Fermi was that rare physicist who excelled at both theory and experiment. In 1942, in Chicago, his team built the first nuclear reactor, called Chicago Pile-1, achieving the first controlled nuclear chain reaction. This breakthrough opened the way to both nuclear power and the atomic bomb, and he later worked on the Manhattan Project. He had already won the Nobel Prize in 1938 for work on nuclear reactions caused by slow neutrons. He was also famous for 'Fermi problems', making quick, clever estimates from limited information.
Key Milestones
1934: Discovers the power of slow neutrons
1938: Wins the Nobel Prize and leaves Italy
1942: Builds the first nuclear reactor
1945: Witnesses the Trinity test
Enrico Fermi (Italian:; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian and naturalized-American physicist, renowned for being the creator of the world's first artificial nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and a member of the Manhattan Project.
Enrico Fermi's birthday is September 29. He was born on September 29, 1901 in Rome, Italy.
How old was Enrico Fermi when he died?
Enrico Fermi died on November 28, 1954, aged 53.
Who shares a birthday with Enrico Fermi?
Famous people who share Enrico Fermi's September 29 birthday include Miguel de Cervantes, Lech Wałęsa, Silvio Berlusconi, Michelle Bachelet and Caravaggio.
