PHYSICIST

James Rainwater

1917 - 1986

Photo of James Rainwater

Icon of person James Rainwater

Leo James Rainwater (December 9, 1917 – May 31, 1986) was an American physicist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1975 for his part in determining the asymmetrical shapes of certain atomic nuclei. During World War II, he worked on the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bombs. In 1949, he began developing his theory that, contrary to what was then believed, not all atomic nuclei are spherical. His ideas were later tested and confirmed by Aage Bohr's and Ben Mottelson's experiments. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. James Rainwater is the 131st most popular physicist (up from 181st in 2019), the 425th most popular biography from United States (up from 660th in 2019) and the 21st most popular American Physicist.

James Rainwater is most famous for his research on the effects of the Great Depression on American families.

Memorability Metrics

Loading...

Page views of James Rainwater by language

Loading...

Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, James Rainwater ranks 131 out of 851. Before him are Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, Alfred Kastler, Josiah Willard Gibbs, William Rowan Hamilton, Arthur Compton, and Simon van der Meer. After him are Carl Zeiss, Hans Bethe, James Franck, Robert Coleman Richardson, Emilio Segrè, and Emil Lenz.

Most Popular Physicists in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1917, James Rainwater ranks 11. Before him are Heinrich Böll, John Fenn, Arthur C. Clarke, Rodney Robert Porter, Ilya Prigogine, and Frederica of Hanover. After him are Christian de Duve, Ella Fitzgerald, Marsha Hunt, John Kendrew, Dean Martin, and Eric Hobsbawm. Among people deceased in 1986, James Rainwater ranks 11. Before him are Olof Palme, Andrei Tarkovsky, Cary Grant, Mircea Eliade, Tenzing Norgay, and Jiddu Krishnamurti. After him are Robert S. Mulliken, Jean Genet, Frank Herbert, Urho Kekkonen, Edward Adelbert Doisy, and Cliff Burton.

Others Born in 1917

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 1986

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United States

Among people born in United States, James Rainwater ranks 425 out of 20,380. Before him are Shirley MacLaine (1934), Leonardo DiCaprio (1974), Barbara McClintock (1902), Ivanka Trump (1981), Harvey Keitel (1939), and Leonard Bloomfield (1887). After him are Henry Miller (1891), Robert Kiyosaki (1947), Michael Jordan (1963), Martin Sheen (1940), Jack Lemmon (1925), and Adlai Stevenson II (1900).

Others born in United States

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among PHYSICISTS In United States

Among physicists born in United States, James Rainwater ranks 21. Before him are Ernest Lawrence (1901), Willis Lamb (1913), Owen Chamberlain (1920), Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921), Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839), and Arthur Compton (1892). After him are Robert Coleman Richardson (1937), Clifford Shull (1915), John Bardeen (1908), Joseph Henry (1797), George E. Smith (1930), and Leon Cooper (1930).

American born Physicists

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous