John Hasbrouck Van Vleck

American physicist and mathematician

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John Hasbrouck Van Vleck

Overview

Legacy

degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1920, before earning his Ph.D.

Legacy

at Harvard University in 1922 under the supervision of Edwin C. Kemble.

Who was John Hasbrouck Van Vleck?

John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (; March 13, 1899 – October 27, 1980) was an American physicist and mathematician who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977 for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electronic magnetism in solids. John Hasbrouck Van Vleck was born, to mathematician Edward Burr Van Vleck and Hester L. Raymond in Middletown, Connecticut, while his father was an assistant professor at Wesleyan University, and where his grandfather, astronomer John Monroe Van Vleck, was also a professor. He grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and received an A.B. degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1920, before earning his Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1922 under the supervision of Edwin C. Kemble. He joined the University of Minnesota as an assistant professor in 1923, then moved to the University of Wisconsin before settling at Harvard.

Van Vleck (left) receives the Lorentz Medal from Hendrik Brugt Gerhard Casimir at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, 1974.
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Historical significance

He also earned Honorary D. Sc., or D. Honoris Causa, degree from Wesleyan University in 1936. He shared the Prize with Philip W. Anderson and Nevill Mott.

Van Vleck's grave (back right) at Forest Hill Cemetery
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“John Hasbrouck Van Vleck.” thisDay, thisday.info/people/john-hasbrouck-van-vleck/. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

APA

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Chicago

“John Hasbrouck Van Vleck.” thisDay. Accessed October 27, 2026. https://thisday.info/people/john-hasbrouck-van-vleck/.