Physics topic timeline

Quantum Physics Timeline

Records in the Physics collection relating to quantum theory, quantum mechanics, quantum states and quantum experiments.

150 records1858–2026

About this Quantum Physics timeline

Trace quantum theory from early radiation problems through quantum mechanics, quantum statistics, atomic states and later applications.

This page contains 150 records spanning 1858–2026. Frequently represented countries include Germany, United States of America, Austria, Great Britain, Switzerland. Example event labels include Birth of Max Karl Ernst Planck, Max Born Born, Radiation Energy Fluctuations, Photoelectric Effect Paper Submitted, Photoelectric Quantum Explanation.

Physicists frequently represented in these records

Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger21 matching records Albert Einstein18 matching records Enrico Fermi8 matching records Niels Henrik David Bohr5 matching records Werner Heisenberg4 matching records Anton Zeilinger4 matching records

Timeline records

Date	Person	Event	Place	Description
1858	Max Karl Ernst Planck	Birth of Max Karl Ernst Planck	Germany	Birth of Max Karl Ernst Planck, developed quantum theory
11 December 1882	Max Born Physicist	Max Born Born	Breslau, Germany	The future quantum physicist and Nobel laureate is born.
1904	Albert Einstein Physicist	Radiation Energy Fluctuations	Bern, Switzerland	Studies fluctuations in radiation energy, an important precursor to his later quantum work.
17 March 1905	Albert Einstein Physicist	Photoelectric Effect Paper Submitted	Bern, Switzerland	Sends his light-quantum paper to Annalen der Physik, using quanta to explain the photoelectric effect.
1905	Albert Einstein Physicist	Photoelectric Quantum Explanation	Bern, Switzerland	Explains photoelectric emission by proposing that light transfers energy in discrete quanta to electrons.
1906	Albert Einstein Physicist	Light Production and Absorption Paper	Bern, Switzerland	Publishes work extending the light-quantum hypothesis to the production and absorption of radiation.
1907	Albert Einstein Physicist	Quantum Theory of Specific Heat	Bern, Switzerland	Applies quantum ideas to the specific heat of solids, an early success of quantum theory.
1909	Albert Einstein Physicist	Salzburg Quantum Lecture	Salzburg, Switzerland	Presents a major lecture arguing that radiation displays both wave-like and particle-like properties.
30 October 1911	Walther Nernst Physical Chemist	Radiation and Quanta Conference	Brussels, Germany	Engages in international debate on quantum and thermodynamic problems.
30 October 1911	Max Planck Theoretical Physicist	Quantum Theory Conference	Brussels, Germany	Discusses quantum theory with leading European physicists in Brussels.
30 October 1911	Arnold Sommerfeld Theoretical Physicist	Quantum Physics Discussions	Brussels, Germany	Contributes to discussions concerning emerging quantum concepts.
11 December 1911	Wilhelm Wien Professor of Physics	Laws of Thermal Radiation	Stockholm, Germany	Reviews experimental and theoretical work leading toward quantum physics.
1911	Albert Einstein Physicist	First Solvay Conference	Brussels, Switzerland	Participates in the first Solvay Conference, discussing radiation and quantum theory with leading physicists.
1913	Niels Henrik David Bohr Theoretical Physicist	Quantized Electron Orbits	Copenhagen, Denmark	Explains the hydrogen spectrum through quantum transitions between stationary orbits.
1916	Albert Einstein Physicist	Quantum Theory of Radiation	Berlin, Germany	Develops a quantum theory of radiation introducing transition probabilities later represented by Einstein coefficients.
1917	Albert Einstein Physicist	Stimulated Emission	Berlin, Germany	Formulates stimulated emission in his quantum theory of radiation, a principle later fundamental to lasers.
1918	Albert Einstein Physicist	Zurich Guest Lectures	Zurich, Germany	Returns to Zurich for guest lectures while continuing work on relativity and quantum theory.
