Nobel Prize for Physics

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

Below find every winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, from 1901 through 2016. For years not listed, no award was made.


1901
Wilhelm K. Roentgen (Germany), for discovery of Roentgen rays
1902
Hendrik A. Lorentz and Pieter Zeeman (Netherlands), for work on influence of magnetism upon radiation
1903
A. Henri Becquerel (France), for work on spontaneous radioactivity; and Pierre and Marie Curie (France), for study of radiation
1904
John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (U.K.), for discovery of argon in investigating gas density
1905
Philipp Lenard (Germany), for work with cathode rays
1906
Sir Joseph Thomson (U.K.), for investigations on passage of electricity through gases
1907
Albert A. Michelson (U.S.), for spectroscopic and metrologic investigations
1908
Gabriel Lippmann (France), for method of reproducing colors by photography
1909
Guglielmo Marconi (Italy) and Ferdinand Braun (Germany), for development of wireless
1910
Johannes D. van der Waals (Netherlands), for work with the equation of state for gases and liquids
1911
Wilhelm Wien (Germany), for his laws governing the radiation of heat
1912
Gustaf Dalén (Sweden), for discovery of automatic regulators used in lighting lighthouses and light buoys
1913
Heike Kamerlingh-Onnes (Netherlands), for work leading to production of liquid helium
1914
Max von Laue (Germany), for discovery of diffraction of Roentgen rays passing through crystals
1915
Sir William Bragg and William L. Bragg (U.K.), for analysis of crystal structure by X-rays
1917
Charles G. Barkla (U.K.), for discovery of Roentgen radiation of the elements
1918
Max Planck (Germany), discoveries in connection with quantum theory
1919
Johannes Stark (Germany), discovery of Doppler effect in Canal rays and decomposition of spectrum lines by electric fields
1920
Charles E. Guillaume (Switzerland), for discoveries of anomalies in nickel-steel alloys
1921
Albert Einstein (Germany), for discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect
1922
Niels Bohr (Denmark), for investigation of structure of atoms and radiations emanating from them
1923
Robert A. Millikan (U.S.), for work on elementary charge of electricity and photoelectric phenomena
1924
Karl M. G. Siegbahn (Sweden), for investigations in X-ray spectroscopy
1925
James Franck and Gustav Hertz (Germany), for discovery of laws governing impact of electrons upon atoms
1926
Jean B. Perrin (France), for work on discontinuous structure of matter and discovery of the equilibrium of sedimentation
1927
Arthur H. Compton (U.S.), for discovery of Compton phenomenon; and Charles T. R. Wilson (U.K.), for method of perceiving paths taken by electrically charged particles
1928
In 1929, the 1928 prize was awarded to Sir Owen Richardson (U.K.), for work on the phenomenon of thermionics and discovery of the Richardson Law
1929
Prince Louis Victor de Broglie (France), for discovery of the wave character of electrons
1930
Sir Chandrasekhara Raman (India), for work on diffusion of light and discovery of the Raman effect
1932
In 1933, the prize for 1932 was awarded to Werner Heisenberg (Germany), for creation of the quantum mechanics
1933
Erwin Schrödinger (Austria) and Paul A. M. Dirac (U.K.), for discovery of new fertile forms of the atomic theory
1935
James Chadwick (U.K.), for discovery of the neutron
1936
Victor F. Hess (Austria), for discovery of cosmic radiation; and Carl D. Anderson (U.S.), for discovery of the positron
1937
Clinton J. Davisson (U.S.) and George P. Thomson (U.K.), for discovery of diffraction of electrons by crystals
1938
Enrico Fermi (Italy), for identification of new radioactivity elements and discovery of nuclear reactions effected by slow neutrons
1939
Ernest Orlando Lawrence (U.S.), for development of the cyclotron
1943
Otto Stern (U.S.), for detection of magnetic momentum of protons
1944
Isidor Isaac Rabi (U.S.), for work on magnetic movements of atomic particles
1945
Wolfgang Pauli (Austria), for work on atomic fissions
1946
Percy Williams Bridgman (U.S.), for studies and inventions in high-pressure physics
1947
Sir Edward Appleton (U.K.), for discovery of layer that reflects radio short waves in the ionosphere
1948
Patrick M. S. Blackett (U.K.), for improvement on Wilson chamber and discoveries in cosmic radiation
1949
Hideki Yukawa (Japan), for mathematical prediction, in 1935, of the meson
1950
Cecil Frank Powell (U.K.), for method of photographic study of atom nucleus, and for discoveries about mesons
1951
Sir John Douglas Cockcroft (U.K.) and Ernest T. S. Walton (Ireland), for work in 1932 on transmutation of atomic nuclei
1952
Edward Mills Purcell and Felix Bloch (U.S.), for work in measurement of magnetic fields in atomic nuclei
1953
Fritz Zernike (Netherlands), for development of “phase contrast” microscope
1954
Max Born (U.K.), for work in quantum mechanics; and Walther Bothe (Germany), for work in cosmic radiation
1955
Polykarp Kusch and Willis E. Lamb, Jr. (U.S.), for atomic measurements
1956
William Shockley, Walter H. Brattain, and John Bardeen (all U.S.), for developing electronic transistor
1957
Tsung Dao Lee and Chen Ning Yang (China), for disproving principle of conservation of parity
1958
Pavel A. Cherenkov, Ilya M. Frank, and Igor E. Tamm (all U.S.S.R.), for work resulting in development of cosmic-ray counter
1959
Emilio Segre and Owen Chamberlain (both U.S.), for demonstrating the existence of the anti-proton
1960
Donald A. Glaser (U.S.), for invention of “bubble chamber” to study subatomic particles
1961
Robert Hofstadter (U.S.), for determination of shape and size of atomic nucleus; Rudolf Mössbauer (Germany), for method of producing and measuring recoil-free gamma rays
1962
Lev D. Landau (U.S.S.R.), for his theories about condensed matter
1963
Eugene Paul Wigner, Maria Goeppert Mayer (both U.S.), and J. Hans D. Jensen (Germany), for research on structure of atom and its nucleus
1964
Charles Hard Townes (U.S.), Nikolai G. Basov, and Aleksandr M. Prochorov (both U.S.S.R.), for developing maser and laser principle of producing high-intensity radiation
