Biography:Silvan S. Schweber - Revision history

WikiHarold: Place biography table of contents at upper left

2026-05-24T23:03:44Z

Place biography table of contents at upper left

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:03, 24 May 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Short description\|American physicist and historian of science}}		{{Short description\|American physicist and historian of science}}
			<div class="sw-mainpage-toc" style="float:left; width:240px; max-width:24%; margin:0 22px 12px 0;">
			__TOC__
			</div>
	{{Biography page}}		{{Biography page}}

WikiHarold: Add biography overview template

2026-05-24T17:34:56Z

Add biography overview template

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:34, 24 May 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Short description\|American physicist and historian of science}}		{{Short description\|American physicist and historian of science}}
			{{Biography page}}

	{{Infobox scientist		{{Infobox scientist
	\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber

WikiHarold: Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

2026-05-24T12:02:06Z

Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:02, 24 May 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	{{Infobox scientist		{{Infobox scientist
	\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber
			\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg
			\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber
	\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg		\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg
	\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber
Line 33:		Line 35:
	==Selected publications==		==Selected publications==
	* [[Physics:Quantum electrodynamics\|QED]] and the Men Who Made It: [[Biography:Freeman Dyson\|Dyson]], [[Biography:Richard Feynman\|Feynman]], [[Biography:Julian Schwinger\|Schwinger]], and [[Biography:Sin-Itiro Tomonaga\|Tomonaga]] (Princeton University Press, 1994)		* [[Physics:Quantum electrodynamics\|QED]] and the Men Who Made It: [[Biography:Freeman Dyson\|Dyson]], [[Biography:Richard Feynman\|Feynman]], [[Biography:Julian Schwinger\|Schwinger]], and [[Biography:Sin-Itiro Tomonaga\|Tomonaga]] (Princeton University Press, 1994)
	* In the Shadow of the Bomb: [[Biography:J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]], [[Hans Bethe\|Bethe]], and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist (Princeton University Press, 2007)		* In the Shadow of the Bomb: [[Biography:J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]], [[Biography:Hans Bethe\|Bethe]], and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist (Princeton University Press, 2007)
	* [[Biography:Albert Einstein\|Einstein]] and [[Biography:J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]]: The Meaning of Genius (2009)		* [[Biography:Albert Einstein\|Einstein]] and [[Biography:J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]]: The Meaning of Genius (2009)
	* Nuclear Forces: The Making of the Physicist [[Biography:Hans Bethe\|Hans Bethe]] (2012)		* Nuclear Forces: The Making of the Physicist [[Biography:Hans Bethe\|Hans Bethe]] (2012)

WikiHarold: Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

2026-05-24T12:01:44Z

Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:01, 24 May 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	{{Infobox scientist		{{Infobox scientist
	\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber
			\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg
			\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber
	\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg		\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg
	\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber
Line 12:		Line 14:
	}}		}}

	'''Silvan Samuel Schweber''' (10 April 1928 – 14 May 2017) was a French-born American ~~[[Theoretical physics\|~~theoretical physicist]] and [[historian of science]]. He was known for his work on [[relativistic quantum field theory]] and its history, and he was the recipient of the 2011 [[Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics]].		'''Silvan Samuel Schweber''' (10 April 1928 – 14 May 2017) was a French-born American theoretical physicist and historian of science. He was known for his work on [[Physics:Quantum field theory\|relativistic quantum field theory]] and its history, and he was the recipient of the 2011 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics.

	== Early life and education ==		== Early life and education ==
	Schweber was born 10 April 1928, in [[Strasbourg]], France,<ref name="APS">{{cite web\|url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?last_nm=Schweber&first_nm=Silvan&year=2011\|title=2011 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics Recipient\|publisher=American Physical Society\|access-date=20 May 2017}}</ref> to an [[orthodox Jewish]] family. During the [[Second World War]] the family fled first within France and then via Spain, Portugal and Cuba to the United States where they settled in New York in 1942.<ref name="isis" /> In 1944 Schweber began to study chemistry at the [[City College of New York]] and in 1947 moved to the [[University of Pennsylvania]] as a physics major, where he studied with [[Walter Elsasser]] and [[Herbert Jehle]].		Schweber was born 10 April 1928, in Strasbourg, France,<ref name="APS">{{cite web\|url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?last_nm=Schweber&first_nm=Silvan&year=2011\|title=2011 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics Recipient\|publisher=American Physical Society\|access-date=20 May 2017}}</ref> to an orthodox Jewish family. During the Second World War the family fled first within France and then via Spain, Portugal and Cuba to the United States where they settled in New York in 1942.<ref name="isis" /> In 1944 Schweber began to study chemistry at the City College of New York and in 1947 moved to the University of Pennsylvania as a physics major, where he studied with Walter Elsasser and Herbert Jehle.

