Eugene Wigner
- Born: November 17, 1902 (Budapest, Austria-Hungary)
- Died: January 1, 1995 (Princeton, New Jersey)
Education
- 1925: DSc, Technical Institute, Berlin
Major Positions
- 1926–1927: University of Berlin, Research Assistant
- 1927–1928: University of Göttingen, Assistant
- 1928–1930: University of Berlin, Privatdozent
- 1930–1933: Technical Institute, Berlin, Extraordinary Professor of Theoretical Physics
- 1931–1934: Princeton University, Research Professor
- 1934–1936: Princeton University, Visiting Professor
- 1937–1938: University of Wisconsin, Madison, Professor of Physics
- 1938–1971: Princeton University, Thomas D. Jones Professor of Mathematical Physics, Palmer Physics Laboratory
- 1946–1947: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Director of Research, Clinton Laboratories
- 1971–1995: Princeton University, Thomas D. Jones Emeritus Professor of Mathematical Physics
Other Positions
- 1942–1943: Manhattan Project, Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Leader, Theoretical Group
- 1943–1945: Manhattan Project, Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Researcher
- 1956–1956: American Physical Society, President
- 1964–1965: Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Director, Civil Defense Research Project
- 1975–1975: University of Utrecht, Kramers Professor
Selected Part-Time Positions
- 1947–1951: Member, Visiting Committee, National Bureau of Standards
- 1952–1957: Member, General Advisory Committee, United States Atomic Energy Commission
- 1959–1964: Member, General Advisory Committee, United States Atomic Energy Commission
Selected Awards and Honors
- 1945: National Academy of Sciences, Member
- 1958: United States Atomic Energy Commission, Enrico Fermi Award
- 1963: Nobel Prize in Physics
- 1968: National Medal of Science
Archival Resources
Princeton University Library, Manuscripts Division, Princeton, New Jersey
Online Finding Aid
Oral History Interviews
- 1963: Available Online
- 1964: Columbia University, Oral History Research Office
- 1966: Available Online
- 1981: Available Online
- 1984: Available Online
- 1987: University of Minnesota, Charles Babbage Institute, Center for the History of Computing
Resources on the Web
Published Resources
Frederick Seitz, Erich Vogt, and Alvin M. Weinberg, "Eugene Paul Wigner: 1902-1995", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
Alvin M. Weinberg, "Eugene Wigner: Nuclear Engineer," Physics Today October (2002): 42-46.
Francis S. Wagner, Eugene P. Wigner, an Architect of the Atomic Age: Highlights of a Career with a Comprehensive Bibliography (Toronto : Rákóczi Foundation, 1981)
Eugene P. Wigner, edited by Andrew Szanton, The Recollections of Eugene P. Wigner as Told to Andrew Szanton (New York: Plenum, 1992)
László Kovács, Eugene P. Wigner and His Hungarian Teachers (Szombathely, Hungary: Berzsenyi College, 2002)
István Hargittai, The Martians of Science: Five Physicists Who Changed the Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press, 2006)
Jagdish Mehra, "The Quantum Principle: Its Interpretation and Epistemology," Dialectica: International Review of Philosophy of Knowledge 27 (1973): 75-157
Eugene P. Wigner, "Historical Events of 1939-42: The Staff Field Reactor," in Historical Perspectives: Dawn of the Nuclear Age (La Grange Park, IL: American Nuclear Society: 1989)
Erich Vogt, "Eugene Paul Wigner: A Towering Figure of Modern Physics," Physics Today 48 (1995): 40-44
David J. Gross, "Symmetry in Physics: Wigner's Legacy," Physics Today 48 (1995): 46-50
Osvaldo Pessoa, Olival Freire, and Alexis De Greiff, "The Tausk Controversy on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics: Physics, Philosophy, and Politics," Physics in Perspective 10 (2008): 138-162
Stefania Jha, "Wigner's 'Polanyian' Epistemology and the Measurement Problem: The Wigner-Polanyi Dialog on Tacit Knowledge," Physics in Perspective 13 (2011): 329-358
