Paul Dirac

Summary

Paul Dirac is a human^[1]. His place of birth was Bristol^[2]. He passed away in Tallahassee^[3]. He worked as a mathematician^[4], theoretical physicist^[5], professor^[6], physicist^[7], and scientist^[8]. He ranks in the top 0.57% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (3,987 views/month, #5,688 of 1,000,298).^[9]

Key Facts

• Paul Dirac was born in Bristol^[2].
• Paul Dirac passed away in Tallahassee^[3].
• Burial took place at Roselawn Cemetery^[10].
• Paul Dirac's father was Charles Dirac^[11].
• Among Paul Dirac's spouses was Margit Dirac^[12].
• Paul Dirac held citizenship in United Kingdom^[13].
• Paul Dirac held citizenship in Switzerland^[14].
• French was Paul Dirac's native language^[15].
• Paul Dirac worked as a mathematician^[4].
• Paul Dirac worked as a theoretical physicist^[5].
• Paul Dirac worked as a professor^[6].
• Paul Dirac's professions included physicist^[7].
• Paul Dirac's professions included scientist^[8].
• Paul Dirac worked as an academic^[16].
• Paul Dirac's field of work was theoretical physics^[17].
• Paul Dirac's field of work was mathematics^[18].
• Paul Dirac's field of work was quantum mechanics^[19].
• Paul Dirac's field of work was quantum electrodynamics^[20].
• Paul Dirac held the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics^[21].
• Paul Dirac was employed by University of Miami^[22].
• Among Paul Dirac's employers was Florida State University^[23].
• Paul Dirac was employed by University of Cambridge^[24].
• Among Paul Dirac's employers was St John's College^[25].
• Paul Dirac's education included a stint at University of Bristol^[26].
• Paul Dirac was educated at University of Cambridge^[27].

Product Details

The following facts are restated verbatim from public-domain and CC0 open-data sources — every line is independently verifiable against the named source's catalog.

MusicBrainz — CC0 open music encyclopedia

• Type: Person^[28]

• Country: GB^[29]

• Began / founded: 1902-08-08^[30]

• Ended / dissolved: 1984-10-20^[31]

• MusicBrainz ID: 1f8dc586-7711-46f5-bb92-016fa0d254d1^[32]

Body

Origins and Family

Born in Bristol^[2], Paul Dirac… his father was Charles Dirac^[11]. French was his native language^[15].

Education

Educated at University of Bristol^[26], a public university^[33], in United Kingdom^[34], founded in 1909^[35], headquartered in Bristol^[36]; University of Cambridge^[27], a collegiate university^[37], in United Kingdom^[38], founded in 1209^[39], headquartered in Cambridge^[40]; and Cotham School^[41], a secondary school^[42], in United Kingdom^[43], founded in 2011^[44]. Paul Dirac's doctoral advisor was Ralph H. Fowler^[45].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include mathematician^[4], theoretical physicist^[5], professor^[6], physicist^[7], scientist^[8], and academic^[16]. Fields of work include theoretical physics^[17], a branch of physics^[46]; mathematics^[18], an academic discipline^[47]; quantum mechanics^[19], a physical theory^[48]; and quantum electrodynamics^[20], a branch of physics^[49], founded in 1927^[50]. Employers include University of Miami^[22], a university^[51], in United States^[52], founded in 1925^[53], headquartered in Coral Gables^[54]; Florida State University^[23], a public university^[55], in United States^[56], founded in 1851^[57]; University of Cambridge^[24], a collegiate university^[58], in United Kingdom^[59], founded in 1209^[60], headquartered in Cambridge^[61]; and St John's College^[25], a college of the University of Cambridge^[62], in United Kingdom^[63], founded in 1511^[64]. Paul Dirac held the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics^[21]. Doctoral students include Homi Jehangir Bhabha^[65], Fred Hoyle^[66], Dennis W. Sciama^[67], John Polkinghorne^[68], Richard John Eden^[69], and Andrew Lees^[70].

