Charles Hard Townes
1915 – 2015

Charles Hard Townes

20th-century American physicist

nuclear physicistuniversity teacherinventorphysicist
Born
1915-07-28, Greenville
Died
2015-01-27
Birthplace state
South Carolina

Biography

Charles Hard Townes was born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1915 and died in 2015. He worked as a physicist on the theory and application of the maser, obtaining the fundamental patent for it, and conducted other work in quantum electronics involving both maser and laser devices. He shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics with Nikolay Basov and Alexander Prokhorov. Townes served as an adviser to the U.S. Government, meeting every President from Harry S. Truman through Bill Clinton.

Occupation

Charles Hard Townes is recorded as a nuclear physicist, a university teacher, a inventor and a physicist, born in South Carolina (1915–2015).

Connections to South Carolina

Charles Hard Townes was born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1915. Explore other notable figures from South Carolina, historic sites connected to this era, and the full colonial and statehood history of the state using the links below.

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Native Heritage
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More notable figures from South Carolina

Other historical figures born in South Carolina, ranked by historical prominence.

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American Baptist minister, activist, civil rights leader, politician, and founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition (1941–2026)

Frequently asked about Charles Hard Townes

Who was Charles Hard Townes?
Charles Hard Townes was 20th-century American physicist, born in South Carolina (1915 – 2015).
When and where was Charles Hard Townes born?
Charles Hard Townes was born on 1915-07-28 in Greenville.
When did Charles Hard Townes die?
Charles died on 2015-01-27.
What was Charles Hard Townes known for?
Charles Hard Townes is recorded as a nuclear physicist, a university teacher, a inventor and a physicist.
Source

Biographical content adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Source: Wikipedia.

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