1918	Max Planck Physicist	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Germany	Receives the Nobel Prize in Physics for originating quantum theory through his discovery of energy quanta in the study of black-body radiation.
3 March 1921	Niels Henrik David Bohr Theoretical Physicist	Copenhagen Physics Institute Opened	Copenhagen, Denmark	Creates an international centre for atomic and quantum research.
10 December 1922	Niels Henrik David Bohr Theoretical Physicist	Atomic Structure Recognition	Stockholm, Denmark	Gains recognition for applying quantum ideas to the structure of atoms.
1923	Enrico Fermi Physicist	Quantum Theory Studies	Göttingen, Italy	Studies emerging quantum theory in Göttingen and deepens his familiarity with the mathematical methods being applied to atomic physics.
1923	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Atomic Spectra Research	Zurich, Austria	Investigates problems in atomic spectra as his attention increasingly shifts toward unresolved questions in quantum theory.
1924	Satyendra Nath Bose Physicist	Quantum Statistics Paper	Berlin, India	Bose's paper on Planck's law is translated and submitted for publication by Albert Einstein, bringing Bose statistics to international attention.
1924	Albert Einstein Physicist	Bose-Einstein Condensation Prediction	Berlin, Germany	Predicts that ideal bosonic particles can accumulate in the lowest quantum state at low temperature.
1924	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Quantum Statistics Research	Zurich, Austria	Begins intensive work on quantum statistics and the statistical behaviour of particles, helping redirect his research toward quantum foundations.
30 November 1925	Albert Einstein Physicist	Copley Medal	London, Germany	Awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal for relativity and contributions to quantum theory.
1925	Albert Einstein Physicist	Quantum Mechanics Critique Begins	Berlin, Germany	Engages critically with the emerging matrix and wave formulations of quantum mechanics.
1925	Albert Einstein Physicist	Second Quantum Gas Paper	Berlin, Germany	Publishes further work on the quantum theory of the ideal monatomic gas.
1925	Enrico Fermi Lecturer	Quantum Gas Research	Florence, Italy	Investigates quantum gases and statistical problems that directly precede his formulation of Fermi statistics.
1925	Wolfgang Ernst Pauli Theoretical Physicist	Electron State Restriction	Hamburg, Austria	Explains atomic shell structure through a fundamental quantum restriction.
1925	Wolfgang Ernst Pauli Theoretical Physicist	Pauli Exclusion Principle	Hamburg, Austria	Formulates the rule preventing identical electrons from sharing one quantum state.
4 May 1926	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Wave and Matrix Mechanics Equivalence	Zurich, Austria	Publishes a demonstration that his wave mechanics and Heisenberg's matrix mechanics are mathematically equivalent formulations of quantum theory.
1926	Enrico Fermi Physicist	Fermi-Dirac Electron Statistics	Rome, Italy	Develops quantum statistics for indistinguishable particles obeying the Pauli exclusion principle, providing the statistical framework now known as Fermi-Dirac statistics.
1926	Oskar Benjamin Klein Theoretical Physicist	Relativistic Wave Equation	Copenhagen, Sweden	Extends quantum wave mechanics to particles moving near light speed.
1926	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Wave Function Interpretation	Zurich, Austria	Proposes a continuous wave-based physical interpretation of the quantum state while developing his new formulation of quantum mechanics.
September 1927	Niels Henrik David Bohr Theoretical Physicist	Complementarity Principle	Como, Denmark	Presents complementarity as a principle for interpreting quantum phenomena.
September 1927	Niels Henrik David Bohr Theoretical Physicist	Quantum Measurement Interpretation	Como, Denmark	Argues that mutually exclusive experimental descriptions can both be necessary.
October 1927	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Solvay Quantum Theory Discussions	Brussels, Austria	Takes part in the fifth Solvay Conference, where leading physicists debate the interpretation and foundations of the newly developed quantum mechanics.
