Lev Landau was a prodigy who entered university at 14 and became the leader of Soviet theoretical physics. He was famously demanding. He set students a 'theoretical minimum' of exams that few passed. His work ranged across magnetism, superconductivity and the strange flow of liquid helium. Stalin's purges nearly destroyed him, but he survived a year in prison. A car crash in 1962 left him badly injured, and he never worked again.
Key Milestones
1929: Studies in Europe, including with Niels Bohr
1938: Arrested during Stalin's purges
1941: Publishes his theory of superfluidity
1962: Wins the Nobel Prize in Physics
Lev Davidovich Landau (Russian: Лев Дави́дович Ланда́у; 22 January 1908 – 1 April 1968) was a Soviet physicist who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics.
Lev Landau's birthday is January 22. He was born on January 22, 1908 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
How old was Lev Landau when he died?
Lev Landau died on April 1, 1968, aged 60.
Who shares a birthday with Lev Landau?
Famous people who share Lev Landau's January 22 birthday include Lord Byron, Francis Bacon, Antonio Gramsci, August Strindberg and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
