Richard Feynman

Birth Name: Richard Phillips Feynman

Date of Birth: May 11, 1918

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, U.S.

Date of Death: February 15, 1988

Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish

Richard Feynman was an American theoretical physicist. One of the most renowned scientists of his time, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1980, along with Julian Schwinger and Shin’ichirō Tomonaga, for their contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics. He was involved in the creation of the atomic bomb during WWII, and is usually credited as having pioneered quantum computing. His work also included the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, and his proposal of the parton model for particle physics. Richard helped popularize physics through books and lectures, including a talk on nanotechnology; and developed the Fenyman diagrams, a pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions describing the behavior of subatomic particles. He was a member of the Rogers Commission in the 1980s, the panel that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. Richard held the Richard C. Tolman professorship in theoretical physics at CalTech.

Richard was the son of Lucille (Phillips) and Melville Arthur Feynman, a sales manager. His father was a Belarusian Jewish immigrant. His mother was born in New York, to a Polish Jewish father and a German Jewish mother. His sister was astrophysicist Joan Feynman. He was married to Arline Greenbaum, until her death, and to English-born Gweneth Howarth, until his death. He had two children with Gweneth.

Richard’s paternal grandfather was named Jacob/Jakob Louis/Lewis Feynman. Jacob was born in Minsk.

Richard’s paternal grandmother was named Anne/Annie/Anna.

Richard’s maternal grandfather was named Henry Phillips.

Richard’s maternal grandmother was named Johanna Helinsky.

Sources: Genealogy of Richard Feyman – https://www.geni.com

Richard Feyman on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org

Death record of Richard’s father – https://www.familysearch.org