ASTRONOMER

Robert Woodrow Wilson

1936 - Today

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Robert Woodrow Wilson (born January 10, 1936) is an American astronomer who, along with Arno Allan Penzias, discovered cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB) in 1964. The pair won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics for its discovery. While doing tests and experiments with the Holmdel Horn Antenna at Bell Labs in Holmdel Township, New Jersey, Wilson and Penzias discovered a source of noise in the atmosphere that they could not explain. After removing all potential sources of noise, including pigeon droppings on the antenna, the noise was finally identified as CMB, which served as important corroboration of the Big Bang theory. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Robert Woodrow Wilson is the 38th most popular astronomer (up from 39th in 2019), the 545th most popular biography from United States (up from 620th in 2019) and the 6th most popular American Astronomer.

Robert Woodrow Wilson is most famous for his work in the field of cosmology, specifically for his discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation.

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Among ASTRONOMERS

Among astronomers, Robert Woodrow Wilson ranks 38 out of 644. Before him are Giovanni Schiaparelli, Heinrich Louis d'Arrest, Johann Palisa, Johann Gottfried Galle, Sosigenes of Alexandria, and William Lassell. After him are Vesto Slipher, Johannes Hevelius, Asaph Hall, Johann Bayer, Clyde Tombaugh, and Martin Ryle.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1936, Robert Woodrow Wilson ranks 22. Before him are Valery Legasov, Harald zur Hausen, John McCain, F. W. de Klerk, Louis Gossett Jr., and Andrei Chikatilo. After him are Aga Khan IV, Zubin Mehta, Glen Campbell, David Carradine, Barack Obama Sr., and Virna Lisi.

Others Born in 1936

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Robert Woodrow Wilson ranks 545 out of 20,380. Before him are Kim Basinger (1953), Sarah Vaughan (1924), Daniel Boone (1734), Joseph Henry (1797), Anne Hathaway (1982), and Buffalo Bill (1846). After him are Danny Trejo (1944), John Malkovich (1953), Raymond Chandler (1888), Robert Fulton (1765), Henry James (1843), and Frances Cleveland (1864).

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Among ASTRONOMERS In United States

Among astronomers born in United States, Robert Woodrow Wilson ranks 6. Before him are Edwin Hubble (1889), Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. (1941), Carl Sagan (1934), Neil deGrasse Tyson (1958), and Charles Greeley Abbot (1872). After him are Vesto Slipher (1875), Asaph Hall (1829), Clyde Tombaugh (1906), William Alfred Fowler (1911), Edward Emerson Barnard (1857), and Vera Rubin (1928).

American born Astronomers

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