	After obtaining his master's degree in 1949, he went to [[Princeton University]], where he studied with [[David Bohm]] and [[Eugene Wigner]].<ref name="caltech">{{cite web\|url=http://authors.library.caltech.edu/5456/1/hrst.mit.edu/hrs/materials/public/Schweber_interview.htm\|title=Silvan Sam Schweber interview\|date=27 August 2001\|website=[[Caltech]]\|access-date=20 May 2017\|last1=Hessenbruch\|first1=Arne}}</ref> In 1952 he received his doctorate under [[Arthur Wightman]].<ref name="ndsu">{{~~MathGenealogy~~\|id=21576}}</ref> After that, he was a postdoctoral fellow with [[Hans Bethe]] at [[Cornell University]] and in 1954 at the [[Carnegie Institute of Technology]] in [[Pittsburgh]].		After obtaining his master's degree in 1949, he went to Princeton University, where he studied with [[Biography:David Bohm\|David Bohm]] and [[Biography:Eugene Wigner\|Eugene Wigner]].<ref name="caltech">{{cite web\|url=http://authors.library.caltech.edu/5456/1/hrst.mit.edu/hrs/materials/public/Schweber_interview.htm\|title=Silvan Sam Schweber interview\|date=27 August 2001\|website=[[Caltech]]\|access-date=20 May 2017\|last1=Hessenbruch\|first1=Arne}}</ref> In 1952 he received his doctorate under Arthur Wightman.<ref name="ndsu">{{cite web\|url=https://mathgenealogy.org/id.php?id=21576\|title=Silvan Samuel Schweber\|website=Mathematics Genealogy Project\|access-date=2026-05-24}}</ref> After that, he was a postdoctoral fellow with [[Biography:Hans Bethe\|Hans Bethe]] at Cornell University and in 1954 at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh.

	== Career ==		== Career ==
	From 1955 he was a professor at the newly founded [[Brandeis University]].<ref name="caltech" />		From 1955 he was a professor at the newly founded Brandeis University.<ref name="caltech" />

	He wrote a book on [[relativistic quantum field theory]] published in 1961,<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1owGsfiJcoC\|access-date=12 Feb 2019\|title=Relativistic quantum field theory, Schweber, 1961\|isbn=9780486139609\|last1=Schweber\|first1=Silvan S.\|date=2011-09-12\|publisher=Courier Corporation }}</ref> available in reprint by [[Dover Publications]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://store.doverpublications.com/0486442284.html\|access-date=12 Feb 2019\|title=Dover publications}}</ref>		He wrote a book on [[Physics:Quantum field theory\|relativistic quantum field theory]] published in 1961,<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1owGsfiJcoC\|access-date=12 Feb 2019\|title=Relativistic quantum field theory, Schweber, 1961\|isbn=9780486139609\|last1=Schweber\|first1=Silvan S.\|date=2011-09-12\|publisher=Courier Corporation }}</ref> available in reprint by Dover Publications.<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://store.doverpublications.com/0486442284.html\|access-date=12 Feb 2019\|title=Dover publications}}</ref>

