Born Nov. 17, 1902, in Budapest. American theoretical physicist.

Wigner graduated from the Higher Technical School in Berlin in 1925. He taught there from 1928 to 1930 and then at Princeton University in the USA (professor from 1938). Wigner was one of the first to use the methods of group theory in atomic and nuclear problems. In 1936, together with G. Breit, he proposed a dispersion formula for nuclear reactions. Wigner also wrote fundamental works on the theory of particle dispersion and the theory of solid bodies.

From 1942 to 1945, Wigner took part in the development of the first nuclear reactor in Chicago (Manhattan Project). He wrote several works on the theory of nuclear reactors and the theory of the atomic nucleus. A member of the Atomic Energy Commission of the USA (1952-57 and 1959-64), he received the Atoms for Peace prize in 1960. He was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1963 for his work on the symmetry of the quantum theory.