Physics topic timeline

Relativity Timeline

Records in the Physics collection relating to relativity, relativistic physics and the development or testing of relativistic ideas.

82 records1842–2020

About this Relativity timeline

Follow the development of special and general relativity, spacetime, gravitational theory and experimental tests represented in the archive.

This page contains 82 records spanning 1842–2020. Frequently represented countries include Germany, United States of America, Great Britain, Switzerland, Austria. Example event labels include Doppler Effect, Relativity, Theory of, Electromagnetic Mass-Energy, Special Relativity, Mass-Energy Equivalence.

Physicists frequently represented in these records

Albert Einstein29 matching records Hendrik Antoon Lorentz3 matching records Henri Poincare3 matching records Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac3 matching records Marcel Grossmann2 matching records Oskar Benjamin Klein2 matching records

Timeline records

Date	Person	Event	Place	Description
1842	Christian Andreas Doppler Physicist and Mathematician	Doppler Effect	Prague, Austria	Presents the principle that observed frequency changes with relative motion.
1887	Albert Abraham Michelson Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Cleveland, United States of America	Michelson carries out interferometer measurements that challenge the idea of a stationary luminiferous ether
1887	Edward Williams Morley Chemist	Relativity, Theory of	Cleveland, United States of America	Morley works with Michelson on the ether drift experiment later treated as an important background to special relativity
1889	George Francis FitzGerald Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Dublin, Ireland	FitzGerald proposes length contraction as a way to explain the null result of ether drift experiments
1892	Hendrik Antoon Lorentz Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Leiden, Netherlands	Lorentz develops electron theory and uses contraction ideas in attempts to account for electromagnetic experiments
1895	Hendrik Antoon Lorentz Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Leiden, Netherlands	Lorentz introduces local time in electromagnetic theory, a step toward the later Lorentz transformations
1898	Henri Poincare Mathematician	Relativity, Theory of	Paris, France	Poincare discusses the conventional nature of simultaneity and the synchronization of distant clocks
24 September 1904	Henri Poincare Mathematician	Relativity, Theory of	St Louis, France	Poincare states a principle of relativity in a lecture on the future of mathematical physics
1904	Friedrich Hasenohrl Physicist	Electromagnetic Mass-Energy	Vienna, Austria	Explores the relationship between electromagnetic energy and mass before relativity.
1904	Hendrik Antoon Lorentz Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Leiden, Netherlands	Lorentz publishes transformations that preserve the form of Maxwells equations for moving systems
30 June 1905	Albert Einstein Physicist	Special Relativity	Bern, Switzerland	Submits On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, establishing the special theory of relativity.
27 September 1905	Albert Einstein Physicist	Mass-Energy Equivalence	Bern, Switzerland	Submits the paper deriving the relation between mass and energy from special relativity.
1905	Henri Poincare Mathematician	Relativity, Theory of	Paris, France	Poincare publishes work on the dynamics of the electron using Lorentz transformations and relativistic ideas
1907	Albert Einstein Physicist	Equivalence Principle	Bern, Switzerland	Formulates the equivalence principle, a decisive step toward a relativistic theory of gravitation.
21 September 1908	Hermann Minkowski Mathematician	Spacetime	Cologne, Germany	Minkowski presents spacetime geometry and recasts special relativity in four dimensional form
1909	Max Planck Physicist	Special Relativity	Berlin, Germany	Planck promotes and develops relativistic dynamics after Einstein and helps establish special relativity among physicists
1912	Albert Einstein Physicist	Tensor Calculus Collaboration	Zurich, Switzerland	Works with Marcel Grossmann to master tensor calculus for a relativistic theory of gravitation.
1912	Marcel Grossmann Mathematician	General Relativity	Zurich, Germany	Grossmann introduces Einstein to tensor calculus needed for a relativistic theory of gravitation
1913	Albert Einstein Physicist	Entwurf Theory	Zurich, Switzerland	Publishes the Entwurf gravitational theory with Marcel Grossmann as an intermediate step toward general relativity.
1913	Marcel Grossmann Mathematician	General Relativity	Zurich, Germany	Grossmann coauthors the Entwurf theory and supplies mathematical tools for Einsteins gravitational research
4 November 1915	Albert Einstein Physicist	Restricted Covariance Equations	Berlin, Germany	Presents revised gravitational field equations to the Prussian Academy during his final push toward general relativity.
20 November 1915	David Hilbert Mathematician	General Relativity	Gottingen, Germany	Hilbert submits a variational treatment of gravitational field equations during the final formulation of general relativity
