PHYSICIST
Peter Higgs
1929 - 2024
Peter Higgs
Peter Ware Higgs (29 May 1929 – 8 April 2024) was a British theoretical physicist, professor at the University of Edinburgh, and Nobel laureate in Physics for his work on the mass of subatomic particles. In 1964, Higgs was the single author of one of the three milestone papers published in Physical Review Letters (PRL) that proposed that spontaneous symmetry breaking in electroweak theory could explain the origin of mass of elementary particles in general and of the W and Z bosons in particular. This Higgs mechanism predicted the existence of a new particle, the Higgs boson, the detection of which became one of the great goals of physics. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Peter Higgs has received more than 1,833,787 page views. His biography is available in 78 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 73 in 2019). Peter Higgs is the 93rd most popular physicist (down from 89th in 2019), the 246th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 277th in 2019) and the 16th most popular British Physicist.
Peter Higgs is most famous for his theory of the Higgs Boson, which is a subatomic particle that gives mass to other particles.
Memorability Metrics
1.8M
Page Views (PV)
69.09
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
78
Languages Editions (L)
9.83
Effective Languages (L*)
4.21
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among PHYSICISTS
Among physicists, Peter Higgs ranks 93 out of 851. Before him are Jean Baptiste Perrin, Clinton Davisson, Carl Zeiss, Wilhelm Eduard Weber, Ernst Ruska, and Leo Szilard. After him are Emil Lenz, Gustaf Dalén, Aage Bohr, William Rowan Hamilton, George Gamow, and Owen Willans Richardson.
Most Popular Physicists in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsJean Baptiste Perrin
1870 - 1942
HPI: 69.59
Rank: 87
Clinton Davisson
1881 - 1958
HPI: 69.57
Rank: 88
Carl Zeiss
1816 - 1888
HPI: 69.56
Rank: 89
Wilhelm Eduard Weber
1804 - 1891
HPI: 69.49
Rank: 90
Ernst Ruska
1906 - 1988
HPI: 69.46
Rank: 91
Leo Szilard
1898 - 1964
HPI: 69.12
Rank: 92
Peter Higgs
1929 - 2024
HPI: 69.09
Rank: 93
Emil Lenz
1804 - 1865
HPI: 68.98
Rank: 94
Gustaf Dalén
1869 - 1937
HPI: 68.89
Rank: 95
Aage Bohr
1922 - 2009
HPI: 68.85
Rank: 96
William Rowan Hamilton
1805 - 1865
HPI: 68.83
Rank: 97
George Gamow
1904 - 1968
HPI: 68.83
Rank: 98
Owen Willans Richardson
1879 - 1959
HPI: 68.72
Rank: 99
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1929, Peter Higgs ranks 21. Before him are Jacques Brel, Yayoi Kusama, Michael Ende, Jean Baudrillard, Frank Gehry, and Oriana Fallaci. After him are Mohamed Al-Fayed, Max von Sydow, Sándor Kocsis, Christopher Plummer, Djalma Santos, and Tigran Petrosian. Among people deceased in 2024, Peter Higgs ranks 9. Before him are Mário Zagallo, Maggie Smith, Daniel Kahneman, Donald Sutherland, Alberto Fujimori, and Fethullah Gülen. After him are Paul Auster, Anouk Aimée, Alice Munro, Ismail Kadare, Sven-Göran Eriksson, and Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples.
