Professor Arnold Sommerfeld, c mid-20th century

Arnold Sommerfeld, born 5 December 1868, died 26 April 1951, was a German theoretical physicist who is known for pioneering developments in atomic and quantum physics. Sommerfeld studied mathematics and physical sciences at the Albertina University in Königsberg, East Prussia. He obtained his PhD in 1891, aged 22. Sommerfeld remained at Königsberg, before going to mandatory military service. Sommerfeld then moved in 1893 to the University of Göttingen, the centre of mathematics in Germany at the time. Whilst at Göttingen, he met Johanna Höpfner and married her. From 1906, Sommerfeld worked at the University of Munich, where he worked for 32 years. Many of Sommerfeld's students became accomplished and famous in their own right, with seven achieving Nobel Prizes. Sommerfeld received many honours, including the Max Planck Medal (1931), and became a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (1926). Sommerfeld died in 1951, aged 82, from injuries resulting from a traffic accident when walking.