25 November 1915	Albert Einstein Physicist	General Relativity Field Equations	Berlin, Germany	Presents the final generally covariant gravitational field equations to the Prussian Academy.
1915	Albert Einstein Physicist	Göttingen Relativity Lectures	Göttingen, Germany	Lectures on gravitation in Göttingen, stimulating intense discussion with leading mathematicians.
December 1916	Albert Einstein Physicist	Relativity: The Special and General Theory	Berlin, Germany	Publishes his popular introduction to special and general relativity.
1916	Johannes Droste Physicist	General Relativity	Leiden, Netherlands	Droste independently derives the exterior solution for a spherical gravitational field in general relativity
1916	Albert Einstein Physicist	Foundation of General Relativity	Berlin, Germany	Publishes a systematic presentation of the general theory of relativity and its field equations.
1916	Albert Einstein Physicist	German Physical Society Presidency	Berlin, Germany	Serves as president of the German Physical Society during the consolidation of general relativity.
1918	Albert Einstein Physicist	Zurich Guest Lectures	Zurich, Germany	Returns to Zurich for guest lectures while continuing work on relativity and quantum theory.
1918	Josef Lense Physicist	Frame Dragging	Vienna, Austria	Lense calculates relativistic frame dragging effects caused by rotating masses
1918	Hans Thirring Physicist	Frame Dragging	Vienna, Austria	Thirring works with Lense on the dragging of inertial frames predicted by general relativity
1919	Albert Einstein Physicist	International Scientific Fame	Berlin, Germany	Becomes internationally famous after eclipse observations are widely reported as confirming general relativity.
5 May 1920	Albert Einstein Physicist	Ether and Relativity Lecture	Leiden, Germany	Delivers the lecture Ether and the Theory of Relativity, redefining the concept in gravitational terms.
1920	Albert Einstein Physicist	Anti-Relativity Campaign	Berlin, Germany	Publicly confronts organized attacks on relativity amid growing political and antisemitic hostility.
9 June 1921	Albert Einstein Physicist	Manchester Honorary Doctorate and Relativity Lecture	Manchester, Germany	Receives an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Manchester and lectures on relativity.
1921	Albert Einstein Physicist	Princeton Stafford Little Lectures	Princeton, Germany	Delivers four Stafford Little Lectures explaining special and general relativity.
14 December 1922	Albert Einstein Physicist	Kyoto Relativity Lecture	Kyoto, Germany	Explains how he developed the theory of relativity in a lecture at Kyoto University.
1922	Albert Einstein Physicist	Japan Lecture Tour	Japan, Germany	Travels through Japan giving lectures and public talks on relativity and modern physics.
1922	Albert Einstein Physicist	The Meaning of Relativity	Princeton, Germany	The Meaning of Relativity is published from the four lectures Einstein delivered at Princeton in May 1921.
1922	Enrico Fermi Physicist	Relativity Research	Pisa, Italy	Publishes work on relativistic mechanics and electrodynamics during the period immediately following completion of his doctorate.
7 February 1923	Albert Einstein Physicist	Jerusalem Relativity Lecture	Jerusalem, Germany	Lectures in French on relativity during his visit to British Mandate Palestine.
13 February 1923	Albert Einstein Physicist	Jerusalem German Lecture	Jerusalem, Germany	Gives a second Jerusalem lecture on relativity, this time in German.
11 July 1923	Albert Einstein Physicist	Nobel Lecture	Gothenburg, Germany	Delivers his Nobel lecture on fundamental ideas and problems of relativity.
1923	Hermann Weyl Mathematician	Relativity, Theory of	Zurich, Germany	Weyl develops mathematical approaches to relativity and field theory that influence later gravitational research
30 November 1925	Albert Einstein Physicist	Copley Medal	London, Germany	Awarded the Royal Society's Copley Medal for relativity and contributions to quantum theory.
1926	Oskar Benjamin Klein Theoretical Physicist	Klein-Gordon Equation	Copenhagen, Sweden	Co-develops a relativistic wave equation for spin-zero particles.
1926	Oskar Benjamin Klein Theoretical Physicist	Relativistic Wave Equation	Copenhagen, Sweden	Extends quantum wave mechanics to particles moving near light speed.
1926	Llewellyn Thomas Physicist	Thomas Precession	Cambridge, Great Britain	Derives the relativistic precession that resolves the factor needed in electron spin-orbit coupling.
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.
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.
1931	Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Physicist	White Dwarf Theory	Cambridge, India	Chandrasekhar develops and publishes relativistic models of degenerate stars that establish a limiting mass for white dwarfs.
1931	Albert Einstein Physicist	Oxford Rhodes Lectures	Oxford, Germany	Gives three Rhodes Memorial Lectures on relativity, cosmology and his latest work in theoretical physics.
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.
15 May 1935	Albert Einstein Physicist	Franklin Medal	Philadelphia, Switzerland	Receives the Franklin Medal in recognition of his work in relativity and the photoelectric effect.