Others Born in 1929
Go to all RankingsJacques Brel
SINGER
1929 - 1978
HPI: 70.06
Rank: 15
Yayoi Kusama
PAINTER
1929 - Present
HPI: 69.90
Rank: 16
Michael Ende
WRITER
1929 - 1995
HPI: 69.88
Rank: 17
Jean Baudrillard
PHILOSOPHER
1929 - 2007
HPI: 69.85
Rank: 18
Frank Gehry
ARCHITECT
1929 - Present
HPI: 69.62
Rank: 19
Oriana Fallaci
JOURNALIST
1929 - 2006
HPI: 69.25
Rank: 20
Peter Higgs
PHYSICIST
1929 - 2024
HPI: 69.09
Rank: 21
Mohamed Al-Fayed
BUSINESSPERSON
1929 - 2023
HPI: 68.96
Rank: 22
Max von Sydow
ACTOR
1929 - 2020
HPI: 68.88
Rank: 23
Sándor Kocsis
SOCCER PLAYER
1929 - 1979
HPI: 68.68
Rank: 24
Christopher Plummer
ACTOR
1929 - 2021
HPI: 68.43
Rank: 25
Djalma Santos
SOCCER PLAYER
1929 - 2013
HPI: 68.22
Rank: 26
Tigran Petrosian
CHESS PLAYER
1929 - 1984
HPI: 68.21
Rank: 27
Others Deceased in 2024
Go to all RankingsMário Zagallo
SOCCER PLAYER
1931 - 2024
HPI: 75.12
Rank: 3
Maggie Smith
ACTOR
1934 - 2024
HPI: 73.61
Rank: 4
Daniel Kahneman
PSYCHOLOGIST
1934 - 2024
HPI: 70.45
Rank: 5
Donald Sutherland
ACTOR
1935 - 2024
HPI: 70.35
Rank: 6
Alberto Fujimori
POLITICIAN
1938 - 2024
HPI: 70.11
Rank: 7
Fethullah Gülen
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1941 - 2024
HPI: 69.49
Rank: 8
Peter Higgs
PHYSICIST
1929 - 2024
HPI: 69.09
Rank: 9
Paul Auster
WRITER
1947 - 2024
HPI: 68.90
Rank: 10
Anouk Aimée
ACTOR
1932 - 2024
HPI: 68.62
Rank: 11
Alice Munro
WRITER
1931 - 2024
HPI: 68.48
Rank: 12
Ismail Kadare
WRITER
1936 - 2024
HPI: 68.33
Rank: 13
Sven-Göran Eriksson
COACH
1948 - 2024
HPI: 68.05
Rank: 14
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
POLITICIAN
1937 - 2024
HPI: 67.91
Rank: 15
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, Peter Higgs ranks 246 out of 8,785. Before him are Jeremy Irons (1948), Ken Miles (1918), Ken Follett (1949), Jimmy Page (1944), Phil Collins (1951), and Francis Galton (1822). After him are Roger Taylor (1949), James II of England (1633), Alan Parker (1944), Brian Jones (1942), David Lloyd George (1863), and Ian Fleming (1908).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all RankingsJeremy Irons
ACTOR
1948 - Present
HPI: 69.39
Rank: 240
Ken Miles
RACING DRIVER
1918 - 1966
HPI: 69.25
Rank: 241
Ken Follett
WRITER
1949 - Present
HPI: 69.22
Rank: 242
Jimmy Page
MUSICIAN
1944 - Present
HPI: 69.15
Rank: 243
Phil Collins
SINGER
1951 - Present
HPI: 69.13
Rank: 244
Francis Galton
STATISTICIAN
1822 - 1911
HPI: 69.13
Rank: 245
Peter Higgs
PHYSICIST
1929 - 2024
HPI: 69.09
Rank: 246
Roger Taylor
MUSICIAN
1949 - Present
HPI: 69.07
Rank: 247
James II of England
POLITICIAN
1633 - 1701
HPI: 69.07
Rank: 248
Alan Parker
FILM DIRECTOR
1944 - 2020
HPI: 69.02
Rank: 249
Brian Jones
MUSICIAN
1942 - 1969
HPI: 69.00
Rank: 250
David Lloyd George
POLITICIAN
1863 - 1945
HPI: 69.00
Rank: 251
Ian Fleming
WRITER
1908 - 1964
HPI: 68.98
Rank: 252
Among PHYSICISTS In United Kingdom
Among physicists born in United Kingdom, Peter Higgs ranks 16. Before him are William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (1824), Thomas Young (1773), James Chadwick (1891), C. F. Powell (1903), Charles Glover Barkla (1877), and Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869). After him are Owen Willans Richardson (1879), Edward Victor Appleton (1892), John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (1842), Roger Penrose (1931), William Henry Bragg (1862), and Henry Moseley (1887).
William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin
1824 - 1907
HPI: 72.70
Rank: 10
Thomas Young
1773 - 1829
HPI: 72.13
Rank: 11
James Chadwick
1891 - 1974
HPI: 70.47
Rank: 12
C. F. Powell
1903 - 1969
HPI: 69.98
Rank: 13
Charles Glover Barkla
1877 - 1944
HPI: 69.77
Rank: 14
Charles Thomson Rees Wilson
1869 - 1959
HPI: 69.69
Rank: 15
Peter Higgs
1929 - 2024
HPI: 69.09
Rank: 16
Owen Willans Richardson
1879 - 1959
HPI: 68.72
Rank: 17
Edward Victor Appleton
1892 - 1965
HPI: 68.66
Rank: 18
John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh
1842 - 1919
HPI: 68.62
Rank: 19
Roger Penrose
1931 - Present
HPI: 68.47
Rank: 20
William Henry Bragg
1862 - 1942
HPI: 66.95
Rank: 21
Henry Moseley
1887 - 1915
HPI: 65.89
Rank: 22