1965
Richard P. Feynman, Julian S. Schwinger (both U.S.), and Shinichiro Tomonaga (Japan), for research in quantum electrodynamics
1966
Alfred Kastler (France), for work on energy levels inside atom
1967
Hans A. Bethe (U.S.), for work on energy production of stars
1968
Luis Walter Alvarez (U.S.), for study of subatomic particles
1969
Murray Gell-Mann (U.S.), for study of subatomic particles
1970
Hannes Alfvén (Sweden), for theories in plasma physics; and Louis Néel (France), for discoveries in antiferromagnetism and ferromagnetism
1971
Dennis Gabor (U.K.), for invention of holographic method of three-dimensional imagery
1972
John Bardeen, Leon N. Cooper, and John Robert Schrieffer (all U.S.), for theory of superconductivity, where electrical resistance in certain metals vanishes above absolute zero temperature
1973
Ivar Giaever (U.S.), Leo Esaki (Japan), and Brian D. Josephson (U.K.), for theories that have advanced and expanded the field of miniature electronics
1974
Antony Hewish (U.K.), for discovery of pulsars; Martin Ryle (U.K.), for using radiotelescopes to probe outer space with high degree of precision
1975
James Rainwater (U.S.), Ben Mottelson, and Aage N. Bohr (both Denmark), for showing that the atomic nucleus is asymmetrical
1976
Burton Richter and Samuel C. C. Ting (both U.S.), for discovery of subatomic particles known as J and psi
1977
Philip W. Anderson, John H. Van Vleck (both U.S.), and Nevill F. Mott (U.K.), for work underlying computer memories and electronic devices
1978
Arno A. Penzias and Robert W. Wilson (both U.S.), for work in cosmic microwave radiation; Piotr L. Kapitsa (U.S.S.R.), for basic inventions and discoveries in low-temperature physics
1979
Steven Weinberg, Sheldon L. Glashow (both U.S.), and Abdus Salam (Pakistan), for developing theory that electromagnetism and the “weak” force, which causes radioactive decay in some atomic nuclei, are facets of the same phenomenon
1980
James W. Cronin and Val L. Fitch (both U.S.), for work concerning the asymmetry of subatomic particles
1981
Nicolaas Bloembergen, Arthur L. Schawlow (both U.S.), and Kai M. Siegbahn (Sweden), for developing technologies with lasers and other devices to probe the secrets of complex forms of matter
1982
Kenneth G. Wilson (U.S.), for analysis of changes in matter under pressure and temperature
1983
Subrahmanyam Chandrasekhar and William A. Fowler (both U.S.), for complementary research on processes involved in the evolution of stars
1984
Carlo Rubbia (Italy) and Simon van der Meer (Netherlands), for their role in discovering three subatomic particles, a step toward developing a single theory to account for all natural forces
1985
Klaus von Klitzing (Germany), for developing an exact way of measuring electrical conductivity
1986
Ernst Ruska, Gerd Binnig (both Germany), and Heinrich Rohrer (Switzerland), for work on microscopes
1987
K. Alex Müller (Switzerland) and J. Georg Bednorz (Germany), for their discovery of high-temperature superconductors
1988
Leon M. Lederman, Melvin Schwartz, and Jack Steinberger (all U.S.), for research that improved the understanding of elementary particles and forces
1989
Norman F. Ramsey (U.S.), for work leading to development of the atomic clock, and Hans G. Dehmelt (U.S.) and Wolfgang Paul (Germany), for developing methods to isolate atoms and subatomic particles
1990
Richard E. Taylor (Canada), Jerome I. Friedman, and Dr. Henry W. Kendall (both U.S.), for their “breakthrough in our understanding of matter” that confirmed the reality of quarks
1991
Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (France), for his discoveries about the ordering of molecules in substances ranging from “super” glue to an exotic form of liquid helium
1992
George Charpak (France), for his inventions of particle detectors
1993
Joseph H. Taylor and Russell A. Hulse (both U.S.), for their discovery of a binary pulsar
1994
Clifford G. Shull (U.S.) and Bertram N. Brockhouse (Canada), for adapting beams of neutrons as probes to explore the atomic structure of matter
1995
Martin L. Perl and Frederick Reines (both U.S.), for their discoveries of “two of nature's most remarkable subatomic particles”—the tau and the neutrino
1996
David M. Lee, Robert C. Richardson, and Douglas D. Osheroff (all U.S.), for their discovery of superfluity in helium-3
1997
Steven Chu, William D. Phillips (both U.S.), and Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (France), for developing a method to cool and trap atoms using light from lasers
1998
Robert B. Laughlin (U.S.), Horst L. Störmer (Germany), and Daniel C. Tsui (U.S.), for their discovery of a new form of quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations
1999
Gerardys 't Hooft (Netherlands) and Martinus J. G. Veltman (Netherlands), for their theory concerning the production of the Sun's energy
2000
Zhores I. Alferov (Russia) and Herbert Kroemer (U.S.) and Jack S. Kilby (U.S.) for work in development of transistors and microchip technology
2001
Wolfgang Ketterle (Germany), Eric A. Cornell, and Carl E. Wieman (both U.S.) for discovering Bose-Einstein condensate, a new state of matter
2002
Raymond Davis, Jr. (U.S.) and Masatoshi Koshiba (Japan) for the detection of cosmic neutrinos, and Riccardo Giacconi (U.S.) for contributions which have led to the discovery of cosmic X-ray sources.
2003
Alexei A. Abrikosov (Russia, U.S.), Anthony J. Leggett (UK, U.S.), and Vitaly L. Ginzburg (Russia), for theories about superconductivity
2004
David J. Gross, H. David Politzer, and Frank Wilczek (all U.S.) “for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction.”
2005
Roy J. Glauber and John L. Hall (both U.S.) and Theodor W. Hänsch (Germany)
2006
John C. Mather and George F. Smoot (both U.S.) for “their discovery of the blackbody form and anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background radiation”
2007
Albert Fert (France) and Peter Grünberg (Germany) for "the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance," the technology used to read data on hard disks

