The Resume

(August 8, 1901-August 27, 1958)
Born in Canton, South Dakota
Physicist
Invented the cyclotron particle accelerator (1934)
Won the Nobel Prize in Physics (1939)
Namesake for the Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley Labs
Namesake for chemical element 103, lawrencium

Why he might be annoying:

As a child, he set himself on fire playing with matches.
As an undergrad, he flunked courses in electricity and magnetism, which would be the basis for the cyclotron.
He was a constant self-publicist who would greet reports of breakthroughs in the lab with, 'Wonderful. Now how do we take it to the press.'
The organizers of the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair expressed interest in borrowing one of his cyclotrons for a display of atom smashing until he mentioned that loose neutrons could break out and sterilize the spectators.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was incredibly prolific, publishing an average of 3-1/2 scientific papers per year over the period 1924-40.
His first cyclotron used $25 worth of material and could fit in the palm of a man's hand but was already able to accelerate particles to 1% of the speed of light.
He refused to accept royalties on the patent for the cyclotron and helped other labs set up their own.
He played an important role in the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb.
As one of his hobbies, he invented a type of color TV tube that remained in use for decades.
He was an early proponent of using multidisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers for research, with Nobel Laureate Luis Alvarez saying, 'Lawrence will always be remembered as the inventor of the cyclotron, but more importantly, he should be remembered as the inventor of the modern way of doing science.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Scientists
• Breeders [Have 5 or More Kids] (Ranked: 6)
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 45]
• I am Norwegian-American
• I Attended University of Chicago
• I Attended University of Minnesota
• I Attended University of South Dakota
• I Attended Yale
• I Caught on Fire
• I Died in 1958 (Ranked: 57)
• I Earned a Doctorate
• I Got an Element Named After Me
• I Have Colitis/Crohn's Disease
• Inventors
• Manhattan Project
• Nobel Prize for Physics (Ranked: 1939)
• Profiles 33751-34000 (Ranked: 33751)
• Scientists

Year In Review:

In 2022, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 18 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 28 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 52 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying