Nobel Prize Winners for Physics
Year Article Country* Achievement 1901 Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad Germany discovery of X rays 1902 Lorentz, Hendrik Antoon The Netherlands investigation of the influence of magnetism on radiation Zeeman, Pieter The Netherlands investigation of the influence of magnetism on radiation 1903 Becquerel, Henri France discovery of spontaneous radioactivity Curie, Marie France investigations of radiation phenomena discovered by Becquerel Curie, Pierre France investigations of radiation phenomena discovered by Becquerel 1904 Rayleigh (of Terling Place), John William Strutt, 3rd Baron U.K. discovery of argon 1905 Lenard, Philipp Germany research on cathode rays 1906 Thomson, Sir J.J. U.K. researches into electrical conductivity of gases 1907 Michelson, A.A. U.S. spectroscopic and metrological investigations 1908 Lippmann, Gabriel France photographic reproduction of colours 1909 Braun, Ferdinand Germany development of wireless telegraphy Marconi, Guglielmo Italy development of wireless telegraphy 1910 Waals, Johannes Diederik van der The Netherlands research concerning the equation of state of gases and liquids 1911 Wien, Wilhelm Germany discoveries regarding laws governing heat radiation 1912 Dalén, Nils Sweden invention of automatic regulators for lighting coastal beacons and light buoys 1913 Kamerlingh Onnes, Heike The Netherlands investigation into the properties of matter at low temperatures; production of liquid helium 1914 Laue, Max von Germany discovery of diffraction of X rays by crystals 1915 Bragg, Sir Lawrence U.K. analysis of crystal structure by means of X rays Bragg, Sir William U.K. analysis of crystal structure by means of X rays 1917 Barkla, Charles Glover U.K. discovery of characteristic X-radiation of elements 1918 Planck, Max Germany discovery of the elemental quanta 1919 Stark, Johannes Germany discovery of Doppler effect in positive ion rays and division of spectral lines in electric field 1920 Guillaume, Charles Édouard Switzerland discovery of anomalies in alloys 1921 Einstein, Albert Switzerland work in theoretical physics, specifically for his discovery of the photoelectric effect: the emission of electrons from matter upon the absorption of electromagnetic radiation is frequency-dependent 1922 Bohr, Niels Denmark investigation of atomic structure and radiation 1923 Millikan, Robert Andrews U.S. work on elementary electric charge and the photoelectric effect 1924 Siegbahn, Karl Manne Georg Sweden work in X-ray spectroscopy 1925 Franck, James Germany discovery of the laws governing the impact of an electron upon an atom Hertz, Gustav Germany discovery of the laws governing the impact of an electron upon an atom 1926 Perrin, Jean France work on discontinuous structure of matter 1927 Compton, Arthur Holly U.S. discovery of wavelength change in diffused X rays Wilson, C.T.R. U.K. method of making visible the paths of electrically charged particles 1928 Richardson, Sir Owen Willans U.K. work on electron emission by hot metals 1929 Broglie, Louis-Victor, 7e duc (duke) de France discovery of the wave nature of electrons 1930 Raman, Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata India work on light diffusion; discovery of Raman effect 1932 Heisenberg, Werner Germany creation of quantum mechanics 1933 Dirac, P.A.M. U.K. introduction of wave equations in quantum mechanics Schrödinger, Erwin Austria 1935 Chadwick, Sir James U.K. discovery of the neutron 1936 Anderson, Carl David U.S. discovery of the positron Hess, Victor Francis Austria discovery of cosmic radiation 1937 Davisson, Clinton Joseph U.S. experimental demonstration of the interference phenomenon in crystals irradiated by electrons Thomson, Sir George Paget U.K. 1938 Fermi, Enrico Italy disclosure of artificial radioactive elements produced by neutron irradiation 1939 Lawrence, Ernest Orlando U.S. invention of the cyclotron 1943 Stern, Otto U.S. discovery of the magnetic moment of