George Eugène Uhlenbeck (1900 - 1988)

Born 6 Dec 1900 in Batavia, Dutch East Indies

Ancestors

Husband of Else Renée (Ophorst) Uhlenbeck — married 23 Aug 1927 in Arnhem, Gelderland, Netherlands

Died 31 Oct 1988 at age 87 in Boulder, Colorado, United States

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Biography

George Uhlenbeck is Notable.

George was born in 1900 in Jakarta, Indonesia.^[1] He was a Dutch-American theoretical physicist and best known a co-discover of electron spin along with Samuel Abraham Goudsmit. He passed away in 1988.^[2][3]

His father, Eugenius Marius Uhlenbeck was born in Java in what was then called the Dutch East Indies but is now Indonesia. In 1893 Eugenius Uhlenbeck, who served in the Dutch East Indian Army, married Anne Marie Beeger who was the daughter of a Dutch major general. Two of their children died of malaria at a very young age but four survived. Of the surviving children George was the second child, with an older sister Annie and two younger brothers Willem Jan and Eugenius Marius.^[4]

In September 1918 George entered the Institute of Technology at Delft to study chemical engineering but the following January transferred to the University of Leiden.^[5] By December 1920, he had passed his candidaat examinations in mathematics and physics and was accepted into the graduate school at Leiden where he attended the lectures of Paul Ehrenfest.^[5] At the end of the semester Ehrenfest asked if there was anyone interested in job as a tudor in Rome and George volunteered. In Rome he was the tutor for the son of the Dutch ambassador. He studied and became fluent in Italian and also comtinued studying physics. He remained in Rome 3 years (coming home for the summer).^[5] When he returned after a summer at home he carried a letter for Enrico Fermi from Professor Ehrenfest with questions inquiring about one Fermi's papers. Uhlenbeck and Fermi became friends. George spoke highly of Ehrenfest which led to Fermi spending a term in Leiden with Ehrenfest. When he returned from Rome, Ehrenfest had another graduate student, Samuel A. Goudsmit, get him up to speed with developments in atomic spectroscopy. Samuel and George had gone to the samehigh school in The Hague. They theorized that based on quantum principlesthat electrons must have two spin values. They submitted a note on this to the journal, Nature.^[6] George to Neils Bohr laboratory to finish his thesis withoutany disctraction. He and Goudsmit both defended their thesis on 7 July 1927 and both had positions at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In August he and Else were married. At the end of the month the Uhlenbecks along with Samuel Goudsmit and his wife left for the United States arriving in New York on 12 September 1927.^[7][8] They were met in New York by Robert Oppenheimer who George had already met in Europe. Uhlenbeck returned to Holland to a professorship at the University of Utrecht.^[5] In mid-September 1938, George sailed from Rotterdam to New York City with his wife, Elise, on a visa; their previous residence was in Utrecht, The Nederlands. [His occupation was listed as professor and his height at 6 feet 3 inches]. ^[9] He was in New York for a six month visa to study in laboratory of physicist Isidor Rabi at Columbia University.^[9] He again returned to the University of Michigan in September1939 as a full professor.^[10] He was elected to the National Academy of Science in 1955.^[11] He stayed at Michigan until 1960 when he joined the The Rockerfeller Institute until he retired in 1971. In 1976 he received the National Medal of Science from President Jimmy Carter.^[12] George passed away in Boulder, Colorado in 1988.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ Military: "U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947"
   National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Wwii Draft Registration Cards For Michigan, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147; Box: 1227
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2238 #268168199 (accessed 8 August 2023)
   Name: George Eugene Uhlenbeck; Gender: Male; Race: White; Age: 41; Relationship to Draftee: Self (Head); Birth Date: 6 Dec 1900; Birth Place: Batavia; Residence Place: Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA; Registration Date: 16 Feb 1942; Registration Place: Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA; Employer: University of Michigan; Height: 6 3; Weight: 170; Complexion: Light; Hair Color: Black; Eye Color: Gray; Next of Kin: E F Barker;
   Household Members (Name) Relationship:
   George Eugene Uhlenbeck Self (Head).
2. ↑ 1988 Newspaper: "Newspapers.com"
   Obituary for George E. Uhlenbeck. Newsday (New York, New York) Fri, Nov 4, 1988, page 43
   Newspapers Clip: 129690604 (accessed 8 August 2023)
3. ↑ Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
   Find A Grave: Memorial #6068709 (accessed 8 August 2023)
   Memorial page for George Eugene Uhlenbeck (6 Dec 1900-31 Oct 1988); Maintained by GravesScribe (contributor 46481285).
4. ↑ https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Uhlenbeck/
