{{Short description|German physicist (1879–1960)}} {{redirect|Laue|the German politician|Lena-Sophie Laue|the historian|Theodore H. Von Laue}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Max von Laue | image = Max von Laue 1914.jpg | caption = Laue in 1929 | birth_name = Max Theodor Felix Laue | birth_date = {{Birth date|1879|10|09|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Koblenz|Pfaffendorf]], German Empire | death_date = {{Death date and age|1960|04|24|1879|10|09|df=yes}} | death_place = [[West Berlin]], West Germany | resting_place = [[Stadtfriedhof]], Göttingen | education = {{Plainlist| * [[Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin]] <br/> ({{Abbr|grad.|graduated}} 1903) * [[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München]] <br/> ({{Abbr|grad.|graduated}} 1906)}} | known_for = {{Plainlist| * [[X-ray diffraction]] * [[Laue equations]] * [[Stress–energy tensor]]}} | spouse = {{Marriage|Magdalene Degen|1910}} | children = 2, including [[Theodore H. Von Laue]] | awards = {{Plainlist| * [[Matteucci Medal]] (1914) * [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] (1914) * [[Max Planck Medal]] (1932)}} | fields = [[Physics]] | work_institutions = {{Plainlist| * [[Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin]] * [[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München]] * [[University of Zurich]] * [[University of Frankfurt am Main]]}} | thesis_title = Über die Interferenzerscheinungen an planparallelen Platten | thesis_url = https://zenodo.org/records/1952106 | thesis_year = 1903 | doctoral_advisor = [[Max Planck]] | academic_advisors = [[Arnold Sommerfeld]] | doctoral_students = {{Plainlist| * [[Friedrich Beck]]<ref name=PhysicsTree>{{Cite web|title=Max von Laue - Physics Tree|url=https://academictree.org/physics/peopleinfo.php?pid=53753|website=academictree.org|access-date=2025-09-07}}</ref> * [[Karl-Otto Kiepenheuer]]<ref name=MGP/> * [[Nikhil Ranjan Sen]]<ref name=MGP>{{Cite web|title=Max von Laue|url=https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=44139|work=[[Mathematics Genealogy Project]]|publisher=North Dakota State University|access-date=2025-05-30}}</ref> * [[Leo Szilard]]}} | notable_students = {{Plainlist| * [[Johannes Geiss]]<ref name=PhysicsTree/> * [[Maurice Goldhaber]]<ref name=PhysicsTree/> * [[Karl Herzfeld]]<ref name=PhysicsTree/> * [[Fritz London]] * [[Werner Reichardt]]<ref name=PhysicsTree/> * [[Eugene Wigner]]<ref name=PhysicsTree/>}} }}
'''Max Theodor Felix von Laue''' ({{IPA|de|maks fɔn ˈlaʊ̯ə|lang|De-Max von Laue.ogg}}; 9 October 1879 – 24 April 1960) was a German [[physicist]] who received the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] in 1914 "for his discovery of the [[X-ray diffraction|diffraction of X-rays]] by crystals."<ref name="Stoddart">{{cite journal |last1=Stoddart |first1=Charlotte |title=Structural biology: How proteins got their close-up |journal=Knowable Magazine |date=1 March 2022 |doi=10.1146/knowable-022822-1|doi-access=free |url=https://knowablemagazine.org/article/living-world/2022/structural-biology-how-proteins-got-their-closeup |access-date=25 March 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
In addition to his scientific endeavors with contributions in [[optics]], [[crystallography]], [[Quantum mechanics|quantum theory]], [[superconductivity]], and the [[theory of relativity]], Laue had a number of administrative positions which advanced and guided [[Science and technology in Germany|German scientific research and development]] during four decades. A strong objector to [[Nazism]], he was instrumental in re-establishing and organizing German science after [[World War II]].