2008
Yoichiro Nambu (U.S.) for "the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics" and to Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa (both Japan) for "the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature"

2009
One-half to Charles K. Kao (China) for "groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication," and one-quarter to both Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith (both U.S.) for "the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit–the CCD sensor)

2010
Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov (both Russia) for "groundbreaking experiments regarding the two-dimensional material graphene"

2011
One-half to Saul Perlmutter (U.S.) and one-half jointly to Brian P. Schmidt (Australia) and Adam G. Riess (U.S.) for "the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae"

2012
One-half to David J. Wineland (France) and one-half jointly to David J. Wineland (U.S.) and Adam G. Riess (U.S.) for "ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems"

2013
To Franí§ois Englert (Belgium) and Peter W. Higgs (U.K.)"for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles, and which recently was confirmed through the discovery of the predicted fundamental particle, by the ATLAS and CMS experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider"

2014
To Isamu Akasaki (Japahn), Hiroshi Amano (Japan), and Shuji Nakamura (Japan/U.S.)"for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources"

2015
To Takaaki Kajita (Japan) and Arthur B. McDonald (Canada) "for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass"

2016
To David J. Thouless (U.K/U.S.), F. Duncan M. Haldane (U.K/U.S.), and J. Michael Kosterlitz (U.K/U.S.) "for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter"

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