Science · Activism · Politics · 1921–1989
Born: 21 May 1921 · Died: 14 December 1989 · Age at death: 68
Andrei Sakharov died aged 68. He was born on 21 May 1921 and died on 14 December 1989.
Soviet physicist who designed the hydrogen bomb, then became a leading dissident and won the Nobel Peace Prize
Did you know?Despite being the primary designer of the Soviet Union's first hydrogen bomb, he later became a prominent advocate for civil liberties.
Andrei Sakharov helped build the Soviet hydrogen bomb, then became the conscience of the nation. A brilliant physicist, he was made a full academician at just 32. Seeing the dangers of nuclear testing, he began to speak out. His 1968 essay on peace and intellectual freedom was smuggled abroad. He became the leading voice of Soviet human rights. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975 but was not allowed to collect it. He was exiled to Gorky, then freed by Gorbachev in 1986.
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov (Russian: Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров; 21 May 1921 – 14 December 1989) was a Soviet physicist and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world.
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Profile
Soviet physicist and activist, 1921–1989
Andrei Sakharov was born in Moscow on 21 May 1921.
He helped design the Soviet hydrogen bomb.
He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.
He was exiled to Gorky from 1980 to 1986.
Career highlights
Did you know?The European Parliament's human rights prize is named after him.
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