Science · 1891–1974
Born: 20 October 1891 · Died: 24 July 1974 · Age at death: 82
James Chadwick died aged 82. He was born on 20 October 1891 and died on 24 July 1974.
British physicist who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the neutron
Did you know?During the First World War, he was interned in a German prison camp where he conducted experiments using radioactive toothpaste.
James Chadwick found the missing piece of the atom. Working with Ernest Rutherford in Cambridge, he showed that the nucleus contains neutral particles as well as protons. Because neutrons carry no charge, they could reach a nucleus easily. That made nuclear fission possible within a few years. Chadwick then helped Britain and America build the atomic bomb. He was a modest, careful man. He spent his later years working to rebuild British science after the war.
Sir James Chadwick (20 October 1891 – 24 July 1974) was a British experimental physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935 for his discovery of the neutron. In 1941, he wrote the final draft of the MAUD Report, which inspired the U.S. government to begin serious atomic bomb research efforts.
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Profile
British physicist, born 1891
James Chadwick was born in Bollington on 20 October 1891.
He discovered the neutron in 1932.
He won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935.
He led the British team on the Manhattan Project.
Career highlights
Did you know?He spent the First World War interned in a camp near Berlin.
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