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Born
Hans Reichenbach was born on the 26th of September, 1891 in Hamburg, Germany. His parents were Bruno Reichenbach and Selma Menzel. -
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Hans Reichenbach
The life of Hans Reichenbach, scientific philosopher. -
Received Doctorate
Received his Doctorate from the University of Erlangen for his thesis on the philosophical aspects of the theory of probability. (O'Connor & Robertson, 2006)
Reference: O'Connor, J., & Robertson, E. (2006). Hans Reichenbach - Biography. Maths History. Retrieved 28 April 2021, from https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Reichenbach/. -
Thesis Published
Der Begriff der Wahrscheinlichkeit für die mathematische Darstellung der Wirklichkeit (The Concept of Probability and the Mathematical Representation of Reality) was published. (Reichenbach, 1916)
Reference: Reichenbach, H. (1916). Der Begriff der Wahrscheinlichkeit für die mathematische Darstellung der Wirklichkeit. Barth. -
Served in German Army Radio Troops
Served on the Russian Front in WW1 in the German Army Radio Troops from completion of thesis til 1917, was removed from the Russian Front due to severe illness. (Picture is for reference, not actually Reichenbach.) -
Published First Book and Began Teaching Physics
Published "Relativitatstheorie und Erkenntnis apriori" (Reichenbach, 1920) and began teaching physics at the Technische Hochschule Stuttgart with the title of "Privatdozent".
Reference: Reichenbach, H. (1920). Relativitätstheorie und Erkenntnis apriori. J. Springer. -
Became Assistant Professor of Physics
Became an assistant professor of physics at the University of Berlin. He held open discussions instead of simply lecturing the students, which was not common at the time, but is common practice now. -
Founded the Berlin Circle
Founded the Berlin Circle, a group of philosophers and scientists that believed in logical empiricism. -
Began Editing Journal "Erkenntnis"
Began editing journal "Erkenntnis" with Rudolf Carnap. -
Left Germany
Left Germany due to Hitler's rise to power as Chancellor of Germany, and the race laws negatively impacting Reichenbach's work, as it was believed that he was of Jewish descent. Fled to Turkey, and became a professor of physics at the University of Instanbul. -
Published "The Theory of Probability"
Published "The Theory of Probability" (Reichenbach, 1935)
Reference: Reichenbach, H. (1935). The Theory of Probability. -
Moved to the United States
Moved to the United States to take up a professorship at the University of California, Los Angeles. -
"Philosophic Foundations of Quantum Mechanics" Published
His works on the Philosophical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics was published. (Reichenbach, 1944) One important aspect that he discusses in this work is the adoption of three-valued logic instead of two-valued logic. Two-valued logic means true or false, while three-value logic means true, false, or indeterminate. He also worked out the formula and axiomatization of quantum mechanics.
Reference: Reichenbach, H. (1944). Philosophic Foundations of Quantum Mechanics. -
"Elements of Symbolic Logic" Published
Published book titled "Elements of Symbolic Logic" (Reichenbach, 1947)
Reference: Reichenbach, H. (1947). Elements of Symbolic Logic. -
"The Rise of Scientific Philosophy" Published
"The Rise of Scientific Philosophy" was published. (Reichenbach, 1951)
Reichenbach, H. (1951). The Rise of Scientific Philosophy. University of California. -
Death
Hans Reichenbach died of a heart attack on April 9th, 1953 in Los Angeles, California.