	From 1981 Schweber was a Faculty Associate in the Department of the History of Science at [[Harvard University]].<ref name="isis">{{cite journal \|title=Silvan Samuel Schweber (1928–2017) \|first=Skúli \|last=Sigurdsson \|journal=Isis \|volume=19 \|issue=2 \|pages=370–373 \|date=2019 \|doi=10.1086/703789\|hdl=21.11116/0000-0003-D441-4 \|hdl-access=free }}</ref> He was also a fellow of the [[American Physical Society]], the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] and of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/sylvan-schweber \|title=Sylvan S. Schweber (1928-2017) \|work=harvard.edu \|access-date=2025-01-15}}</ref> In 2011 he was awarded the [[Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics]].<ref name="APS" />		From 1981 Schweber was a Faculty Associate in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University.<ref name="isis">{{cite journal \|title=Silvan Samuel Schweber (1928–2017) \|first=Skúli \|last=Sigurdsson \|journal=Isis \|volume=19 \|issue=2 \|pages=370–373 \|date=2019 \|doi=10.1086/703789\|hdl=21.11116/0000-0003-D441-4 \|hdl-access=free }}</ref> He was also a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/sylvan-schweber \|title=Sylvan S. Schweber (1928-2017) \|work=harvard.edu \|access-date=2025-01-15}}</ref> In 2011 he was awarded the Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics.<ref name="APS" />

	== Death ==		== Death ==
	Schweber died on 14 May 2017 in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.brezniakrodman.com/obituary-archive/silvan-schweber/\|title=Silvan "Sam" Schweber\|work=Brezniak Rodman Funeral Directors \|publisher=Brezniak Rodman\|access-date=20 May 2017 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807192435/https://www.brezniakrodman.com/obituary-archive/silvan-schweber/ \|archive-date= 7 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="physicstoday">{{cite journal \|first1=Peter \|last1=Galison \|first2=David \|last2=Kaiser \|title=Silvan Samuel Schweber \|journal=Physics Today \|volume=71 \|issue=1 \|pages=63–64 \|date=2018 \|doi=10.1063/PT.3.3827\|bibcode=2018PhT....71a..63G }}</ref>		Schweber died on 14 May 2017 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.brezniakrodman.com/obituary-archive/silvan-schweber/\|title=Silvan "Sam" Schweber\|work=Brezniak Rodman Funeral Directors \|publisher=Brezniak Rodman\|access-date=20 May 2017 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807192435/https://www.brezniakrodman.com/obituary-archive/silvan-schweber/ \|archive-date= 7 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="physicstoday">{{cite journal \|first1=Peter \|last1=Galison \|first2=David \|last2=Kaiser \|title=Silvan Samuel Schweber \|journal=Physics Today \|volume=71 \|issue=1 \|pages=63–64 \|date=2018 \|doi=10.1063/PT.3.3827\|bibcode=2018PhT....71a..63G }}</ref>

	==Selected publications==		==Selected publications==
	* [[Quantum ~~Electrodynamics~~\|QED]] and the Men Who Made It: [[Freeman Dyson\|Dyson]], [[Richard Feynman\|Feynman]], [[Julian Schwinger\|Schwinger]], and [[~~Shin'ichirō~~ Tomonaga\|Tomonaga]] (Princeton University Press, 1994)		* [[Physics:Quantum electrodynamics\|QED]] and the Men Who Made It: [[Biography:Freeman Dyson\|Dyson]], [[Biography:Richard Feynman\|Feynman]], [[Biography:Julian Schwinger\|Schwinger]], and [[Biography:Sin-Itiro Tomonaga\|Tomonaga]] (Princeton University Press, 1994)
	* In the Shadow of the Bomb: [[J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]], [[Hans Bethe\|Bethe]], and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist (Princeton University Press, 2007)		* In the Shadow of the Bomb: [[Biography:J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]], [[Hans Bethe\|Bethe]], and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist (Princeton University Press, 2007)
	* [[Albert Einstein\|Einstein]] and [[J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]]: The Meaning of Genius (2009)		* [[Biography:Albert Einstein\|Einstein]] and [[Biography:J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]]: The Meaning of Genius (2009)
	* Nuclear Forces: The Making of the Physicist [[Hans Bethe]] (2012)		* Nuclear Forces: The Making of the Physicist [[Biography:Hans Bethe\|Hans Bethe]] (2012)
	==External links==		==External links==
	* [https://www.brandeis.edu/physics/people/profiles/schweber-silvan.html Faculty website]		* [https://www.brandeis.edu/physics/people/profiles/schweber-silvan.html Faculty website]