1927	Albert Einstein Physicist	Bohr-Einstein Quantum Debate	Brussels, Germany	Challenges Niels Bohr with thought experiments testing the completeness of quantum mechanics.
1927	Albert Einstein Physicist	Fifth Solvay Conference	Brussels, Germany	Participates in the fifth Solvay Conference and debates the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
1928	Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac Physicist	Relativistic Electron Equation	Cambridge, Great Britain	Formulates a relativistic quantum equation for the electron that naturally incorporates spin and implies antimatter states.
1928	Enrico Fermi Professor	Introduction to Atomic Physics Teaching	Rome, Italy	Expands advanced teaching in atomic and theoretical physics at Rome and trains a generation of Italian physicists in modern quantum methods.
1928	Ralph Howard Fowler Physicist	Field Electron Emission Theory	Cambridge, Great Britain	With Lothar Nordheim, explains electron emission from metals in strong electric fields as quantum tunnelling.
1928	Werner Heisenberg Physicist	Quantum Theory Research	Leipzig, Germany	Develops applications of quantum mechanics to atomic, molecular and solid-state physics in Leipzig.
1928	Lothar Nordheim Physicist	Field Electron Emission Theory	Cambridge, Germany	With Ralph Fowler, explains strong-field electron emission from metals using quantum tunnelling.
1928	Arnold Sommerfeld Physicist	Quantum Free-Electron Model	Munich, Germany	Applies Fermi-Dirac statistics to conduction electrons in metals, improving the classical Drude model.
1929	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Wave Mechanics Recognition	Berlin, Austria	Continues receiving international recognition for wave mechanics as his formulation becomes a standard foundation of quantum theory.
1930	Albert Einstein Physicist	Sixth Solvay Conference	Brussels, Germany	Attends the sixth Solvay Conference and continues discussions on quantum theory and field physics.
1930	Enrico Fermi Professor	Quantum Electrodynamics Work	Rome, Italy	Pursues research in quantum electrodynamics and spectroscopic theory while leading the theoretical physics programme in Rome.
1930	Friedrich Hund Physicist	Molecular Quantum Theory	Leipzig, Germany	Develops quantum-mechanical approaches to molecular structure while working in Leipzig.
1930	Nevill Francis Mott Physicist	Relativistic Electron Scattering	Cambridge, Great Britain	Develops a quantum treatment of electron scattering by atoms that includes electron spin and relativistic effects.
1930	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Quantum Foundations Research	Berlin, Austria	Continues research on the conceptual foundations of quantum theory while questioning purely statistical interpretations of the wave function.
1931	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Berlin Theoretical Physics Research	Berlin, Austria	Maintains an active programme of theoretical research in Berlin while engaging with leading physicists working on quantum mechanics and field theory.
1932	Werner Heisenberg Physicist	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Germany	Receives the Nobel Prize in Physics for creating quantum mechanics and applying the theory to the allotropic forms of hydrogen.
1932	Werner Heisenberg Physicist	Quantum Mechanics Recognition	Leipzig, Germany	His Leipzig institute gains international prominence after his Nobel recognition for quantum mechanics.
1932	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Quantum Interpretation Debate	Berlin, Austria	Continues challenging aspects of the emerging Copenhagen interpretation and argues for a more complete wave-based account of quantum phenomena.
December 1933	Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac Physicist	Nobel Prize for Quantum Electron Theory	Stockholm, Great Britain	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for new forms of atomic theory that include relativistic electron states.
1933	Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac Physicist	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Great Britain	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for developing new productive forms of atomic theory, including a relativistic quantum theory of the electron.
1933	Enrico Fermi Physicist	Beta Decay Theory Development	Rome, Italy	Formulates the fundamental ideas of his beta-decay theory by combining quantum field concepts with Wolfgang Pauli's neutrino hypothesis.
1933	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Nobel Laureate	Nobel Lecture on Wave Mechanics	Stockholm, Austria	Presents his Nobel lecture on wave mechanics and explains the development and physical meaning of the new quantum formalism.