== Education == Max Theodor Felix Laue was born on 9 October 1879 in Pfaffendorf (now part of [[Koblenz]]), Germany, the son of Julius Laue and Minna Zerrenner. In 1898, after passing his ''[[Abitur]]'', Laue did one year of military service, after which he started to study mathematics, physics, and chemistry at the [[University of Strassburg]]. He then went to the [[University of Göttingen]], where he was greatly influenced by [[Woldemar Voigt]] and [[Max Abraham]]. In 1902, after one semester at the [[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München]], Laue went to the [[Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin]], where he studied under [[Max Planck]], who gave birth to the [[Old quantum theory|quantum theory]] revolution on 14 December 1900, when he delivered his famous paper before the [[German Physical Society]].<ref>[[Bartel Leendert van der Waerden|Waerden, B. L. van der]] (ed.) (1968) [https://archive.org/details/SourcesOfQuantumMechanics ''Sources of Quantum Mechanics'']. Dover. {{ISBN|0-486-45892-X}}. p. 1.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Planck, Max|year=1900|url=http://www.christoph.mettenheim.de/planck-energieverteilung.pdf|title=Zur Theorie des Gesetzes der Energieverteilung im Normalspektrum|journal=Verhandlungen der Deutschen Physikalischen Gesellschaft|volume=2|pages=237–245|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150807054128/http://www.christoph.mettenheim.de/planck-energieverteilung.pdf|archive-date=7 August 2015}} Cited in Hans Kango, editor, and translated by D. ter Haar and Stephen G. Bush ''Planck's Original Papers in Quantum Physics: German and English Edition'' (Taylor and Francis, 1972) p. 60.</ref>
At the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin, Laue attended lectures by [[Otto Lummer]] on [[heat radiation]] and interference spectroscopy, the influence of which can be seen in Laue's thesis on [[Wave interference|interference]] phenomena in plane-parallel plates, for which he received his [[Ph.D.]] in 1903.<ref>[http://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/html/id.phtml?id=44139 Max von Laue] – Mathematics Genealogy Project. Max von Laue, Ph.D., Universität Berlin, 1903, Dissertation title: ''Über die Interferenzerscheinungen an planparallelen Platten''.</ref> In 1906, he completed his [[habilitation]]<ref>Habilitation title: "Über die Entropie von interferierenden Strahlenbündeln"</ref> under [[Arnold Sommerfeld]] at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.<ref>[[#Walker|Walker]], p. 73</ref><ref name="american philosophical society">[http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/ahqp/ Max von Laue] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205234854/http://www.amphilsoc.org/library/guides/ahqp/ |date=5 February 2007 }} – American Philosophical Society Author Catalog</ref><ref name="nobel bio">[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1914/laue-bio.html Max von Laue] – Nobel Prize Biography</ref><ref name="Hentschel F Laue">Hentschel, 1996, Appendix F, see entry for Max von Laue.</ref><ref name=deutsches>[http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/LaueMax/ Max von Laue Biography] – Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin</ref>
== Career and research == In 1906, Laue became a ''[[Privatdozent]]'' at the [[University of Berlin]]. There, he met [[Albert Einstein]] for the first time; their friendship contributed to the acceptance and development of Einstein's [[theory of relativity]]. At the University of Berlin, he worked on the application of entropy to radiation fields and on the thermodynamic significance of the coherence of light waves.<ref name="nobel bio"/><ref name=deutsches/>
In 1909, Laue became a ''Privatdozent'' at the [[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München]]. During the 1911 Christmas recess and in January 1912, [[Paul Peter Ewald]] was finishing the writing of his doctoral thesis under [[Arnold Sommerfeld]]. It was on a walk through the ''[[Englischer Garten]]'' (English Garden) in Munich in January, that Ewald told Laue about his thesis topic. The [[wavelength]]s of concern to Ewald were in the visible region of the spectrum and hence much larger than the spacing between the resonators in [[Ewald's sphere|Ewald's crystal model]]. He seemed distracted and wanted to know what would be the effect if much smaller wavelengths were considered. In June, Sommerfeld reported to the Physical Society of Göttingen on the successful [[X-ray diffraction|diffraction of X-rays]] by Laue, Paul Knipping, and [[Walter Friedrich]] at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, which earned Laue the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] in 1914. While at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, he wrote the first volume of his book on relativity from 1910 to 1911.<ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/><ref name=deutsches/><ref name=Ewald/><ref name=Jungnickel/>
