Wolfgang Ernst Pauli

Wolfgang Pauli Photo: Deutsches Museum, Munich

Wolfgang Pauli was born on April 25, 1900, in Vienna. His father, Wolfgang Joseph Pauli, was an adjunct professor of the medical faculty and chairman of the biological research facilities.

Pauli's extraordinary mathematical gift was confirmed by his school reports. In autumn, 1918, he started to study theoretical physics at the University of Munich. He brought with him a finished work on the general relativity theory, which caused great admiration from his professor (Sommerfeld). After only a three-year study, he earned a doctorate in 1921 with a work on the binding forces in the hydrogen molecular ion. The result of the work accomplished based on the older quantum theory contradicted the previous experience, however. In 1921-22 Pauli conducted experiments on the difficult helium spectrum. This introduced the crisis of the older quantum theory and the search for a new theory.

After a short stay in Göttingen with Born, Franck and Hilbert, he went to Hamburg to be an assistant for Wilhelm Lenz. The proximity to Copenhagen as well as the good connection to the most important centers of atomic physics in Germany made Hamburg a kind of hub. Pauli remained in Hamburg six years, where he achieved his most important physical accomplishments. In 1922-23, he was in Copenhagen with Bohr.

In April, 1928, Pauli became an official professor for physics at the ETH in Zurich. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1945. He remained there - except during the war years, where he taught in Princeton - until the end of his life. Pauli died in Zurich in 1958.