Max Born was a German-born physicist who emerged as one of the most influential theoretical physicists of the 20th century. Born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) on December 11, 1882, he earned his doctorate from the University of Göttingen in 1907 under the supervision of mathematician Felix Klein. Following service in the German military during World War I, he established himself as a leading academic with professorships at the Universities of Frankfurt and Göttingen, where he cultivated a renowned school of theoretical physics. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Born was compelled to leave Germany due to his Jewish heritage, relocating to the United Kingdom where he accepted a professorship at the University of Edinburgh and subsequently became a British citizen in 1939.
Born's most significant scientific contribution was his statistical interpretation of the wave function, which he formulated in 1926, establishing that the square of the wave function represents a probability density for finding particles at specific locations. Working collaboratively with Werner Heisenberg and Pascual Jordan, he developed the mathematical formalism of matrix mechanics, one of the two equivalent formulations of quantum theory that emerged in the mid-1920s. His rigorous interpretation provided the essential framework for understanding quantum phenomena, resolving critical questions about the physical meaning of Schrödinger's wave equation that had perplexed the physics community. Additionally, his theoretical work on crystal lattice dynamics documented in "Dynamik der Kristallgitter" and his contributions to optics, later formalized in the seminal textbook "Principles of Optics" with Emil Wolf, established foundational frameworks that continue to influence multiple branches of physics.
Though initially controversial and opposed by physicists like Einstein who famously rejected its probabilistic nature, Born's interpretation ultimately became the standard Copenhagen interpretation accepted by the physics community. His leadership at Göttingen nurtured a generation of brilliant physicists including Heisenberg, Pauli, and Jordan, profoundly shaping the development of quantum theory during its formative years. In 1954, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his statistical interpretation of the wave function, sharing the honor with Walther Bothe after decades of recognition delays despite the profound impact of his work. Born's theoretical frameworks remain fundamental to quantum mechanics education and research worldwide, with his probabilistic interpretation considered one of the most profound conceptual shifts in modern physics, cementing his legacy as a cornerstone figure in the quantum revolution that continues to influence scientific thought and technological advancement.