[[File:Interferenz-Erscheinungen_bei_Röntgenstrahlen_Tafel_II_Fig._5.jpg|thumb|One of the zincblende X-ray interference patterns published in Laue's 1912 paper.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = Friedrich W, Knipping P, von Laue M |date=1912|title=Interferenz-Erscheinungen bei Röntgenstrahlen|trans-work=Interference phenomena in X-rays|journal=Sitzungsberichte der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Classe der Königlich-Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München|volume=1912|page=303|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interferenz-Erscheinungen_bei_Röntgenstrahlen.pdf}}</ref>]]
In 1912, Laue became Professor of Physics at the [[University of Zurich]], and in 1914 was appointed Ordinarius Professor of Theoretical Physics at the [[University of Frankfurt am Main]]. From 1916, he was engaged in [[vacuum tube]] development at the [[University of Würzburg]] for use in military [[telephony]] and [[wireless communication]].<ref name="american philosophical society"/><ref name="nobel bio"/><ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/><ref name=deutsches/>
From 1919 to 1943, Laue was Ordinarius Professor of Physics at the University of Berlin, where in 1919 other notables were [[Walther Nernst]], [[Fritz Haber]], and [[James Franck]]. Laue, as one of the organizers of the weekly Berlin Physics Colloquium, typically sat in the front row with Nernst and Einstein, who would come over from the [[Max Planck Institute for Physics|Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics]] (KWIP) in [[Dahlem (Berlin)|Berlin-Dahlem]], of which he was the director. Among his students at the university were [[Leó Szilárd]] and [[Fritz London]]. Laue published the second volume of his book on relativity in 1921.<ref name="american philosophical society"/><ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/><ref>[http://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/html/id.phtml?id=44139 Max von Laue] – Mathematics Genealogy Project</ref><ref name=Lanouette/>
As a consultant to the [[Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt]] (PTR), Laue met [[Walther Meissner]], who was working there on [[superconductivity]]. Meissner had discovered that a weak magnetic field decays rapidly to zero in the interior of a superconductor, which is known as the [[Meissner effect]]. In 1932, he showed that the threshold of the applied magnetic field which destroys superconductivity varies with the shape of the body. He published a total of 12 papers and a book on superconductivity. One of the papers was co-authored with brothers [[Fritz London|Fritz]] and [[Heinz London]].<ref name="nobel bio"/><ref name="development">{{cite web |last1=von Laue |first1=Max |title=My Development as a Physicist; AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY |url=http://www.iucr.org/publ/50yearsofxraydiffraction/full-text/von-laue |website=International Union of CRYSTALLOGRAPHY }}</ref><ref>[http://www.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/paf/paf24.html Max von Laue Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621082948/http://www.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/paf/paf24.html |date=21 June 2008 }} – University of Frankfurt am Main</ref><ref>[http://www.phy.duke.edu/people/FritzLondon/publications.ptml Fritz London Publications] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612174703/http://www.phy.duke.edu/people/FritzLondon/publications.ptml |date=12 June 2007 }} – [[Duke University]]</ref> Meissner published a biography on him in 1960.<ref name=Meissner/>
