ASTRONOMER

Jan Oort

1900 - 1992

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Jan Hendrik Oort ( or ; 28 April 1900 – 5 November 1992) was a Dutch astronomer who made significant contributions to the understanding of the Milky Way and who was a pioneer in the field of radio astronomy. The New York Times called him "one of the century's foremost explorers of the universe"; the European Space Agency website describes him as "one of the greatest astronomers of the 20th century" and states that he "revolutionised astronomy through his ground-breaking discoveries." In 1955, Oort's name appeared in Life magazine's list of the 100 most famous living people. He has been described as "putting the Netherlands in the forefront of postwar astronomy". Oort determined that the Milky Way rotates and overturned the idea that the Sun was at its center. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Jan Oort is the 57th most popular astronomer (down from 41st in 2019), the 83rd most popular biography from Netherlands (up from 86th in 2019) and the most popular Dutch Astronomer.

Jan Oort is most famous for his theory of the Oort Cloud, which is a vast region of icy objects that surrounds the solar system.

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Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, Jan Oort ranks 57 out of 644. Before him are Jérôme Lalande, Adolphe Quetelet, Édouard Stephan, William Alfred Fowler, Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, and Karl Ludwig Hencke. After him are Abu Maʿshar, James Bradley, Abū Ishāq Ibrāhīm al-Zarqālī, Walter Baade, Jamshīd al-Kāshī, and Antonie Pannekoek.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1900, Jan Oort ranks 35. Before him are Richard Kuhn, Ragnar Granit, Alfred Newman, Hans Fritzsche, James Hilton, and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. After him are Kurt Weill, Pak Hon-yong, Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta, Karl Wolff, Arno Breker, and Choe Yong-gon. Among people deceased in 1992, Jan Oort ranks 20. Before him are Giovanni Falcone, Li Xiannian, Daniel Bovet, Karl Carstens, Ernst Happel, and Joan Fuster. After him are Benny Hill, Paolo Borsellino, Félix Guattari, Satyajit Ray, Peter D. Mitchell, and Anthony Perkins.

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In Netherlands

Among people born in Netherlands, Jan Oort ranks 83 out of 1,646. Before him are Herman Boerhaave (1668), Willebrord Snellius (1580), Johan de Witt (1625), Gerrit Rietveld (1888), Petrus Christus (1410), and William II of Holland (1228). After him are Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (1584), William V, Prince of Orange (1748), Gerard van Honthorst (1592), Cornelius Jansen (1585), Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562), and Antonie Pannekoek (1873).

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Among ASTRONOMERS In Netherlands

Among astronomers born in Netherlands, Jan Oort ranks 1. After him are Antonie Pannekoek (1873), Gerard Kuiper (1905), Pieter van Musschenbroek (1692), Tom Gehrels (1925), Jacobus Kapteyn (1851), Cornelis Johannes van Houten (1920), John Goodricke (1764), Adriaan Blaauw (1914), Maarten Schmidt (1929), Hendrik van Gent (1900), and Michael van Langren (1598).

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