PHYSICIST

Leo Szilard

1898 - 1964

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Icon of person Leo Szilard

Leo Szilard (; Hungarian: Szilárd Leó [ˈsilaːrd ˈlɛoː]; born Leó Spitz; February 11, 1898 – May 30, 1964) was a Hungarian-born physicist, biologist and inventor who made numerous important discoveries in nuclear physics and the biological sciences. He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, and patented the idea in 1936. In late 1939 he wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb, and then in 1944 wrote the Szilard petition asking President Truman to demonstrate the bomb without dropping it on civilians. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Leo Szilard has received more than 1,469,884 page views. His biography is available in 54 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 51 in 2019). Leo Szilard is the 92nd most popular physicist (up from 124th in 2019), the 36th most popular biography from Hungary (up from 49th in 2019) and the 3rd most popular Hungarian Physicist.

Leo Szilard is most famous for his work on the Manhattan Project, which led to the creation of the atomic bomb.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.5M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 69.12

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 54

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 6.93

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.83

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, Leo Szilard ranks 92 out of 851. Before him are Albert A. Michelson, Jean Baptiste Perrin, Clinton Davisson, Carl Zeiss, Wilhelm Eduard Weber, and Ernst Ruska. After him are Peter Higgs, Emil Lenz, Gustaf Dalén, Aage Bohr, William Rowan Hamilton, and George Gamow.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1898, Leo Szilard ranks 19. Before him are Stefania Turkewich, Herbert Marcuse, George Gershwin, C. S. Lewis, Liu Shaoqi, and Gunnar Myrdal. After him are Tamara de Lempicka, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Julius Evola, Hans Krebs, Rodion Malinovsky, and Rudolf Dassler. Among people deceased in 1964, Leo Szilard ranks 8. Before him are Douglas MacArthur, Herbert Hoover, Paul of Greece, Alma Mahler, Victor Francis Hess, and Norbert Wiener. After him are Ian Fleming, Rachel Carson, Frans Eemil Sillanpää, James Franck, Vasily Grossman, and Gerhard Domagk.

Others Born in 1898

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Others Deceased in 1964

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In Hungary

Among people born in Hungary, Leo Szilard ranks 36 out of 1,077. Before him are Viktor Orbán (1963), Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (1868), Ernő Rubik (1944), Andrew II of Hungary (1175), Mary, Queen of Hungary (1371), and Johnny Weissmuller (1904). After him are László Bíró (1899), Elizabeth of Luxembourg (1409), Sándor Kocsis (1929), Dennis Gabor (1900), Sándor Márai (1900), and Sándor Petőfi (1823).

Others born in Hungary

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Among PHYSICISTS In Hungary

Among physicists born in Hungary, Leo Szilard ranks 3. Before him are Edward Teller (1908), and Eugene Wigner (1902). After him are Dennis Gabor (1900), Georg von Békésy (1899), Ferenc Krausz (1962), Arpad Elo (1903), Nicholas Kurti (1908), Zoltán Lajos Bay (1900), Valentine Telegdi (1922), and Egon Orowan (1902).

Hungarian born Physicists

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