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George Gamow papers

 Collection
Identifier: MS0252-UA

Collection Scope and Content

Materials in this collection include correspondence, manuscripts, articles by George Gamow, and printed materials about George Gamow. These materials cover the dates 1934-55. George Gamow was a world renowned physicist and these materials constitute some of his academic work.

Dates

  • 1934-1955

Creator

Restrictions on Access

Some records may be restricted.

Restrictions on Use

Some material may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the patron's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections.

Historical or Biographical Note

George Gamow (1904-1968) was a professor of physics at The George Washington University from 1934 until 1956. While a student at the Institute of Theoretically Physics, Gamow put forth an hypothesis that atomic nuclei can be treated as little droplets of "nuclear fluid." These discoveries led to today's theory of fusion and fission.

Gamow was born in 1904 in Odessa, Russia. He studied at Novorossia University during 1922 and 1923 and at the University of Leningrad from 1923 until 1929. He received his Ph.D in 1928. He traveled to Copenhagen in 1929 Niels Bohr became very interested in his work offering him a scholarship from the Royal Danish Academy to study one year at the Institute of Theoretical Physics. After leaving Russia, Gamow accepted the chairmanship of the Physics Department at The George Washington University. Gamow's contribution to astronomy-research is mainly concerned with the origin of the Universe and the stars evolution. While at GWU, Gamow hired Edward Teller. He also established a series of seminars in Physics and astronomy that ran from 1935 to 1947.

In 1938, Gamow and colleague Ralph Alpher (a graduate of GWU) wrote a text about the Big Bang-theory and how matter would have come into existence. Gamow also published numerous popular books on science.

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

George Gamow (1904-1968) was a professor of physics at The George Washington University from 1934 until 1956. Materials in this collection include correspondence, manuscripts, articles by George Gamow, and printed materials about George Gamow.

Collection Organization

Organized in two series writings and DNA model.

Acquisition Information

These items were donated to the University Archives by Dr. Alexander Rich in 1996. Dr. Alexander Rich is William Thompson Sedgwick Professor of Biophysics at Massachusetts Institute for Technology, and a 1949 graduate of Harvard Medical School.

Title
Preliminary Guide to the George Gamow papers, 1934-1955
Author
Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University
Date
2007
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Research Center, The George Washington University Repository

Contact:
2130 H Street NW
Washington 20052 United States of America