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Early Years
Niels Henrik David Bohr was born in Copenhagen on October 7, 1885. During WWII, Bohr escaped to Sweden and spent the last two years of the war in England and America, where he became associated with the Atomic Energy Project. After he entered Copenhagen University, he came under the guidance of Professor C. Christiansen. Reference:
Niels Bohr – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Sat. 26 Feb 2022. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1922/bohr/biographical/ -
Key Discovery
In 1913, Niels Bohr proposed a theory for the hydrogen atom, based on quantum theory that some physical quantities only take discrete values. Electrons move around a nucleus, but only in prescribed orbits. Recognition of his work on the structure of atoms came with the award of the Nobel Prize for 1922. Reference:
Niels Bohr – Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Sun. 27 Feb 2022. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1922/bohr/facts/ -
Major Works
Here is a collection of his major works: Bohr, Niels. The Theory of Spectra and Atomic Constitution. University Press, Cambridge, 1922; Bohr, Niels. Atomic Theory and the Description of Nature. University Press, Cambridge, 1934; Bohr, Niels. The Unity of Knowledge. Doubleday & Co., New York, 1955. -
His Legacy
Niels Bohr was married to his wife in 1912, and had four sons who had distinguished careers in various professions including Hans Henrik (M.D.), Erik (chemical engineer), Aage (theoretical physicist, later became Director of the Institute for Theoretical Physics), Ernest (lawyer). He died in Copenhagen on November 18, 1962. Reference:
Niels Bohr – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2022. Sat. 26 Feb 2022. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1922/bohr/biographical/