George de Hevesy
Hungarian radiochemist (1885–1966)
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Key Takeaways
- He also co-discovered the element hafnium.
- Grandparents from both sides of the family had provided the presidents of the Jewish community of Pest.
- George grew up in Budapest and graduated high school in 1903 from Piarist Gimnázium.
- De Hevesy began his studies in chemistry at the University of Budapest for one year, and at the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin) for several months, but transferred to the University of Freiburg.
- In 1906, he started his Ph.
George Charles de Hevesy (born György Bischitz; Hungarian: Hevesy György Károly; German: Georg Karl von Hevesy; 1 August 1885 – 5 July 1966) was a Hungarian radiochemist and Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate, recognized in 1943 for his key role in the development of radioactive tracers to study chemical processes such as in the metabolism of animals. He also co-discovered the element hafnium.
Biography
Early years
Hevesy György was born in Budapest, Hungary, to a wealthy and ennobled family of Hungarian-Jewish descent, the fifth of eight children to his parents Lajos Bischitz and Baroness Eugénia (Jenny) Schossberger (ennobled as "De Tornya"). Grandparents from both sides of the family had provided the presidents of the Jewish community of Pest. His parents converted to Roman Catholicism. George grew up in Budapest and graduated high school in 1903 from Piarist Gimnázium. The family's name in 1904 was Hevesy-Bischitz, and Hevesy later changed his own.
De Hevesy began his studies in chemistry at the University of Budapest for one year, and at the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg (now Technische Universität Berlin) for several months, but transferred to the University of Freiburg. There he met Ludwig Gattermann. In 1906, he started his Ph.D. thesis with Georg Franz Julius Meyer, acquiring his doctorate in physics in 1908. In 1908, Hevesy was offered a position at the ETH Zürich, Switzerland, yet being independently wealthy, he was able to choose his research environment. He worked first with Fritz Haber in Karlsruhe, Germany, then with Ernest Rutherford in Manchester, England, where he also met Niels Bohr. Back at home in Budapest, he was appointed professor in physical chemistry in 1918. In 1920, he settled in Copenhagen.
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