FREEMAN DYSON, BORN 1923
theoretical physicist
Freeman John Dyson was an English-American theoretical physicist and mathematician known for his works in quantum field theory, astrophysics, random matrices, mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, and engineering. He was Professor Emeritus in the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. From 1936 to 1941 Dyson was a scholar at Winchester College, where his father was Director of Music. At the age of 17 he studied pure mathematics at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he won a scholarship at age 15. During this stay, Dyson also practiced night climbing on the university buildings. At the age of 19 he was assigned to war work in the Operational Research Section (ORS) of RAF Bomber Command, where he developed analytical methods for calculating the ideal density for bomber formations to help the Royal Air Force bomb German targets during World War II. After the war, Dyson was readmitted to Trinity College, where he obtained a BA degree in mathematics. From 1946 to 1949 he was a fellow of his college.