1935	Albert Einstein Physicist	Einstein-Rosen Bridge	Princeton, Switzerland	With Nathan Rosen, studies bridge solutions in general relativity connecting two sheets of spacetime.
1937	Albert Einstein Physicist	Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann Collaboration	Princeton, Switzerland	Works with Leopold Infeld and Banesh Hoffmann on deriving equations of motion from general relativity.
1938	Albert Einstein Physicist	Einstein-Infeld-Hoffmann Equations	Princeton, Switzerland	Publishes work deriving approximate equations of motion for gravitating bodies from general relativity.
1939	J Robert Oppenheimer Physicist	Gravitational Collapse	Berkeley, United States of America	Oppenheimer analyzes continued gravitational collapse as an implication of general relativity
1939	Hartland Snyder Snyder Physicist	Gravitational Collapse	Berkeley, United States of America	Snyder coauthors the relativistic collapse model showing how a massive star can pass within its Schwarzschild radius
1947	Herbert Pollock Physicist	Synchrotron Radiation from Electrons	Schenectady, United States of America	Participates in the first observation of visible synchrotron radiation emitted by relativistic electrons circulating in a synchrotron.
1947	Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrodinger Director	General Relativity Research	Dublin, Austria	Continues mathematical investigations into general relativity and attempts to formulate unified descriptions of gravitation and electromagnetism.
1948	Kurt Godel Mathematician	Cosmology	Princeton, United States of America	Godel discovers a rotating universe solution of general relativity with closed timelike curves
1950	Dennis William Sciama Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Cambridge, Great Britain	Sciama promotes Machs principle and gravitational theory questions that shape British relativity research
1955	Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri Physicist	Raychaudhuri Equation	Calcutta, India	Raychaudhuri derives the focusing equation that later becomes central to the singularity theorems of general relativity.
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.
1959	Robert Vivian Pound Physicist	Gravitational Redshift	Harvard University, United States of America	Pound measures gravitational redshift on Earth and tests a key prediction of general relativity
1959	Glen Rebka Physicist	Pound-Rebka Experiment	Harvard University, United States of America	Confirms gravitational redshift in a laboratory test of general relativity.
1962	Ennackal Chandy George Sudarshan Physicist	Faster-than-light Particles	United States, India	E. C. G. Sudarshan and collaborators publish a theoretical analysis showing how hypothetical faster-than-light particles can fit within special relativity.
16 November 1964	Gerald Guralnik Theoretical Physicist	Higgs Boson	London, Great Britain	Coauthors a third independent 1964 paper explaining spontaneous symmetry breaking in relativistic gauge theory and the generation of gauge-boson masses.
1964	Irwin Ira Shapiro Physicist	Shapiro Time Delay	Cambridge Massachusetts, United States of America	Predicts a measurable relativistic delay in planetary radar signals.
1971	Robert V Wagoner Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Stanford University, United States of America	Wagoner develops post Newtonian calculations used to test general relativity with solar system observations
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	Alan Harvey Guth Physicist	Inflation	Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, United States of America	Guth proposes inflation, using relativistic field theory to address early universe problems
1981	Andrei Dmitriyevich Linde Physicist	Inflation	Moscow, Russia	Linde develops new inflation as a relativistic early universe model
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	Alexei Alexandrovich Starobinsky Physicist	Inflation	Moscow, Russia	Starobinsky develops an inflationary model from corrections to general relativity
1986	Clifford Martin Will Physicist	Relativity, Theory of	Washington University, United States of America	Will synthesizes experimental tests of general relativity and parameterized post Newtonian theory
1989	Joseph Hooton Taylor Physicist	Binary Pulsar	Princeton, United States of America	Taylor reports precise orbital decay measurements matching general relativitys gravitational wave prediction
20 April 2004	Francis Everitt Physicist	Gravity Probe B	Vandenberg Air Force Base, United States of America	Leads the mission launched to test geodetic precession and frame dragging predicted by general relativity.
2010	Peter Ware Higgs Theoretical Physicist	Higgs Boson	Washington, Great Britain	Shares the J. J. Sakurai Prize for work explaining spontaneous symmetry breaking in relativistic gauge theory.
6 October 2020	Roger Penrose Mathematician	Nobel Prize	Stockholm, Great Britain	Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for showing that black hole formation is a robust prediction of general relativity.

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