The [[Kaiser Wilhelm Society]] was founded in 1911; its purpose was to promote the sciences by founding and maintaining research institutes. One such institute was the KWIP founded in 1914, with Einstein as its director. Laue was a trustee of the KWIP from 1917, and in 1922 he was appointed deputy director, whereupon he took over the administrative duties from Einstein. Einstein was traveling abroad when [[Adolf Hitler]] became Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, and Einstein did not return. He then became acting director of the KWIP, a position he held until 1946 or 1948, except for the period 1935–1939, when [[Peter Debye]] was director. In 1943, to avoid casualties to the personnel, the KWIP moved to [[Hechingen]]. It was at Hechingen that he wrote his book on the history of physics, ''Geschichte der Physik'', which was eventually translated into seven other languages.<ref name="nobel bio"/><ref>Hentschel, 1966, Appendix F, see entries for von Laue and Debye.</ref><ref>Hentschel, 1966, Appendix A, see entries for KWG and KWIP.</ref>
=== Opposition to Nazism === Laue opposed [[Nazism]] in general, and ''[[Deutsche Physik]]'' in particular; the former persecuted the [[Jews]], and the latter, among other things, put down the [[theory of relativity]] as "Jewish physics", which he saw as ridiculous: "science has no race or religion". He and his close friend, [[Otto Hahn]], secretly helped scientific colleagues persecuted by Nazi policies to emigrate from Germany. He also openly opposed [[antisemitism]]. An address on 18 September 1933 at the opening of the physics convention in [[Würzburg]], opposition to [[Johannes Stark]], an obituary note on [[Fritz Haber]] in 1934, and attendance at a commemoration for Haber are examples that clearly illustrate Laue's open opposition that earned him multiple government reprimands. * Laue, as Chairman of the [[German Physical Society]], gave the opening address at the 1933 physics convention. In it, he compared the [[persecution of Galileo]] and the oppression of his scientific views on the solar theory of [[Copernicus]] to the then conflict and persecution over the theory of relativity by the proponents of ''Deutsche Physik'', against the work of Einstein, labeled "Jewish physics." * Stark, who had received the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] in 1919, wished to become the ''[[Führer]]'' of German physics and was a proponent of ''Deutsche Physik''. Against the unanimous advice of those consulted, Stark was appointed President of the PTR in May 1933. However, Laue successfully blocked Stark's regular membership in the [[Prussian Academy of Sciences]]. * Haber received the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] in 1918. In spite of this and his many other contributions to Germany, he was forced to emigrate from Germany as a result of the [[Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service]], which removed Jews from their jobs. Laue's obituary note<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1007/BF01495380| title = Fritz Haber| journal = Die Naturwissenschaften| volume = 22| issue = 7| pages = 97| year = 1934| last1 = Laue | first1 = M.|bibcode = 1934NW.....22...97V | s2cid = 39353745}}</ref> praising Haber and comparing his forced emigration to the expulsion of [[Themistocles]] from Athens was a direct affront to National Socialism. * In connection with Haber; Max Planck, Otto Hahn, and Laue organized a commemoration event held in Berlin-Dahlem on 29 January 1935, the first anniversary of Haber's death – attendance at the event by professors in the civil service had been expressly forbidden by the government. While many scientific and technical personnel were represented at the memorial by their wives, Laue and Wolfgang Heubner were the only two professors to attend.<ref>Hentschel, 1996, Document #29, pp. 76–78: See Footnote #3.</ref><ref>Hentschel, 1996, Document #120, pp. 400–402: A letter from [[Lise Meitner]] to [[Otto Hahn]].</ref> This was yet another blatant demonstration of Laue's opposition to National Socialism. The date of the first anniversary of Haber's death was also one day before the second anniversary of National Socialism seizing power in Germany, thus further increasing the affront given by holding the event.
In particular, the struggle between Laue and Planck regarding the Nazi takeover of the Prussian Academy of Sciences has been extensively documented.<ref name=development/><ref>[[#Walker|Walker]], pp. 65–122</ref><ref>Hentschel, 1966, Appendix F, see entries for Max von Laue, Johannes Stark, and Fritz Haber.</ref><ref>Hentschel, 1966, Appendix A, see entry for the DFG.</ref><ref name=Heilbron/><ref name=Beyerchen/> Ultimately, in response to Laue blocking Stark's regular membership in the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Stark had Laue sacked from his position as advisor to the PTR in December 1933, which Laue had held since 1925.
