecturer and wrote one of his most important works "The Theory of Electrons."
Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden
Obtained BSc in mathematics and physics (1871) and PhD (1875). Professor of Mathematical Physics and Chair of Theoretical Physics.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Cornell University. Department of Physics
Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen
Secretary.
League of Nations. Committee on Intellectual Co-operation.
Member and President.
London Mathematical Society
Member.
Royal Society (Great Britain)
Member; Awarded Rumford Medal (1908) and Copley Medal (1918).
Royal Society of Edinburgh
Fellow.
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Columbia University Department of Physics historical records, 1862-1997.
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Columbia University
Butler Library, 6th Floor East, New York, NY 10027, USA
H. A. Lorentz The Quantum Theory lecture notes, 1926.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, 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
Woldemar Voigt letters from Hendrik A. Lorentz, 1883-1919.
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1, 80306 Munich, Germany
Subject
Albert Einstein collection, 1896-1952.
Goldfarb Library. Special Collections
Brandeis University
415 South St., Waltham, MA 02254, USA
Albert Einstein correspondence with H.A. Lorentz and Heike Kamerlingh-Onnes [microform], 1901-1926.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Arthur Gordon Webster papers, 1892-1920.
Goddard Library. Archives and Special Collections
Clark University
Worcester, MA 01610-11477, USA
Arthur Gordon Webster papers, 1893-1913.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Arthur Gray correspondence, lecture notes and memorabilia, 1908-1928.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Arthur Korn correspondence, 1898-1932.
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Columbia University
Butler Library, 6th Floor East, New York, NY 10027, USA
Carl Eckart papers, 1921-1973, (bulk 1935-1970).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
Abteilung für Handschriften und seltene Drucke
Niedersächsische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen
Papendiek 14, D-37073 Göttingen
Dirk Jan Struik autobiography, chapter V: Leiden science, 1973.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
E. Percival Lewis papers, 1903-1925.
Manuscripts Department. Southern Historical Collection
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Wilson Library CB# 3926, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3926, USA
Emil Wiechert papers, 1895-1918.
Abteilung für Handschriften und seltene Drucke
Niedersächsische Staats-und Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen
Papendiek 14, D-37073 Göttingen
Erich A. Marx papers, 1905-1913.
Folsom Library. Institute Archives and Special Collections
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY 12180, USA
George Ellery Hale papers [microform], 1882-1938.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
H. A. Lorentz papers, 1869-1928.
Rijksmumsum voor de Geschiedenis van de Natuurwetenschappen en van de Geneeskunde 'Museum Boerhaave'
Steenstraat IA, 2313 BS Leiden, Netherlands
H. A. Lorentz papers, 1888-1928.
Algemeen Rijksarchief
The Hague, Netherlands
Harold W. Webb autobiography, circa 1962.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Harry Bateman papers, 1906-1947.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Heike Kammerlingh Onnes letters to Hendrik A. Lorentz, 1906-
Archives for the History of Quantum Physics
Algemeen Rijksarchief
The Hague, Netherlands
Igor E. Tamm papers, 1895-1971.
In private hands
J. H. Poynting papers, 1852-1914.
Main Library. Archives
University of Birminham
Information Services, Special Collections Dept., Edgbaston Campus, Birmingham B15 2TT
Johannes Stark Correspondence, 1904-1927.
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1, 80306 Munich, Germany
Marcel Brillouin papers, 1887-1943.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Marian Smoluchowski personal archives, 1890-1917.
Dept. of Manuscripts
Biblioteka Jagiellonska.
A. Mickiewicza 22, 30-059 Cracow
Max Planck papers, 1759-1994, bulk 1830-1994.
Archiv zur Geschichte der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften
Boltzmannstr. 14, 14195 Berlin, Germany
Niels Bohr Scientific correspondence, supplement, 1910-1962.
Niels Bohr Archive
Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark
Nikolai P. Kasterin papers.
Archives
Moscow M. V. Lomonsosov University
Leninskie gory, Mscow 117234, Russia
Oral history interview with Adriaan Daniël Fokker, 1963 April 1.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Carl Henry Eckart, 1962 May 31.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Cornelis Jacobus Gorter, 1962 November 13.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with David Locke Webster, 1964 May 21.
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 Edwin Bidwell Wilson, 1963 June 3.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, 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
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 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 Johannes Martinus Burgers, 1962 June 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Jule G. Charney, 1980 August 25, 26, 27 and 28.
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 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 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 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 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
Oral history interview with Robert S. Shankland, 1974 August 20 and 21.
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
Paul Ehrenfest papers, 1902-1933.
Rijksmumsum voor de Geschiedenis van de Natuurwetenschappen en van de Geneeskunde 'Museum Boerhaave'
Rijksmumsum voor de Geschiedenis van de Natuurwetenschappen en van de Geneeskunde 'Museum Boerhaave'.
Steenstraat IA, 2313 BS Leiden, Netherlands
Paul Hertz Papers, 1904-1994 (bulk 1910-1940).
Hillman Library. Archives of Scientific Philosophy in the Twentieth Century
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
Paul S. Epstein papers, 1898-1966.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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
Petr N. Lebedev papers.
St. Petersburg Branch. Archive
Russian Academy of Sciences
Universitetskaia hab., 1, Korp. 2, St. Petersburg 199034
Pieter Zeeman papers, 1877-1946.
Rijksarchief in Noord-Holland
Kleine Houtweg 18, Haarlem, Netherlands
Sarah Frances Whiting papers, 1859-1927.
Archives
Wellesley College
Margaret Clapp Library, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA
Selected correspondence [microform], 1899-1907.
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1, 80306 Munich, Germany
The Columbia Physics Department : a brief history.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Tullio Levi-Civita correspondence.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Wilhelm Wien papers, 1890-ca. 1928.
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1, 80306 Munich, Germany
Published Resources
Author
Abhandlungen über theoretische physik / von H.A. Lorentz. 1. bd. Mit 40 figuren im text.
Electriciteit en magnetisme, ontleend aan Beginselen der natuurkunde / door H. A. Lorentz.
La théorie électromagnétique de Maxwell et son application aux corps mouvants /par H.A. Lorentz.
Notice sur la vie et l'oeuvre de Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, associé étranger de l'Académie.
The Einstein theory of relativity: a concise statement/ by Prof. H.A. Lorentz.
Vorlesungen über theoretische physik an der Universität Leiden, von prof. dr. H.A. Lorentz.
Subject
H. A. Lorentz: impressions of his life and work. [Translation by Joh. C. Fagginger Auer].