the proton 1944 Rabi, Isidor Isaac U.S. resonance method for registration of various properties of atomic nuclei 1945 Pauli, Wolfgang Austria discovery of the exclusion principle of electrons 1946 Bridgman, Percy Williams U.S. discoveries in the domain of high-pressure physics 1947 Appleton, Sir Edward Victor U.K. discovery of Appleton layer in upper atmosphere 1948 Blackett, Patrick M.S. U.K. discoveries in the domain of nuclear physics and cosmic radiation 1949 Yukawa Hideki Japan prediction of the existence of mesons 1950 Powell, Cecil Frank U.K. photographic method of studying nuclear processes; discoveries concerning mesons 1951 Cockcroft, Sir John Douglas U.K. work on transmutation of atomic nuclei by accelerated particles Walton, Ernest Thomas Sinton Ireland work on transmutation of atomic nuclei by accelerated particles 1952 Bloch, Felix U.S. discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in solids Purcell, E.M. U.S. discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in solids 1953 Zernike, Frits The Netherlands method of phase-contrast microscopy 1954 Born, Max U.K. statistical studies of atomic wave functions Bothe, Walther West Germany invention of coincidence method 1955 Kusch, Polykarp U.S. measurement of magnetic moment of electron Lamb, Willis Eugene, Jr. U.S. discoveries in the hydrogen spectrum 1956 Bardeen, John U.S. investigations on semiconductors and invention of the transistor Brattain, Walter H. U.S. Shockley, William B. U.S. 1957 Lee, Tsung-Dao China discovery of violations of the principle of parity Yang, Chen Ning China 1958 Cherenkov, Pavel Alekseyevich U.S.S.R. discovery and interpretation of the Cherenkov effect Frank, Ilya Mikhaylovich U.S.S.R. Tamm, Igor Yevgenyevich U.S.S.R. 1959 Chamberlain, Owen U.S. confirmation of the existence of the antiproton Segrè, Emilio U.S. 1960 Glaser, Donald A. U.S. development of the bubble chamber 1961 Hofstadter, Robert U.S. determination of shape and size of atomic nucleons Mössbauer, Rudolf Ludwig West Germany discovery of the Mössbauer effect, which refers to the refers to the resonant and recoil-free emission and absorption of gamma rays by atoms bound in a solid form 1962 Landau, Lev Davidovich U.S.S.R. contributions to the understanding of condensed states of matter 1963 Jensen, J. Hans D. West Germany development of shell model theory of the structure of the atomic nuclei Mayer, Maria Goeppert U.S. Wigner, Eugene Paul U.S. principles governing interaction of protons and neutrons in the nucleus 1964 Basov, Nikolay Gennadiyevich U.S.S.R. work in quantum electronics leading to construction of instruments based on maser-laser principles Prokhorov, Aleksandr Mikhaylovich U.S.S.R. Townes, Charles Hard U.S. 1965 Feynman, Richard P. U.S. basic principles of quantum electrodynamics Schwinger, Julian Seymour U.S. Tomonaga Shin'ichiro Japan 1966 Kastler, Alfred France discovery of optical methods for studying Hertzian resonances in atoms 1967 Bethe, Hans Albrecht U.S. discoveries concerning the energy production of stars 1968 Alvarez, Luis W. U.S. work with elementary particles, discovery of resonance states 1969 Gell-Mann, Murray U.S. classification of elementary particles and their interactions 1970 Alfvén, Hannes Sweden work in magnetohydrodynamics and in antiferromagnetism and ferrimagnetism Néel, Louis-Eugène-Félix France 1971 Gabor, Dennis U.K. invention of holography 1972 Bardeen, John U.S. development of the theory of superconductivity Cooper, Leon N. U.S. Schrieffer, John Robert U.S. 1973 Esaki, Leo Japan tunneling in semiconductors and superconductors Giaever, Ivar U.S. Josephson, Brian D. U.K. 1974 Hewish, Antony U.K. work in radio astronomy Ryle, Sir Martin U.K. 1975 Bohr, Aage N. Denmark work on the atomic nucleus that paved the way for nuclear fusion Mottelson, Ben R. Denmark Rainwater, James U.S. work on the atomic nucleus that paved the way for nuclear fusion 1976 Richter, Burton U.S. discovery of new class of elementary