Origins & Early Life

Chao Chung Ting (Chinese: 丁肇中; pinyin: Dīng Zhàozhōng, born January 27, 1936), also known by his English name Samuel, is a Taiwanese-American particle physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1976 with Burton Richter for discovering the subatomic J/ψ particle. He is the Thomas Dudley Cabot Institute Chair at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Ting was born on January 27, 1936, at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to first generation immigrant parents from Ju County, Shandong, China. His parents, Kuan-hai Ting and Tsun-ying Wong, met and married as graduate students at the University of Michigan.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

When Ting was born, his parents had just earned their master's degrees from the University of Michigan and his father, a civil engineer, had received a professorship to teach at the China University of Mining and Technology. Ting's parents returned to China two months after his birth. Throughout the Second Sino-Japanese War, Ting was homeschooled by his parents. After the Chinese Civil War, Ting moved to Taiwan with his family in 1949 during the Great Retreat. He would live there as a Taiwanese waishengren...

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.
• Abbas the Great — Shared historical date (01-27 · Born) (1571): Fifth Safavid Shah of Iran, considered one of the greatest rulers in Iranian history.
• Barry Barish — Shared historical date (01-27 · Born) (1936): Pioneering experimental physicist and Nobel laureate expert on gravitational waves.
• Assia Djebar — Historical peer (Born in 1936) (1936): Pioneering Algerian feminist novelist celebrated for chronicling women's experiences.
• Basil Zaharoff — Historical peer (Died in 1936) (1936): Greek industrialist and arms dealer, known as a 'merchant of death' in global conflicts.
• A Day at the Races (album) — Historical peer (Born in 1976) (1976): Queen's fifth studio album, a companion piece to A Night at the Opera.
• Adolph Zukor — Historical peer (Died in 1976) (1976): Pioneering Hungarian-American film producer, co-founder of Paramount Pictures.
• Ahmed Zaki (actor) — Historical peer (Born in 1949) (1949): Iconic Egyptian actor celebrated for intense dramatic performances.
• 1936 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1936
• January 27 (01-27) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on January 27