Irving Langmuir

Chemist

Birthday January 31, 1881

Birth Sign Aquarius

Birthplace New York

DEATH DATE Aug 16, 1957 (76)

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About

American chemist and physicist who invented the gas-filled incandescent lamp and the hydrogen welding technique while working at General Electric. He received a Nobel Prize in 1932 for his research in surface chemistry.

Before Fame

He attended the Columbia University School of Mines before earning his Ph.D. degree in 1906 under Nobel laureate Walther Nernst in Göttingen.

Trivia

He helped invent the high vacuum tube after doing conducting research on light bulbs and diffusion pumps.

Family Life

He married Marion Mersereau in 1912.

Associated With

He loosely inspired the character Dr. Felix Hoenikker in Kurt Vonnegut's novel 'Cat's Cradle.'