Timeline: Niels Bohr

Oct 7, 1885

Birth of Niels Bohr

Niels Henrik David Bohr was born on 7 October 1885 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was the youngest of three children from his parents Christian and Ellen Bohr. Both of his parents were well educated, his father was a professor of physiology and his mother hailed from a Jewish banking family (Davidson, 2015).

Period: 1903 to 1911

Education

Niels Bohr graduated high school is 1903 and was then accepted into the University of Copenhagen (where his father was a professor) for physics. He earned is master’s degree in physics in 1909 and his Doctor’s degree in 1911 (Palermo, 2017).

1907

Royal Danish Academy of Science

In 1907 the Royal Danish Academy of Science held a gold medal competition to investigate a method for measuring the surface tension of liquids. He exceled the original task, incorporating improvements into both Rayleigh's theory and his method. His essay won the prize, then he later submitted to the Royal Society in London for publication in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society which was published is 1908 (Davidson, 2015).

1913

The Bohr Model

In 1912 he was at work in Professor Rutherford’s laboratory researching the radioactive phenomena. In 1913, using the basis of Rutherford’s discovery of the atomic nucleus he moved on to study the structure of atoms. By borrowing from the Quantum Theory as established by Planck, he succeeded in creating a picture of atomic structure that shows the physical and chemical properties of the elements.

1922

The Nobel Prize

With Bohr's hard work and dedication to his discoveries and work, it earned him the Nobel Prize in physics in 1922. His theories were eventually expanded by other physicists into quantum mechanics (NobelPrize.org, 2021). The chemical element bohrium (Bh), No. 107 on the periodic table of elements is named for him.

Nov 18, 1962

Death of Niels Bohr

Until the end, Bohr’s mind remained alert as ever. During the last few years of his life he still showed interest in the new developments of molecular biology. After having a stroke, he died on November 18, 1962, in Copenhagen Denmark (Davidson, 2015).

2021

References

Niels Bohr – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021. Sat. 26 Jun 2021. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1922/bohr/biographical/
Davidson, M. W. (2015, November 13). Niels Henrik David Bohr (1885-1962). Molecular Expressions: Science, Optics and You. https://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/optics/timeline/people/bohr.html. Palermo , E. (2017, August 28). Niels Bohr: Biography & Atomic Theory. LIVESCIENCE. https://www.livescience.com/32016-niels-bohr-atomic-theory.html.

2021