particles (psi, or J) Ting, Samuel C.C. U.S. 1977 Anderson, Philip W. U.S. contributions to understanding the behaviour of electrons in magnetic, noncrystalline solids Mott, Sir Nevill F. U.K. Van Vleck, John H. U.S. 1978 Kapitsa, Pyotr Leonidovich U.S.S.R. invention and application of helium liquefier Penzias, Arno U.S. discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation, providing support for the big-bang theory Wilson, Robert Woodrow U.S. 1979 Glashow, Sheldon Lee U.S. unification of electromagnetism and the weak interactions of subatomic particles Salam, Abdus Pakistan unification of electromagnetism and the weak interactions of subatomic particles Weinberg, Steven U.S. 1980 Cronin, James Watson U.S. demonstration of simultaneous violation of both charge-conjugation and parity-inversion symmetries Fitch, Val Logsdon U.S. demonstration of simultaneous violation of both charge-conjugation and parity-inversion symmetries 1981 Bloembergen, Nicolaas U.S. applications of lasers in spectroscopy Schawlow, Arthur Leonard U.S. Siegbahn, Kai Manne Börje Sweden electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis 1982 Wilson, Kenneth Geddes U.S. analysis of continuous phase transitions 1983 Chandrasekhar, Subrahmanyan U.S. contributions to understanding the evolution and devolution of stars Fowler, William A. U.S. 1984 Meer, Simon van der The Netherlands discovery of subatomic particles W and Z, which supports the electroweak theory Rubbia, Carlo Italy 1985 Klitzing, Klaus von West Germany discovery of the quantized Hall effect, permitting exact measurements of electrical resistance 1986 Binnig, Gerd West Germany development of special electron microscopes Rohrer, Heinrich Switzerland Ruska, Ernst West Germany 1987 Bednorz, J. Georg West Germany discovery of new superconducting materials Müller, Karl Alex Switzerland 1988 Lederman, Leon Max U.S. research in subatomic particles Schwartz, Melvin U.S. Steinberger, Jack U.S. 1989 Dehmelt, Hans Georg U.S. development of methods to isolate atoms and subatomic particles for study Ramsey, Norman Foster U.S. development of the atomic clock 1990 Friedman, Jerome Isaac U.S. discovery of atomic quarks Kendall, Henry Way U.S. Taylor, Richard E. Canada 1992 Charpak, Georges France inventor of detector that traces subatomic particles 1993 Hulse, Russell Alan U.S. identifying binary pulsars Taylor, Joseph H., Jr. U.S. 1994 Brockhouse, Bertram N. Canada development of neutron-scattering techniques Shull, Clifford G. U.S. 1995 Perl, Martin Lewis U.S. discovery of tau subatomic particle Reines, Frederick U.S. discovery of neutrino subatomic particle 1996 Lee, David M. U.S. discovery of superfluidity in isotope helium-3 Osheroff, Douglas D. U.S. Richardson, Robert C. U.S. 1997 Chu, Steven U.S. process of trapping atoms with laser cooling Cohen-Tannoudji, Claude France Phillips, William D. U.S. Horst L. Störmer Germany Daniel C. Tsui U.S. Martinus J.G. Veltman Netherlands Herbert Kroemer Germany for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics Jack S. Kilby U.S. for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit 2001 Eric A. Cornell U.S. for the achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute gases of alkali atoms, and for early fundamental studies of the properties of the condensates Wolfgang Ketterle Germany Carl E. Wieman U.S. 2002 Raymond Davis Jr U.S. for pioneering contributions to astrophysics, in particular for the detection of cosmic neutrinos Masatoshi Koshiba Japan Riccardo Giacconi U.S. 2003 Alexei A. Abrikosov U.S./Russia for pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids Vitaly L. Ginzburg Russia Anthony J. Leggett U.S./U.K. 2004 David J. Gross U.S. for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction H. David Politzer U.S. Frank Wilczek U.S. 2005 John L. Hall U.S. for their contributions to the development of laser-based precision spectroscopy, including the optical frequency comb technique Theodor W. Hänsch Germany