Bio
Richard Phillips Feynman (1918–1988) was an American theoretical physicist widely regarded as one of the most brilliant and influential scientists of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 (shared with Sin-Itiro Tomonaga and Julian Schwinger) for his foundational work in quantum electrodynamics (QED) — the theory describing how light and matter interact at the quantum level. To make complex calculations manageable, he invented Feynman diagrams, visual shorthand that physicists still use today.
During World War II, Feynman worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, where he became notorious for cracking safes containing classified documents and generally outwitting security — which he wrote about with characteristic wit in his memoirs. After the war he held faculty positions at Cornell and then Caltech, where he remained for the rest of his career.
In 1986, he served on the Rogers Commission investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. His contribution was decisive: in a live televised demonstration, he dipped an O-ring in a glass of ice water to show it lost its resilience at low temperatures — the root cause of the explosion. His famous line in the report: “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled.”
Beyond physics, Feynman became famous for his teaching philosophy and love of learning for its own sake. He believed that if you couldn’t explain something simply, you didn’t truly understand it — the basis of what is now called the Feynman Technique: learn a concept, explain it as if to a child, identify gaps, go back and fill them. He played bongo drums, cracked safes, painted under a pseudonym, and held court in strip clubs working through physics problems. He was, in his own words, a “curious character.”
He died of kidney cancer in February 1988.
Works
Books
- Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman! (1985) — Adventures of a curious character; anecdotes from his life at Los Alamos, MIT, Princeton, Brazil, and beyond. One of the most entertaining science memoirs ever written.
- What Do You Care What Other People Think? (1988) — Sequel memoir; includes the full story of his Challenger investigation.
- The Feynman Lectures on Physics (3 vols., 1963–1965) — Legendary undergraduate physics lectures at Caltech; available free online at feynmanlectures.caltech.edu.
- QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter (1985) — His Nobel-Prize-winning work explained for a general audience. No equations; pure clarity.
- The Character of Physical Law (1965) — Lectures on the nature of physical laws; a masterclass in how a scientist thinks.
- Six Easy Pieces (1994) — Six accessible chapters drawn from the Feynman Lectures covering atoms, energy, gravity, and quantum mechanics.
Films & TV
- Infinity (1996) — Biographical drama starring Matthew Broderick; focuses on Feynman’s early life and his first wife Arline during the Manhattan Project.
- The Challenger Disaster (2013) — BBC/Science Channel TV film starring William Hurt as Feynman, dramatising the Rogers Commission investigation.
- No Ordinary Genius (1993) — Two-part BBC documentary featuring interviews with colleagues, students, and Feynman himself.
Other
- Feynman Lectures on Physics (free online) — The complete Lectures available free from Caltech.
- The Feynman Technique — The four-step learning method derived from his philosophy: study, teach it simply, identify gaps, review and simplify further.
Notes
- The Feynman Technique is the core method discussed in → Feynman’s 15-Minute Trick That Makes Your Brain Absorb Any Language Instantly
- His approach to learning — curiosity-first, simplicity-first — is directly applicable to German acquisition. His advice: don’t memorise, understand.
- He was famously sceptical of credentials and titles — he believed anyone could understand anything if it was explained well enough.