Created by Paul A. M. Dirac

Hide Profile

  • 1902, Aug. 8: Born in Bristol, England to Charles Adrein Ladislas Dirac a Swiss-born French teacher and Florence Hannah Holten, a library clerk.
  • 1908 - 1918 : Attended the Bishop Road elementary school and the Merchant Venturers' Technical College (a secondary school) where his father taught. As an elderly man, he recalled that he excelled in mathematics, chemistry, and physics, but was disadvantaged by his age and size in sports activities.
  • 1918 - 1923 : He studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Bristol, with first class honors and stayed on to study mathematics, completing his examinations with first class honors after two additional years.
  • 1923 - 1926 : He was admitted to St. John's College at Cambridge, studying with Ralph A. Fowler. During this time he published several technical papers and in 1926 he was awarded his Ph.D. with a thesis: Quantum Mechanics and traveled to other European centers where modern physics was being investigated.
  • 1927 - 1933 : He progressed rapidly in his research positions being successively elected as: * Fellow at St. John's College of Cambridge University, 1927 * Fellow at St. John's College of Cambridge University, 1927 * Praelector in Mathematical Physics, 1929 * Fellow of the Royal Society, 1930 * Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, 1932 * Nobel Prize for Physics in 1933 along with Edwin Schroedinger.
  • 1930: He published the first edition of The Principles of Quantum Mechanics.
  • 1933 - 1969 : He continued his research activity and traveled widely, teaching and lecturing frequently in Europe, Asia, and North America, interrupted only during the time he was involved in War-related work, often taking short-term lecturing positions at major universities until his retirement from Cambridge in 1969. In 1937, he married Margit ("Manci") Wigner, the sister of Eugene P. Wigner a Hungarian colleague at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study. He adopted her two children, Judith and Gabriel. They had two daughters: Mary Elizabeth and Florence Monica.
  • 1972 - 1984 : He accepted an appointment at Florida State University and moved to Tallahassee where he continued his active research and travel until near the end of his life on 20 October 1984. He is buried in Tallahassee.

From the guide to the Paul A.M. Dirac Papers, 1788-1999, (Repository Unknown)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Paul A.M. Dirac Papers, 1788-1999
Role Title Holding Repository
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
Dirac equation
Occupation
Activity

Person

Related Descriptions
Information

Permalink: http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6r62g6z

Ark ID: w6r62g6z

SNAC ID: 14173819