The Most Famous

Physicists from United States

This page contains a list of the greatest Americans Physicists. The pantheon dataset contains 851 Physicists, 208 of which were born in United States.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Americans Physicists of all time. This list of famous Americans Physicists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Americans Physicists.

1. J. Robert Oppenheimer (1904 - 1967)

With an HPI of 90.85, J. Robert Oppenheimer is the most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 101 different languages on wikipedia.

2. Charles H. Townes (1915 - 2015)

With an HPI of 80.63, Charles H. Townes is the 2nd most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 75 different languages.

3. Philip Warren Anderson (1923 - 2020)

With an HPI of 79.35, Philip Warren Anderson is the 3rd most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 67 different languages.

4. Richard Feynman (1918 - 1988)

With an HPI of 78.55, Richard Feynman is the 4th most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 112 different languages.

5. Sheldon Lee Glashow (b. 1932)

With an HPI of 78.53, Sheldon Lee Glashow is the 5th most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 67 different languages.

6. Norman Foster Ramsey Jr. (1915 - 2011)

With an HPI of 77.88, Norman Foster Ramsey Jr. is the 6th most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 62 different languages.

7. Luis Walter Alvarez (1911 - 1988)

With an HPI of 76.99, Luis Walter Alvarez is the 7th most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 74 different languages.

8. Robert Andrews Millikan (1868 - 1953)

With an HPI of 76.61, Robert Andrews Millikan is the 8th most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 93 different languages.

9. Carl David Anderson (1905 - 1991)

With an HPI of 76.33, Carl David Anderson is the 9th most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 81 different languages.

10. Barry Barish (b. 1936)

With an HPI of 76.20, Barry Barish is the 10th most famous Americans Physicist. biography has been translated into 56 different languages.

People

Pantheon has 208 people classified as Americans physicists born between 1753 and 2000. Of these 208, 61 (29.33%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Americans physicists include Sheldon Lee Glashow, Barry Barish, and Jerome Isaac Friedman. The most famous deceased Americans physicists include J. Robert Oppenheimer, Charles H. Townes, and Philip Warren Anderson. As of April 2024, 3 new Americans physicists have been added to Pantheon including Robin Canup, Seth Lloyd, and Angela Belcher.