Herbert A. Hauptman
American mathematician
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“Herbert A. Hauptman.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/herbert-a-hauptman/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
Herbert A. Hauptman. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/herbert-a-hauptman/
“Herbert A. Hauptman.” thisDay. Accessed October 23, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/herbert-a-hauptman/.
Who was Herbert A. Hauptman?
Herbert Aaron Hauptman (February 14, 1917 – October 23, 2011) was an American mathematician and Nobel laureate. Hauptman was born to a Jewish family in New York City, on, the oldest child of Leah (Rosenfeld) and Israel Hauptman. He was interested in science and mathematics from an early age which he pursued at Townsend Harris High School, graduated from the City College of New York (1937) and obtained an M.A. degree in mathematics from Columbia University in 1939. He pioneered and developed a mathematical method that has changed the whole field of chemistry and opened a new era in research in determination of molecular structures of crystallized materials. Today, Hauptman's direct methods, which he continued to improve and refine, are routinely used to solve complicated structures. He was married to Edith Citrynell since November 10, 1940, with two daughters, Barbara (1947) and Carol (1950).
Historical significance
It was the application of this mathematical method to a wide variety of chemical structures that led the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to name Hauptman and Jerome Karle recipients of the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Cite this page
“Herbert A. Hauptman.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/herbert-a-hauptman/. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
Herbert A. Hauptman. (n.d.). thisDay. Retrieved October 23, 2026, from https://thisday.info/people/herbert-a-hauptman/
“Herbert A. Hauptman.” thisDay. Accessed October 23, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/herbert-a-hauptman/.