Richard Feynman
A physicist who made the bizarre world of quantum particles accessible with his playful curiosity and revolutionary diagrams.
1918–1988 (age 70)·American theoretical physicist·Birthday: May 11·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Richard Feynman approached the universe with the wide-eyed wonder of a child and the sharp mind of a genius. Born in New York City, he was solving calculus problems for fun as a teenager. His work at Los Alamos on the Manhattan Project was marked by his talent for cracking safes containing top-secret documents, more for the intellectual puzzle than any malice. After the war, he tore up the rulebook of quantum electrodynamics, devising a new way to calculate particle interactions that finally made the math work. His Feynman diagrams turned abstract equations into simple, visual stories, forever changing how physicists think. He became a beloved, unconventional educator at Caltech, captivating students with his Brooklyn accent and disdain for pomp, proving that the deepest truths could be found with joy and a dash of mischief.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Richard was born in 1918, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Richard Was Born
The biggest hits of 1918
Richard's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1918Born
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1923Started school
The Great Kanto earthquake devastates Tokyo
President: Calvin Coolidge"Yes! We Have No Bananas" — Billy Jones
1931Became a teenager
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1934Could drive
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1936Could vote
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1939Turned 21
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1948Turned 30
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1958Turned 40
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 50
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 60
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 70
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
Key Achievements
- Awarded the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics for foundational work in quantum electrodynamics (QED).
- Created Feynman diagrams, a pictorial tool that revolutionized particle physics calculations.
- Developed the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, an entirely new approach to the theory.
- Explained the behavior of superfluid helium through quantum mechanics.
- Served as a key figure on the Rogers Commission investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.
Did You Know?
He taught himself to play the bongo drums and often performed with a samba group.
As a member of the commission investigating the Challenger disaster, he famously demonstrated the cause by dropping an O-ring into a glass of ice water.
He worked on the Manhattan Project while in his early twenties.
He frequently gave lectures to undergraduate students at Caltech, which were compiled into the famous 'Feynman Lectures on Physics.'
“I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned.”
