Origins & Early Life

Robert Woodrow Wilson (born January 11, 1936) is an American astronomer who shared the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics with Arno Penzias "for their discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation". 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. In 1970, Wilson led a team that made the first detection of a rotational spectral line of carbon monoxide (CO) in an astronomical object, the Orion Nebula, and eight other galactic sources.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Subsequently, CO observations became the standard method of tracing cool molecular interstellar gas, and detection of CO was the foundational event for the fields of millimeter and submillimeter astronomy. Robert Woodrow Wilson was born on January 10, 1936, in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Lamar High School in River Oaks, in Houston, and studied as an undergraduate at Rice University,...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

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

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Alan Alda — Contemporary (Born in 1936) (1936): Esteemed American actor celebrated for M*A*S*H and decades of versatile performances.
• Albert Finney — Contemporary (Born in 1936) (1936): Esteemed English actor celebrated for his versatile stage and screen performances.
• Andrew Grove — Contemporary (Born in 1936) (1936): Visionary engineer and CEO who drove Intel to global semiconductor dominance.
• Barbara Hepworth — Shared historical date (01-10 · Born) (1903): Pioneering English Modernist sculptor, celebrated for her abstract forms and connection to St Ives.
• Carl Linnaeus — Shared historical date (01-10 · Died) (1778): Father of modern taxonomy, systematized the naming of life forms.
• Assia Djebar — Historical peer (Born in 1936) (1936): Pioneering Algerian feminist novelist celebrated for chronicling women's experiences.
• Barry Barish — Historical peer (Born in 1936) (1936): Pioneering experimental physicist and Nobel laureate expert on gravitational waves.
• Ayumi Hamasaki — Historical peer (Born in 1978) (1978): Japanese Pop Icon, 'Empress of Pop,' best-selling solo artist in Japan.
• Balabhaskar — Historical peer (Born in 1978) (1978): Pioneering Indian violinist and composer known for promoting fusion music.
• Abraham Maslow — Historical peer (Died in 1970) (1970): Pioneering American psychologist known for the Hierarchy of Needs and self-actualization theory.
• 1936 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1936
• January 10 (01-10) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on January 10