1933	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Austria	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries in atomic theory and quantum mechanics.
1934	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Visiting Lecturer	Princeton Lectures	Princeton, Austria	Delivers lectures at Princeton University on quantum mechanics and related theoretical problems after leaving Germany.
15 May 1935	Albert Einstein Physicist	EPR Paper	Princeton, Switzerland	Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen publish their argument that quantum mechanics may not provide a complete description of physical reality.
1935	Werner Heisenberg Physicist	Nuclear Physics Research	Leipzig, Germany	Continues nuclear and quantum research at Leipzig with students from several countries.
1935	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Theoretical Physicist	Entanglement Concept	Oxford, Austria	Introduces and develops the concept later known as quantum entanglement to describe the inseparability of correlated quantum systems.
1935	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Theoretical Physicist	EPR Response Papers	Oxford, Austria	Responds to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen argument with papers exploring the consequences of quantum correlations and the completeness of quantum mechanics.
1935	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Theoretical Physicist	Quantum Superposition Thought Experiment	Oxford, Austria	Highlights the tension between microscopic superposition and everyday observation.
1935	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Theoretical Physicist	Schrodingers Cat	Oxford, Austria	Introduces the cat thought experiment to illustrate quantum measurement problems.
1935	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Theoretical Physicist	Steering Discussion	Oxford, Austria	Analyzes how measurement choices on one part of an entangled system can constrain descriptions of the other, anticipating the modern concept of quantum steering.
1945	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Director	Postwar Dublin Research	Dublin, Austria	Continues leading theoretical research in Dublin after the Second World War while working on quantum foundations and unified-field ideas.
1947	Polykarp Kusch Physicist	Electron Magnetic Moment Anomaly	New York, United States of America	Measures a deviation of the electron magnetic moment from the simplest Dirac prediction, providing another key test for quantum electrodynamics.
1947	Willis Eugene Lamb Physicist	Lamb Shift	New York, United States of America	With Robert Retherford, measures a small shift between hydrogen electron energy levels that becomes a decisive test of quantum electrodynamics.
1948	Julian Seymour Schwinger Physicist	Electron Anomalous Magnetic Moment	Cambridge Massachusetts, United States of America	Calculates the leading quantum-electrodynamic correction to the electron magnetic moment with striking agreement to experiment.
1948	Sin-Itiro Tomonaga Physicist	Renormalized Quantum Electrodynamics	Tokyo, Japan	Develops a renormalized formulation of quantum electrodynamics for calculating electron-photon interactions.
1949	Freeman John Dyson Physicist	Unified Quantum Electrodynamics	Princeton, Great Britain	Shows the equivalence of major formulations of quantum electrodynamics and systematizes renormalized calculations involving electrons.
1949	Richard Phillips Feynman Physicist	Space-Time Quantum Electrodynamics	Ithaca, United States of America	Publishes a space-time formulation of quantum electrodynamics and diagrammatic methods for calculating electron-photon interactions.
1949	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Director	Quantum Foundations Lectures	Dublin, Austria	Continues lecturing and writing on the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics, emphasizing unresolved questions about measurement and physical reality.
1950	Alfred Kastler Physicist	Optical Pumping	Paris, France	Proposes using light to redistribute atoms among quantum energy states.
1951	Abdus Salam Theoretical Physicist	Doctorate	Cambridge, Pakistan	Completes a doctorate in theoretical physics at Cambridge with research that advances quantum electrodynamics.
28 November 1954	Enrico Fermi Physicist	Death of Enrico Fermi	Chicago, United States of America	Enrico Fermi dies in Chicago on 28 November 1954 after a career that transformed quantum statistics, nuclear physics and reactor science.
1954	Max Born	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Great Britain	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental research in quantum mechanics, especially the statistical interpretation of the wavefunction.
