1908, Born, Vienna, Austria to a well to do assimilated Jewish family.
Father, Emil, lawyer.

Education was in elementary and high school in Vienna.  Studied science, math, arts, classical music and social and political affairs and became political aware at an early age.



1916, Began piano studies and became an accomplished pianist.





1922, High School, Joined Socialist youth movement where he met Bruno Kreiske, Chancellor of Austria, 1970.

1926-28, U. Vienna, showed aptitude for theoretical physics.


1928-31, U. Gottingen (Born)
1931, PhD (Born)
1931, 8 month visit to Soviet Union. Worked in Kharkov.  Was interested in socialism and communism.
1932, U. Berlin (Schrodinger)
1933, Copenhagen with Bohr who was a major influence on his professional career and life.
1934-36, ETH, Zurich, Assistant to Pauli.
1937-43, U. Rochester, Assistant Professor.  After 4 years in Denmark and Switzerland, being of Jewish extraction could not find a job in any German speaking country.  As with other displaced Jewish scientists, Bohr arranged for his appointment in Rochester.
Turned down full professorship in Kiev at the same time.  Had he taken it he would not be alive today.
1942, Granted U.S. Citizenship.
1943-46, Los Alamos Laboratory, Group Leader, Theory division.  Was present at the Trinity explosion.
1946-60, MIT, Professor and later Chair of Physics department.
1946, Member of Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists of which Einstein was Chairman.

1950s early, Instrumental in the formation of CERN.


1957, CERN. Visiting Professor, Theory Division.




1961-66, CERN, Director General




1966-1976, MIT, Institute Professor of Physics.

Weisskopf was another displaced European Jewish physicist who succeeded in the U.S.  His scientific work was focused on theoretical studies of QED, structure of the nucleus, and elementary particle physics.  He was a major participant in the atomic bomb project.  After WWII, he played a critical role in the formation of CERN, and was an international statesman for science and a leader in the promotion of peaceful uses of atomic energy.  He is an accomplished pianist who at one time thought of pursuing music professionally.

1976-79, President, American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

1/15/1908, Born, Budapest, Hungary into prosperous Jewish family.
Father, Max, successful attorney who predicted Hungarian anti-Semitism to his son.

As with Wigner and von Neumann, Teller was born in tempestuous times.  In the aftermath of WWI, the empire split, the monarchy collapsed and a short-lived Communist regime whose leaders were mostly Jewish intellectuals took power only to be overthrown by the first anti-Semitic, Fascist regime in Europe. It was apparent Teller would need to emigrate from this doomed society and science was his chosen vehicle.
Education, in local elementary and high school.  Exceedingly bright with an aptitude for science and math.












1926-28, Technical Institute, Karlsruhe GR. At 17 left Hungary not to return.


1928, U. Munich, Lost foot in accident and upon recuperation, Sommerfeld had left on sabbatical.
1928-1930, U. Leipzig, (Heisenberg).
1930-31, PhD (Heisenberg), Research Assistant.
1931-33, U. Gottingen, Inst. Physical Chemistry.  Probed chemical and molecular physics with vigorous originality.  Wrote 30 papers (1930-36) but with collaborators because of his sloppy math and impatience with detail.
1934, U. London, Lecturer. Left Germany because of anti-Semitism with help of Jewish Relief Fund..
1935-41, George Washington U., Professor. Post-doc research in quantum mechanics in productive collaboration with George Gamow.
1941, Granted U.S. Citizenship.
1941, Columbia U., Visiting Professor.  Joined Fermi & Szilard to work on nuclear fission. Fermi theorized fusion bomb as a throw away idea, which ignited Teller’s interest.
1941-42, U.Chicago, Met. Lab. Moved with Columbia group when effort was consolidated.
1942, U.C. Berkeley, Oppenheimer’s summer study group on practically of atomic bomb.  Teller monopolized the meeting with the fusion bomb.
1943-45, Los Alamos, Not being chosen head of the Theory section, Teller had conflicts with Bethe and withdrew from the A-bomb project.
1946-48, U. Chicago, Professor of Physics.
1949-54, Los Alamos Lab. Returned when USSR exploded A-bomb in 8/49 to work on H-bomb.
1951, Truman approved funding for H-bomb.
1952, Developed Teller-Ulam design and left when not made head of the development project.
1952, With Lawrence, instrumental in establishing the Livermore branch of the U.C. Radiation Lab.
1954, AEC Security Hearings on Oppenheimer. Teller’s testimony against Oppenheimer was the final rift between him and most his colleagues.
1954-58, Lawrence Livermore Lab, Assoc. Dir.
1956-58, Member, General Adv. Comm. of AEC.
1958-60, Lawrence Livermore, Director.
1960-75, Prof. Physics U.C. Berkeley and Associate Director of Lawrence Livermore Lab.



1975, Stanford U., Hoover Institute, Senior Research Fellow.

As with Wigner and von Neumann, Teller was a committed anti-communist, which resulted in his being a tireless advocate for a strong defense policy and development of thermonuclear weapons with continued testing as opposed to the majority of his colleagues.  In 1980, he also was a vigorous supporter of SDI. Early in his career, he was an original thinker but with questionable math skills and attention to detail.  After WWII, he became a prominent public figure, influential in U.S. defense policy.  He probably is best known publicly and characterized as Dr. Strangelove in Stanley Kramer’s movie by the same name.

2003, September9: Died in Palo Alto CA  at his home on the Stanford University campus.