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} George Eugene Uhlenbeck 1900 — 1988, A Biographical Memoir by George W. Ford, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 2009. on-line url: https://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/uhlenbeck-george.pdf
6. ↑ G.E. Uhlenbeck and S. Goudsmit. Spinning electrons and the structure of spectra. Nature 117:264-265, 20 Feb 1926; https://doi.org/10.1038/117264a0
7. ↑ Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
   The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #2003706221 (accessed 31 January 2024)
   Name: George Uhlenbeck; Gender: Male; Ethnicity/ Nationality: Hebrew; Marital Status: Married; Age: 28; Birth Date: abt 1899; Birth Place: Java; Other Birth Place: Batavia, Netherlands; Last Known Residence: Hague, Holland; Departure Port: Liverpool, England; Arrival Date: 12 Sep 1927; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Residence Place: Holland, Netherlands; Final Destination: Ann Harbour, Michigan; Years in US: Always; Height: 6 Feet, 2 Inches; Hair Color: Brown; Eye Color: Brown; Complexion: Dark; Person in Old Country: Mr Uhlenbeck; Person in Old Country Relationship: Father; Person in Old Country Residence: The Hague; Father: Uhlenbeck; Ship Name: Baltic.
8. ↑ Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
   The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #2003706219 (accessed 31 January 2024)
   Name: Samuel Goudsmit; Gender: Male; Ethnicity/ Nationality: Hebrew; Marital Status: Married; Age: 25; Birth Date: abt 1902; Birth Place: Holland, Netherlands; Other Birth Place: Hague; Last Known Residence: Hague, Holland; Departure Port: Liverpool, England; Arrival Date: 12 Sep 1927; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Residence Place: Holland, Netherlands; Final Destination: Ann Harbour, Michigan; Years in US: Always; Height: 5 Feet, 7 Inches; Hair Color: Brown; Eye Color: Brown; Complexion: Dark; Person in Old Country: Mr Goudsmit; Person in Old Country Relationship: Father; Person in Old Country Residence: The Hague; Father: Goudsmit; Ship Name: Baltic.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Immigration: "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957"
   citing Affiliate Publication Title: Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957.; Affiliate Publication Number: T715; Digital film/folder number: 004876328; FHL microfilm: 1757961; Image number: 171
   FamilySearch Record: 242X-GVB (accessed 30 January 2024)
   FamilySearch Image: 33S7-95NS-9FX2
   Name: George Uhlenbeck; Immigration Date: 1938; Immigration Place: New York, New York, United States; Birth Date: 1901; Birth Place: Dutch East Indies; Age: 37; Ship: Nieuw Amsterdam; System Of Record: SLS.
10. ↑ Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
    The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957; Microfilm Serial or NAID: T715; RG Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; RG: 85
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #1005437048 (accessed 31 January 2024)
    Name: George Uhlenbeck; Gender: Male; Ethnicity/ Nationality: Dutch; Marital Status: Married; Age: 38; Birth Date: abt 1901; Birth Place: Dutch E India; Other Birth Place: Batavia, Netherlands; Last Known Residence: Utrecht, Holland; Departure Port: Cherbourg,France; Arrival Date: 4 Sep 1939; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Residence Place: Holland, Netherlands; Final Destination: Ann Arbor, Michigan; Years in US: Permanently; Citizenship Intention: Yes; Height: 6 Feet, 3 Inches; Hair Color: Black; Eye Color: Gray; Complexion: Fair; Person in Old Country: A. Uhlenberck; Person in Old Country Relationship: Mother; Person in Old Country Residence: Den Haag Hol.; Person in US: H. Randall; Person in US Relationship: Friend; Mother: A. Uhlenberck; Ship Name: Queen Mary.
11. ↑ https://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/49615.html
12. ↑ https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/medalofscience50/uhlenbeck_g.jsp
13. ↑ * Memorial: Find a Grave (has image)
    Find A Grave: Memorial #6068709 (accessed 31 January 2024)
    Memorial page for George Eugene Uhlenbeck (6 Dec 1900-31 Oct 1988); Maintained by GravesScribe (contributor 46481285). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6068709/george-eugene-uhlenbeck

• 1950 Census: "1950 United States Federal Census"
  National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan; Roll: 3218; Page: 71; Enumeration District: 81-48
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #176497512 (accessed 8 August 2023)
  George E Uhlenbeck (49), married, Physic Teacher, head of household in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw, Michigan, USA. Born in Dutch Endes.
• Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Uhlenbeck
• Wikidata: Item Q315439, en:Wikipedia

* George Eugene Uhlenbeck 1900 — 1988, A Biographical Memoir by George W. Ford, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 2009. on-line url: https://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/uhlenbeck-george.pdf