Origins & Early Life

David James Thouless (; 21 September 1934 – 6 April 2019) was a British condensed-matter physicist. He was awarded the 1990 Wolf Prize and a laureate of the 2016 Nobel Prize for physics along with F. Duncan M. Haldane and J.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Michael Kosterlitz for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. Born on 21 September 1934 in Bearsden, Scotland, to English parents, Priscilla (Gorton) Thouless, an English teacher, and Robert Thouless a psychologist and broadcaster. David Thouless was educated at St Faith's School then Winchester College and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge as an undergraduate student of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He obtained his PhD at Cornell University, where Hans Bethe was his doctoral advisor. Thouless was a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, and also worked in the physics department from 1958 to 1959, giving a course on atomic physics.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

He was the first director of studies in physics at Churchill College, Cambridge, in 1961–1965, professor of mathematical physics at the University...

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Alan Arkin — Contemporary (Born in 1934) (1934): Esteemed American actor, filmmaker, and musician with a seven-decade career.
• Bill Russell — Contemporary (Born in 1934) (1934): Center for the Boston Celtics, a 12-time champion and basketball legend.
• Brigitte Bardot — Contemporary (Born in 1934) (1934): Iconic French actress, singer, and passionate animal rights activist.
• Agnès Varda — Contemporary (Died in 2019) (2019): Pioneering French filmmaker, artist, and documentarian celebrated for her unique vision.
• Akihito — Contemporary (Died in 2019) (2019): 125th Emperor of Japan; reigned during the Heisei era (1989-2019).
• Albert Finney — Contemporary (Died in 2019) (2019): Esteemed English actor celebrated for his versatile stage and screen performances.
• Abdul Hamid II — Shared historical date (09-21 · Born) (1842): Last effective Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, navigating decline and constitutional upheaval.
• Arthur Ashkin — Shared historical date (09-21 · Died) (2020): Pioneering physicist, recognized as the father of optical tweezers.
• Albrecht Dürer — Shared historical date (04-06 · Died) (1528): Master of the German Renaissance, renowned painter, printmaker, and theorist.
• André Previn — Shared historical date (04-06 · Born) (1929): Versatile American musician, composer, and conductor mastering jazz, film, and classical forms.
• 1934 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1934
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• 2019 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 2019
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