WikiHarold: Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

2026-05-24T12:00:37Z

Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:00, 24 May 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	{{Infobox scientist		{{Infobox scientist
	\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber
			\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg
			\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber
	\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg		\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg
	\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber

WikiHarold: Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

2026-05-24T12:00:15Z

Add Physics Today portrait and check biography links

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:00, 24 May 2026
Line 2:		Line 2:
	{{Infobox scientist		{{Infobox scientist
	\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber		\| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber
			\| image = PTO.v71.i1.63_2.f1.jpg
			\| caption = Silvan Samuel Schweber
	\| birth_date = 10 April 1928		\| birth_date = 10 April 1928
	\| death_date = 14 May 2017		\| death_date = 14 May 2017

Harold at 11:56, 24 May 2026

2026-05-24T11:56:21Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:56, 24 May 2026
Line 8:		Line 8:
	}}		}}

	'''Silvan Samuel Schweber''' (10 April 1928 - 14 May 2017) was an American physicist and historian of science.~~<ref name="bio-source">{{Cite web \|title=Silvan S. Schweber \|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvan_S~~.~~_Schweber \|website=Wikipedia \|access-date=2026-05-24}}</ref>~~		'''Silvan Samuel Schweber''' (10 April 1928 – 14 May 2017) was a French-born American [[Theoretical physics\|theoretical physicist]] and [[historian of science]]. He was known for his work on [[relativistic quantum field theory]] and its history, and he was the recipient of the 2011 [[Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics]].

	Schweber ~~is linked through ''QED~~ and the ~~Men Who Made It''~~, ~~a historical account of quantum electrodynamics~~.		== Early life and education ==
			Schweber was born 10 April 1928, in [[Strasbourg]], France,<ref name="APS">{{cite web\|url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?last_nm=Schweber&first_nm=Silvan&year=2011\|title=2011 Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics Recipient\|publisher=American Physical Society\|access-date=20 May 2017}}</ref> to an [[orthodox Jewish]] family. During the [[Second World War]] the family fled first within France and then via Spain, Portugal and Cuba to the United States where they settled in New York in 1942.<ref name="isis" /> In 1944 Schweber began to study chemistry at the [[City College of New York]] and in 1947 moved to the [[University of Pennsylvania]] as a physics major, where he studied with [[Walter Elsasser]] and [[Herbert Jehle]].

	== ~~Selected works~~ ==		After obtaining his master's degree in 1949, he went to [[Princeton University]], where he studied with [[David Bohm]] and [[Eugene Wigner]].<ref name="caltech">{{cite web\|url=http://authors.library.caltech.edu/5456/1/hrst.mit.edu/hrs/materials/public/Schweber_interview.htm\|title=Silvan Sam Schweber interview\|date=27 August 2001\|website=[[Caltech]]\|access-date=20 May 2017\|last1=Hessenbruch\|first1=Arne}}</ref> In 1952 he received his doctorate under [[Arthur Wightman]].<ref name="ndsu">{{MathGenealogy\|id=21576}}</ref> After that, he was a postdoctoral fellow with [[Hans Bethe]] at [[Cornell University]] and in 1954 at the [[Carnegie Institute of Technology]] in [[Pittsburgh]].
	* ''QED and the ~~Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga'' (1994)~~.

	== ~~References~~ ==		== Career ==
	{{~~reflist~~\|3}}		From 1955 he was a professor at the newly founded [[Brandeis University]].<ref name="caltech" />

			He wrote a book on [[relativistic quantum field theory]] published in 1961,<ref>{{cite book\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v1owGsfiJcoC\|access-date=12 Feb 2019\|title=Relativistic quantum field theory, Schweber, 1961\|isbn=9780486139609\|last1=Schweber\|first1=Silvan S.\|date=2011-09-12\|publisher=Courier Corporation }}</ref> available in reprint by [[Dover Publications]].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://store.doverpublications.com/0486442284.html\|access-date=12 Feb 2019\|title=Dover publications}}</ref>

