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Niels Henrik David Bohr was born on October 7, 1885. His birthplace was Copenhagen, Denmark and he was the son of a Professor of Physiology at Copenhagen University. You can view a short video about Niels Bohr here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b9UKTbjj7I -
Niels grew up with his brother and mother, Harald and Ellen, while he attended Gammelholm Grammer School.
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Niels went to Copenhagen University where his father worked. Here, he received his Master's degree in Physics in 1909 as well as his Doctor's degree in 1911. During his time at Copenhagen University, he worked in his father's lab and even received a gold medal prize when his work on oscillating fluid jets was published in the Transactions of Royal Society in 1908.
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In the autumn after receiving his Doctor's degree, he went to work with J.J. Thomson at Cambridge.
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In 1913, with the help of his then-mentor, Rutherford, Bohr create his now famous Bohr model that help visualize how an atom could be represented. His model was based on the planetary model where the nucleus played the roll of the sun in the center, and electrons orbiting the nucleus similar to the planets orbiting the sun.
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From 1916 until 1920, Bohr was given the title of Professor of Theoretical Physics at Copenhagen University.
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Starting in 1920, Bohr was made the head of the Institute for Theoretical Physics that was established specifically for him at Copenhagen University. He was the head of this institute until his death in 1962.
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Bohr was recognized for his incredible work creating a visual picture of the atomic structure. Although he was not completely correct with his model, his work pioneered our knowledge about how atoms looked and interacted with each other. He was given the Nobel Prize in 1922 in physics, one of the highest recognized awards in Science.
