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Birth of Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg is born in Wurzburg, Germany -
Matrix Mechanics formulation of quantum mechanics is developed
Heisenberg developed the matrix mechanics formulation of quantum mechanics with Max Born and Pascual Jordan in Gottinggen, Germany. -
The uncertainty principle is developed
In Copenhagen, Heisenberg developed his uncertainty principle -
Inaugural lecture
Heisenberg gave his first lecture as a professor of theoretical physics and head of the physics department at the University of Leipzig -
Heisenberg is awarded the Nobel Prize
Heisenberg is awarded the 1932 Nobel Prize for the creation of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen -
The Nazi press begin to target Heisenberg
After Hitler came to power in 1933, Heisenberg was attacked in the press as a "White Jew". Supporters of Deutsche Physik attacked leading theoretical physicists, including Arnold Sommerfeld and Heisenberg -
Heisenberg publishes his first paper on a positron
Heisenberg publishes the first paper expanding on mathematical physicist Paul Dirac's theory of relativistic wave equation of quantum mechanics titled, "Remarks on Dirac's theory of the positron" -
The second paper on the positron
Heisenberg reinterprets the Dirac equation as a quantum field equation accurately describing electrons, putting the matter as equal to electromagnetism: described by relativistic field equations which allowed the possibility pf particle creation and destruction. -
The Cosmic-Ray showers papers
Heisenberg presented his theory of cosmic-ray showers in two papers -
The German Army Weapons Office hold a scientific conference
At a scientific conference held by the German Army Weapons Office, Heisenberg presented a lecture to Reichs officials on energy acquisition from nuclear fusion. The lecture titled, "The theoretical basis for energy generation from uranium fission" was, in Heisenbergs words, "adapted to the intellectual level of a Reichs Minister" -
The US sends an agent to shoot Heisenberg
The US Office of Strategic Services sent agent Moe Berg to Heisenberg's lecture in Switzerland with instructions to shoot him if Heisenberg indicated that Germany was close to completing an atomic bomb. -
Heisenberg is smuggled out of German occupied territory
Heisenberg was smuggled out of Urfeld by an American task force called the Alsos Mission to Heidelberg. The Alsos Mission targeted scientists that were a part of the German nuclear program. -
Heisenberg is named the director of the Max Planck Institute for Physics
Also appointed to the institute was Max von Laue, Karl Wirtz, Carl Friedrich von Weizsacker and Ludwig Biermann. The core research focus of the institute was cosmic radiation -
Superconductivity
Heisenberg published 3 papers between 1947 and 1948 on the understanding of the phenomenon of superconductivity -
Heisenberg is named the scientific representative of the Federal Republic of Germany
Heisenberg agrees to become the scientific representative of the Federal Republic of Germany at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the goal of establishing a European laboratory for nuclear physics. -
The Gifford Lectures
in 1955-1956 Heisenberg gave the Gifford Lectures at St Andrews University in Scotland on the intellectual history of physics. The lectures were later published as Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science -
the Gottinger Manifest
in 1957 Heisenberg was a signatory of The Gottinger Manifest, which took a public stand against the Federal Republic of Germany arming itself with nuclear weapons. While he believed politicians would ignore the statements from nuclear scientists, he thought it would influence public opinion enough that the politicians would have to take notice. -
Heisenberg's autobiography
in 1969 Heisenberg published his autobiography in Germany and in 1971 it was published in English -
Heisenberg's death
Heisenberg died of kidney cancer in his home. The next evening his friends and colleagues walked in remembrance from the Institute of Physics to his home, list a candle and placed it in front of his door.