1954	Enrico Fermi Physicist	Legacy in Nuclear and Particle Physics	Chicago, United States of America	Leaves a scientific legacy spanning quantum statistics, beta decay, neutron physics, controlled chain reactions, particle acceleration and high-energy physics.
1956	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Lecturer	Vienna Quantum Mechanics Lectures	Vienna, Austria	Resumes university teaching in Vienna and presents lectures on quantum mechanics, statistical physics and the conceptual foundations of modern physics.
January 1957	John Archibald Wheeler Physicist	Quantum Gravity	Chapel Hill, United States of America	Discusses singularities and the need for quantum gravity beyond classical general relativity.
1957	Leo Esaki Physicist	Semiconductor Electron Tunnelling	Tokyo, Japan	Demonstrates quantum tunnelling of electrons through a semiconductor junction, leading to the tunnel diode.
1959	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Professor	Late Quantum Foundations Work	Vienna, Austria	Continues writing and lecturing on quantum theory and philosophy during the final years of his academic life.
1963	Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan Physicist	Optical Equivalence Theorem	Rochester, India	E. C. G. Sudarshan develops the diagonal coherent-state representation and optical equivalence theorem foundational to quantum optics.
10 December 1964	Nikolay Gennadiyevich Basov Physicist	Nobel Prize in Physics	Stockholm, Russia	Shares the Nobel Prize for fundamental work in quantum electronics.
10 December 1964	Nikolay Gennadiyevich Basov Physicist	Quantum Electronics	Stockholm, Russia	The achievement marks quantum electronics as an important Russian scientific milestone.
December 1965	Richard Phillips Feynman Physicist	Nobel Prize for Quantum Electrodynamics	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics.
December 1965	Julian Seymour Schwinger Physicist	Nobel Prize for Quantum Electrodynamics	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics.
December 1965	Sin-Itiro Tomonaga Physicist	Nobel Prize for Quantum Electrodynamics	Stockholm, Japan	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics.
1965	Richard Phillips Feynman	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics.
1965	Julian Schwinger	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics.
1965	Sin-Itiro Tomonaga	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Japan	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics.
15 May 1976	Paul Davies Physicist	Evaporating Black Hole Stress Tensor	Great Britain	With Stephen Fulling and William Unruh, calculates the quantum stress-energy tensor in a collapse model supporting the standard picture of black hole evaporation.
15 May 1976	Stephen Fulling Physicist	Evaporating Black Hole Stress Tensor	United States of America	With Paul Davies and William Unruh, calculates the quantum stress-energy tensor near an evaporating black hole.
15 August 1976	William Unruh Physicist	Notes on Black-Hole Evaporation	Canada	Analyzes black hole evaporation and shows the close relation between particle detection by accelerated observers and quantum effects near event horizons.
1976	Stephen William Hawking Physicist	Breakdown of Predictability	Great Britain	Argues that black hole evaporation creates a fundamental challenge for predictability and quantum information conservation.
1976	William George Unruh Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Vancouver, Great Britain	Unruh predicts that accelerated observers detect thermal radiation, connecting quantum theory and relativity
1980	Klaus von Klitzing Physicist	Integer Quantum Hall Effect	Grenoble, Germany	Discovers precisely quantized Hall resistance in a two-dimensional electron system at low temperature and high magnetic field.
12 May 1982	Francois Englert Theoretical Physicist	Francqui Prize	Brussels, Belgium	Receives the Francqui Prize for major contributions including spontaneous symmetry breaking, quantum field theory, statistical physics, relativity and cosmology.
1982	Alain Aspect Physicist	Quantum Entanglement Test	Orsay, France	Finds correlations incompatible with local hidden-variable theories.
1982	Horst Ludwig Stormer Physicist	Fractional Quantum Hall Effect	Murray Hill, Germany	With Daniel Tsui, discovers the fractional quantum Hall effect in a two-dimensional electron system.
1982	Daniel Tsui Physicist	Fractional Quantum Hall Effect	Murray Hill, United States of America	With Horst Stormer, discovers fractional quantization in a two-dimensional electron gas.
