Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physics
On 27
November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the
largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes, the Nobel Prizes. As
described in Nobel's will, one part was dedicated to “the person who shall have
made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics”.
Learn more about the Nobel Prize in Physics from 1901 to 2014.
Number of Nobel Prizes in Physics: 108 Nobel Prizes in Physics have been awarded since 1901.
It was not awarded on six occasions: in 1916, 1931, 1934, 1940, 1941, and 1942.
Number of Shared and Unshared Nobel Prizes in Physics:
47 Physics
Prizes have been given to one Laureate only.
31 Physics
Prizes have been shared by two Laureates.
30 Physics
Prizes have been shared between three Laureates.
Number of Nobel Laureates* in Physics: The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to 199
Laureates 1901-2014. As John Bardeen has been awarded twice there are 198
individuals who have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics since 1901.
Average
Age: The
average age of all Physics Laureates between 1901 and 2014 is 55 years.
Youngest Physics Laureate: To date, the youngest Nobel Laureate in Physics is Lawrence Bragg, who was
25 years old when he was awarded the Nobel Prize together with his father in
1915. Bragg is not only the youngest Physics Laureate, he is also the youngest
Nobel Laureate in any Nobel Prize category.
Oldest Physics Laureate: The oldest Nobel Laureate in Physics to date is Raymond Davis Jr., who was
88 years old when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2002.
Female Nobel Laureates in Physics: Of the 198 individuals awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics, only two are women.
1903 - Marie
Curie (also awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.)
1963 - Maria
Goeppert-Mayer
Multiple
Nobel Laureates in Physics: John Bardeen is the only
person who has
received the Nobel Prize in Physics twice. Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel
Prize twice, once in Physics and once in Chemistry.
Family
Nobel Laureates in Physics:
Married
couples:
Marie Curie and Pierre Curie were
awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel
Prize a second time in 1911, this time receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
(One of Marie and Pierre Curie's
daughters, Irène Joliot-Curie , was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in
1935 together with her husband Frédéric Joliot.)
Father
& son:
(All awarded the Nobel Prize in
Physics.)
William Bragg and Lawrence Bragg, 1915
Niels Bohr, 1922 and Aage N. Bohr, 1975
Manne Siegbahn, 1924 and Kai M.
Siegbahn, 1981
J. J. Thomson, 1906 and George Paget
Thomson, 1937
All
Nobel prizes in Physics: The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded 108
times to 199 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2014. John Bardeen is the only
Nobel Laureate who has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics twice, in 1956
and 1972. This means that a total of 198 individuals have received the Nobel
Prize in Physics. Click on the links to get more information.