Origins & Early Life

Viscount Ilya Romanovich Prigogine (; Russian: Илья Романович Пригожин; 25 January [O.S. 12 January] 1917 – 28 May 2003) was a Belgian physical chemist of Russian origin, noted for his work on dissipative structures, complex systems, and irreversibility. Prigogine's work most notably earned him the 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures”, as well as the Francqui Prize in 1955, and the Rumford Medal in 1976. Prigogine was born in Moscow a few months before the October Revolution of 1917, into a Jewish family.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

His father, Ruvim Abramovich Prigogine (1884–1974), was a chemist who studied at the Imperial Moscow Technical School and owned a paint factory; his mother, Yulia Leivikovna Vikhman (1892–?), was a pianist who attended the Moscow Conservatory. In 1921, the factory having been nationalized by the new Soviet regime and the feeling of insecurity rising amidst the civil war, the family left Russia. After a brief period in Lithuania, they went to Germany and settled in Berlin; 8 years later, the poor economic situation and the creeping emergence...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

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