1983	Robert Betts Laughlin Physicist	Fractional Quantum Hall Theory	Livermore, United States of America	Explains fractional quantum Hall states as a strongly correlated many-electron quantum fluid with fractionally charged excitations.
December 1985	Klaus von Klitzing Physicist	Nobel Prize for Quantum Hall Effect	Stockholm, Germany	Receives the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of the quantized Hall effect.
1985	Gerard 't Hooft Physicist	Brick Wall Model	Netherlands	Introduces the brick wall model for calculating black hole entropy from quantum fields near an event horizon.
1993	Donald Eigler Physicist	Quantum Corral Electron Standing Waves	San Jose, United States of America	Builds a ring of atoms with a scanning tunnelling microscope and images standing-wave patterns of surface electrons confined inside it.
1995	Steven Weinberg Theoretical Physicist	Quantum Theory of Fields	United States of America, United States of America	Publishes the first volume of The Quantum Theory of Fields, synthesizing modern quantum field theory for advanced researchers and students.
1997	Juan Maldacena Physicist	AdS-CFT Correspondence	Argentina	Proposes the AdS-CFT correspondence, providing a non-gravitational description of quantum gravity that became central to modern studies of black holes and information.
1997	Anton Zeilinger Quantum Physicist	Quantum Teleportation Experiment	Innsbruck, Austria	Co-demonstrates experimental quantum teleportation using entangled photons.
1997	Anton Zeilinger Quantum Physicist	Teleportation of a Photon State	Innsbruck, Austria	Transfers an unknown photon state without transporting the original particle.
December 1998	Robert Betts Laughlin Physicist	Nobel Prize for Fractional Quantum Hall Effect	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for explaining the fractional quantum Hall effect.
December 1998	Horst Ludwig Stormer Physicist	Nobel Prize for Fractional Quantum Hall Effect	Stockholm, Germany	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of the fractional quantum Hall effect.
December 1998	Daniel Tsui Physicist	Nobel Prize for Fractional Quantum Hall Effect	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovery of the fractional quantum Hall effect.
1998	David DiVincenzo Physicist	Electron Spin Qubit Proposal	United States of America, United States of America	With Daniel Loss, proposes quantum-dot electron spins as controllable quantum bits.
1998	Daniel Loss Physicist	Electron Spin Qubit Proposal	Basel, Switzerland	With David DiVincenzo, proposes using the spin states of individual electrons in quantum dots as quantum bits.
1999	Geradus 't Hooft	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Netherlands	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions.
1999	Martinus Veltman	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Netherlands	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for elucidating the quantum structure of electroweak interactions.
2001	Hartmut Haffner Physicist	Bound Electron g-Factor Measurement	Mainz, Germany	Helps measure the magnetic moment of a bound electron in hydrogenlike carbon with a Penning trap, providing a precision test of strong-field quantum electrodynamics.
2002	Samir Mathur Physicist	Fuzzball Proposal	India	Develops the fuzzball proposal in string theory, replacing the conventional black hole interior with horizon-scale quantum microstate structure.
2004	Stephen William Hawking Physicist	Black Hole Information Revision	Dublin, Great Britain	Announces a revised position on the black hole information problem, arguing that quantum information need not be permanently lost.
2005	Charles Kane Physicist	Quantum Spin Hall Effect Theory	Philadelphia, United States of America	With Eugene Mele, predicts a two-dimensional topological state whose edge channels carry spin-filtered electrons protected by time-reversal symmetry.
2005	Philip Kim Physicist	Graphene Quantum Hall Effect	New York, South Korea	Demonstrates unusual quantum Hall behaviour of charge carriers in graphene.
2005	Eugene Mele Physicist	Quantum Spin Hall Theory	Philadelphia, United States of America	With Charles Kane, develops the theoretical model for a quantum spin Hall state with protected electron edge channels.
