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Birth of Niehls Henrik David Bohr
Niehls Henrik David Bohr was born in Copenhagen Denmark to Ellen Adler Bohr and Christian Bohr. His father was a physiology professor at the University of Copenhagen at which Niehls would later enroll at. -
Bohr meets Ernest Rutherford
Bohr was awarded a travel grant by the Carlsberg Foundation where he traveled to Cambridge where he got the attention of Ernest Rutherford who encouraged him to travel once again to work at the University of Manchester. In Manchester, he participated in the construction of the model of the nuclear atom. -
Bohr introduces the Bohr Atomic Model
Bohr applies both Rutherford's nuclear structure with Max Planck's quantum theory to create Bohr's Theory. This model introduced the idea that rather than electrons being mixed in with protons and neutrons, the electrons orbit around the center of the atom. He published this in a trilogy of articles in The Philosophical Magazine where he received skepticism from other physicists. This new model was the start of a new era for atomic research. -
Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics
Bohr became a professor of theoretical physics at the University of Copenhagen in 1916. It was the second professorship of physics there and Bohr requested to establish an Institute dedicated to theoretical physics. Bohr wanted to create this so future physicists would be able to propose their own theories and ideas. It later became a center for atomic research and a focal point for researchers into quantum mechanics. -
Bohr's Nobel Prize
Bohr used his model to experiment with atoms and how their properties would change based on how many electrons it had. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on atomical structure. -
Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics
Bohr along with Werner Heisenberg developed the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics which was essentially an uncertainty principle that is a conceptual basis for theory. -
Bohr flees Copenhagen
When Nazi rule arrived, Bohr and his family fleed Copenhagen due to their Jewish heritage. They lived in England and then United States where Bohr's son, Aage would later become a member of the Manhattan Project. -
Death of Bohr
Bohr returned to Copenhagen in 1945 after the war. He continued to run his physics institution until he died of heart failure.