Georgiy Antonovich (Gamov) Gamow (1904 - 1968)

Born 4 Mar 1904 in Odessa, Russian Empire

Husband of Loubov R Vokhminzeva — married 1931 in Russia, Soviet Union

Died 19 Aug 1968 at age 64 in Boulder, Colorado, United States

Biography

George (Gamov) Gamow is Notable.

George Gamow (birth name: Georgiy Antonovich Gamov) was a Russian-American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He was an advocate and developer of the Big Bang theory. He discovered a theoretical explanation of alpha decay via quantum tunneling, and explored the radioactive decay of the atomic nucleus, star formation, and stellar nucleosynthesis, as well as Big Bang nucleosynthesis and molecular genetics.

George was born in Odessa where his father was a Russian language and literature high school teacher and his mother a history and georgraphy teacher at a school for girls.

George was multi-lingual, speaking, in addition to his native Russian, French, German, and English. He defected from the Soviet Union in 1933 and moved to Amrica in 1934.

Gamow taught at George Washington University (1934-1954), and in 1954 became a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1956, Gamow moved to the University of Colorado Boulder, for the remainder of his academic career.

In his middle and late career, Gamow focused more on teaching and wrote popular books on science, including "One Two Three... Infinity" and the "Mr. Tompkins" series of books. Some of his books are still in print more than fifty years after their original publication.

Wife: Lyubov Vokhmintseva; son: Igor Gamow

See also:

Article on Gamow at The Famous People [[1]]

Article at Encyclopedia Britannica [[2]]

Article from the Physics Departement of the University of Colorado where Gamow taught [[3]]

Sources

• Britannica Guide to The 100 Most Influential Scientists (2007), pp. 281-283.
• Wikipedia: George Gamow

• Wikidata: Item Q59478, en:Wikipedia

• "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24JC-Q7M : 2 March 2021), George Gamow, 1934; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

• Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
  Find A Grave: Memorial #6220 (accessed 6 April 2024)
  Memorial page for George Gamow (4 Mar 1904-19 Aug 1968), citing Green Mountain Cemetery, Boulder, Boulder County, Colorado, USA (plot: P 111); Maintained by Find a Grave.