2006	Shoucheng Zhang Physicist	HgTe Quantum Spin Hall Prediction	Stanford, United States of America	With collaborators, predicts a quantum spin Hall state in mercury-telluride quantum wells.
2007	Laurens Molenkamp Physicist	Quantum Spin Hall Effect Observed	Wurzburg, Netherlands	Leads experiments in mercury-telluride quantum wells that observe edge conduction associated with the quantum spin Hall state.
2007	Laurens Molenkamp Physicist	Quantum Spin Hall Experiment	Wurzburg, Netherlands	Leads experiments observing edge conduction consistent with the quantum spin Hall effect in mercury-telluride wells.
2010	Charles Marcus Physicist	Coherent Single-Electron Transport	Cambridge Massachusetts, United States of America	Advances controlled quantum transport of individual electrons in semiconductor nanostructures.
2011	Francois Englert Theoretical Physicist	Chapman University	Orange, California, Belgium	Joins Chapman University's Institute for Quantum Studies as a distinguished visiting professor and founding member.
2012	Serge Haroche	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, France	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for experimental methods enabling measurement and manipulation of individual quantum systems.
2012	Donald Marolf Physicist	Black Hole Firewall	United States of America	With collaborators, formulates the firewall paradox as a challenge to conventional assumptions about black hole horizons and quantum information.
2012	David J. Wineland	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for experimental methods enabling measurement and manipulation of individual quantum systems.
2013	Juan Maldacena Physicist	ER Equals EPR	Argentina	With Leonard Susskind, proposes that quantum entanglement and Einstein-Rosen bridges may be deeply connected, a conjecture known as ER equals EPR.
2013	Leonard Susskind Physicist	ER Equals EPR	United States of America	With Juan Maldacena, proposes the ER equals EPR conjecture connecting entanglement with wormhole geometry in quantum gravity.
2016	Stephen William Hawking Physicist	Soft Hair on Black Holes	Great Britain	With Malcolm Perry and Andrew Strominger, proposes that soft quantum degrees of freedom on horizons may carry information about black holes.
2016	Malcolm Perry Physicist	Soft Hair on Black Holes	Great Britain	With Stephen Hawking and Andrew Strominger, develops the proposal that black hole horizons can carry soft quantum hair.
2019	Geoffrey Penington Physicist	Entanglement Wedge Reconstruction	Great Britain	Shows how quantum extremal surfaces can reproduce a Page curve and recover information from an evaporating black hole in holographic models.
2020	Juan Maldacena Physicist	Semiclassical Page Curve	Argentina	With collaborators, derives the Page curve of Hawking radiation from semiclassical gravity using replica methods and quantum extremal surfaces.
23 July 2021	Steven Weinberg Theoretical Physicist	Death	Austin, United States of America	Dies in Austin after a career that reshaped particle physics, quantum field theory and modern cosmology.
10 December 2022	Alain Aspect Physicist	Nobel Prize in Physics	Stockholm, France	Shares the physics prize for experiments with entangled photons and advances in quantum information science.
10 December 2022	Anton Zeilinger Physicist	Nobel Prize in Physics	Stockholm, Austria	Shares the physics prize for experiments with entangled photons and advances in quantum information science.
2022	Alain Aspect	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, France	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments with entangled photons, Bell inequality violations and pioneering quantum information science.
2022	John F. Clauser	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments with entangled photons, Bell inequality violations and pioneering quantum information science.
2022	Anton Zeilinger	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Austria	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for experiments with entangled photons, Bell inequality violations and pioneering quantum information science.
2025	John Clarke	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Great Britain	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
2025	Michel H. Devoret	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, France	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
2025	John M. Martinis	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, United States of America	Shares the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering macroscopic quantum tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.
18 June 2026	Francois Englert Theoretical Physicist	Death	Uccle, Belgium	Dies in Uccle at the age of ninety-three after a career spanning particle physics, cosmology and quantum field theory.

Quantum Physics Timeline

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