Lev Landau

Born on 22 January 1908 in Baku in what is now Azerbaijan, Lev Landau was a theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate who made fundamental contributions to a number of different fields of physics. After graduating from Leningrad University in 1927 at the age of 19, he earned his doctorate at the Leningrad Physicotechnical Institute in 1934. A fellowship allowed him to study abroad 1929–31, and he spent time in several countries, including Denmark, where he worked under Niels Bohr. After returning to the Soviet Union, Landau served as head of the theoretical department of the Ukrainian Physicotechnical Institute in Kharkov. In 1937, he accepted a position at the Institute for Physical Problems in Moscow, where he would remain for the rest of his life. On 27 April 1938 Landau was arrested for anti-Soviet activities and sent to prison. He was freed a year later by the efforts of physicist Peter Kapitza. Over his career, Landau contributed significantly to several fields of physics, developing theories for such diverse phenomena as the diamagnetism of a free electron gas (Landau diamagnetism) and the superfluidity of liquid helium. He was also an outstanding teacher and published extensively, most importantly his multiple-volume course in theoretical physics produced jointly with Evgeny Lifshitz. In 1946 Landau was elected to the USSR Academy of Sciences, and in 1962 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for his pioneering theories for condensed matter, especially liquid helium.” He died on in 1968 at age 60 from complications following a car accident six years earlier. Physics Today published a special issue about Landau in February 2004.

Date in History: 22 January 1908