Recognition

Awards received include Nobel Prize in Physics^[71], a physics award^[72], in Sweden^[73], founded in 1901^[74]; Fellow of the Royal Society^[75], a fellowship award^[76], in United Kingdom^[77]; Copley Medal^[78], a medallion^[79], in United Kingdom^[80], founded in 1731^[81]; Royal Medal^[82]; Max Planck Medal^[83]; and Helmholtz Medal^[84].

Personal Life

Paul Dirac was married to Margit Dirac^[12]. His religion is recorded as deism^[85].

Death and Burial

Paul Dirac died in Tallahassee^[3]. He is buried at Roselawn Cemetery^[10].

Works and Contributions

Things named for Paul Dirac include Dirac delta function^[86], Dirac equation^[87], bra–ket notation^[88], Fermi–Dirac statistics^[89], Gamma matrices^[90], Dirac sea^[91], Dirac spinor^[92], and Adric^[93].

Why It Matters

Paul Dirac ranks in the top 0.57% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (3,987 views/month, #5,688 of 1,000,298).^[9] He has Wikipedia articles in 30 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.^[94] He is known by 99 alternative names across languages and contexts.^[95]

He has been cited as an influence by Stephen Hawking^[96], a theoretical physicist^[97], 1942–2018^[98], of United Kingdom^[99], awarded the Albert Einstein Medal^[100], specialised in general relativity^[101]; Richard Feynman^[102], a physicist^[103], 1918–1988^[104], of United States^[105], awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics^[106], specialised in quantum electrodynamics^[107]; Abdus Salam^[108], a university teacher^[109], 1926–1996^[110], of British Raj^[111], awarded the Atoms for Peace Award^[112], specialised in quantum field theory^[113]; Robert H. Dicke^[114], an astronomer^[115], 1916–1997^[116], of United States^[117], awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal^[118]; and Cyril Domb^[119], a physicist^[120], 1920–2012^[121], of United Kingdom^[122], awarded the Fellow of the Royal Society^[123], specialised in theoretical physics^[124].

He is credited with the discovery of Dirac equation^[125], a relativistic wave equation^[126]; quantum electrodynamics^[127], a branch of physics^[128], founded in 1927^[129]; Dirac spinor^[130]; and Dirac large numbers hypothesis^[131], a scientific hypothesis^[132]. Entities named for him include Dirac delta function^[86], Dirac equation^[87], bra–ket notation^[88], Fermi–Dirac statistics^[89], Gamma matrices^[90], and Dirac sea^[91].

His notable doctoral advisees include Homi Jehangir Bhabha^[133], Fred Hoyle^[134], John Polkinghorne^[135], Dennis W. Sciama^[136], and Harish-Chandra^[137].

FAQs

Where was Paul Dirac born?

Paul Dirac's place of birth was Bristol^[2].

Where did Paul Dirac die?

Paul Dirac passed away in Tallahassee^[3].

Who were Paul Dirac's parents?

Paul Dirac's father was Charles Dirac^[11].

Who was Paul Dirac married to?

Paul Dirac's spouses include Margit Dirac^[12].

What did Paul Dirac do for work?

Paul Dirac worked as mathematician^[4], theoretical physicist^[5], professor^[6], physicist^[7], and scientist^[8].

Where did Paul Dirac go to school?

Paul Dirac was educated at University of Bristol^[26], University of Cambridge^[27], and Cotham School^[41].

What awards did Paul Dirac receive?

Honors received include Nobel Prize in Physics^[71], Fellow of the Royal Society^[75], Copley Medal^[78], and Royal Medal^[82].

Who did Paul Dirac influence?

Paul Dirac has been cited as an influence by Stephen Hawking^[96], Richard Feynman^[102], Abdus Salam^[108], and Robert H. Dicke^[114].

What did Paul Dirac discover?

Paul Dirac is credited as discoverer of Dirac equation^[125], quantum electrodynamics^[127], Dirac spinor^[130], and Dirac large numbers hypothesis^[131].