			From 1981 Schweber was a Faculty Associate in the Department of the History of Science at [[Harvard University]].<ref name="isis">{{cite journal \|title=Silvan Samuel Schweber (1928–2017) \|first=Skúli \|last=Sigurdsson \|journal=Isis \|volume=19 \|issue=2 \|pages=370–373 \|date=2019 \|doi=10.1086/703789\|hdl=21.11116/0000-0003-D441-4 \|hdl-access=free }}</ref> He was also a fellow of the [[American Physical Society]], the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] and of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref>{{cite web \|url=https://histsci.fas.harvard.edu/sylvan-schweber \|title=Sylvan S. Schweber (1928-2017) \|work=harvard.edu \|access-date=2025-01-15}}</ref> In 2011 he was awarded the [[Abraham Pais Prize for History of Physics]].<ref name="APS" />

	== ~~External links~~ ==		== Death ==
	* [https://en.~~wikipedia~~.~~org~~/~~wiki~~/~~Silvan_S._Schweber~~ Silvan S. Schweber]		Schweber died on 14 May 2017 in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.brezniakrodman.com/obituary-archive/silvan-schweber/\|title=Silvan "Sam" Schweber\|work=Brezniak Rodman Funeral Directors \|publisher=Brezniak Rodman\|access-date=20 May 2017 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807192435/https://www.brezniakrodman.com/obituary-archive/silvan-schweber/ \|archive-date= 7 August 2017}}</ref><ref name="physicstoday">{{cite journal \|first1=Peter \|last1=Galison \|first2=David \|last2=Kaiser \|title=Silvan Samuel Schweber \|journal=Physics Today \|volume=71 \|issue=1 \|pages=63–64 \|date=2018 \|doi=10.1063/PT.3.3827\|bibcode=2018PhT....71a..63G }}</ref>
	* [https://~~projects~~.iq.~~harvard.edu~~/~~sites~~/~~projects~~.iq.~~harvard.edu~~/~~files~~/~~andrewhsmith~~/~~files~~/~~galison_and_kaiser_-_2018_-_silvan_samuel_schweber.pdf~~ Silvan Samuel Schweber]

			==Selected publications==
			* [[Quantum Electrodynamics\|QED]] and the Men Who Made It: [[Freeman Dyson\|Dyson]], [[Richard Feynman\|Feynman]], [[Julian Schwinger\|Schwinger]], and [[Shin'ichirō Tomonaga\|Tomonaga]] (Princeton University Press, 1994)
			* In the Shadow of the Bomb: [[J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]], [[Hans Bethe\|Bethe]], and the Moral Responsibility of the Scientist (Princeton University Press, 2007)
			* [[Albert Einstein\|Einstein]] and [[J. Robert Oppenheimer\|Oppenheimer]]: The Meaning of Genius (2009)
			* Nuclear Forces: The Making of the Physicist [[Hans Bethe]] (2012)
			==External links==
			* [https://www.brandeis.edu/physics/people/profiles/schweber-silvan.html Faculty website]
			[https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/andrewhsmith/files/galison_and_kaiser_-_2018_-_silvan_samuel_schweber.pdf Silvan Samuel Schweber]
			=References=
			{{reflist\|3}}
	{{Author\|Harold Foppele}}		{{Author\|Harold Foppele}}

WikiHarold: Create QFT author biography

2026-05-24T11:40:54Z

Create QFT author biography

New page

{{Short description|American physicist and historian of science}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Silvan Samuel Schweber
| birth_date = 10 April 1928
| death_date = 14 May 2017
| fields = Physics; history of science
| known_for = History of quantum electrodynamics
}}

'''Silvan Samuel Schweber''' (10 April 1928 - 14 May 2017) was an American physicist and historian of science.<ref name="bio-source">{{Cite web |title=Silvan S. Schweber |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvan_S._Schweber |website=Wikipedia |access-date=2026-05-24}}</ref>

Schweber is linked through ''QED and the Men Who Made It'', a historical account of quantum electrodynamics.

== Selected works ==
* ''QED and the Men Who Made It: Dyson, Feynman, Schwinger, and Tomonaga'' (1994).

== References ==
{{reflist|3}}

== External links ==
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvan_S._Schweber Silvan S. Schweber]
* [https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/sites/projects.iq.harvard.edu/files/andrewhsmith/files/galison_and_kaiser_-_2018_-_silvan_samuel_schweber.pdf Silvan Samuel Schweber]

{{Author|Harold Foppele}}