1898-1974

Astrophysicist and rocket scientist. Born in Varna, Bulgaria, to Swiss parents, and grew up in Canton Glarus. Studied physics at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, where one of his teachers was Auguste Piccard, inventor of the bathyscape, and grandfather of round-the-world balloonist Bertrand Piccard. He moved to the California Institue of Technology in 1925, where he switched his interest from quantum mechanics to astrophysics. He is best known for his contributions to the understanding of supernovas. In 1934 he predicted the existence of neutron stars. He also compiled a list of galaxies and galaxy clusters. Although he spend the whole of his teaching career in the US he never took US citizenship. He died in Pasadena, but is buried in Mollis, the Swiss village where he grew up.