In a commonly reported anecdote Laue is supposed to have carried parcels in his hands when exiting his house, so to avoid having to give the [[Nazi salute|Nazi Salute]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Coffey|first=Patrick|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UQt6glJEiGsC&q=max+von+laue+hitler+salute&pg=PA165|title=Cathedrals of Science: The Personalities and Rivalries That Made Modern Chemistry|date=29 August 2008|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-971746-0|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Medawar|first1=Jean|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jv4mAgAAQBAJ&q=max+von+laue+nazi+salute&pg=PT199|title=Hitler's Gift: The True Story of the Scientists Expelled by the Nazi Regime|last2=Pyke|first2=David|date=12 January 2012|publisher=Skyhorse|isbn=978-1-61145-964-7|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Hobsbawm|first=Eric|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99DADwAAQBAJ|title=The Age Of Extremes: 1914-1991|date=6 February 2020|publisher=Little, Brown Book Group|isbn=978-0-349-14439-9|language=en}}</ref>
=== Hidden Nobel Prize === When Germany [[Operation Weserübung|invaded Denmark]] in [[World War II]], the Hungarian chemist [[George de Hevesy]] dissolved the [[Nobel Prize]] gold medals of Laue and [[James Franck]] in [[aqua regia]] to prevent the Nazis from discovering them. At the time, it was illegal to take gold out of the country, and if it had been discovered that Laue had done so, he could have faced prosecution in Germany. Hevesy placed the resulting solution on a shelf in his laboratory at the [[Niels Bohr Institute]]. After the war, he returned to find the solution undisturbed and precipitated the gold out of the acid. The Nobel Society then re-cast the Nobel Prize gold medals, using the original gold.<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/adventuresinradi01heve#page/27/mode/1up/search/medals Adventures in radioisotope research – the collected papers of George Hevesy], 1962, Pergamon Press, New York</ref>
=== Post-war === On 23 April 1945, French troops entered Hechingen, followed the next day by a contingent of [[Operation Alsos]]—an operation to investigate the German nuclear energy effort, seize equipment, and prevent German scientists from being captured by the Soviets. The scientific advisor to the Operation was the Dutch-American physicist [[Samuel Goudsmit]], who, adorned with a steel helmet, appeared at Laue's home. Laue was taken into custody and taken to Huntingdon, England, and interned at [[Farm Hall]] with other scientists thought to be involved in nuclear research and development.<ref name=development/>
While incarcerated, Laue was a reminder to the other detainees that one could survive the Nazi reign without having "compromised"; this alienated him from others being detained.<ref name=Bernstein/> During his incarceration, he wrote a paper on the absorption of [[X-ray]]s under interference conditions, which it was later published in ''Acta Crystallographica''.<ref name=development/> On 2 October 1945, Laue, [[Otto Hahn]], and [[Werner Heisenberg]], were taken to meet with [[Henry Hallett Dale]], President of the [[Royal Society]], and other members of the society. There, he was invited to attend the 9 November 1945 Royal Society meeting in memory of the German physicist [[Wilhelm Röntgen]], who discovered X-rays; however, permission was not forthcoming from the military authorities detaining him.<ref name=development/>
In early 1946, Laue returned to Germany, where he went back to being acting director of the KWIP, which had been moved to Göttingen. The same year, the Kaiser Wilhelm Society became the [[Max Planck Society]], and the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics was renamed the [[Max Planck Institute for Physics]]. He also became an adjunct professor at the [[University of Göttingen]]. In addition to his administrative and teaching responsibilities, he wrote his book on superconductivity, ''Theorie der Supraleitung'', and revised his books on [[electron diffraction]], ''Materiewellen und ihre Interferenzen'', and the first volume of his two-volume book on relativity.<ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/><ref name=development/><ref name="Hentschel 1996">Hentschel, 1996, Appendix A, see entries on KWG and KWIP.</ref>
In July 1946, Laue went back to England, only four months after having been interned there, to attend an international conference on crystallography. This was a distinct honor, as he was the only German invited to attend. He was extended many courtesies by the British officer who escorted him there and back, and a well-known English crystallographer as his host; Laue was even allowed to wander around London on his own.<ref name=development/>
After the war, there was much to be done in re-establishing and organizing German scientific endeavors. Laue participated in some key roles; in 1946, he initiated the founding of the German Physical Society in only the [[British Occupation Zone]], as the [[Allied Control Council]] would not initially allow organizations across occupation zone boundaries. During the war, the PTR had been dispersed; Laue, from 1946 to 1948, worked on its reunification across three zones and its location at new facilities in [[Braunschweig]]. Additionally, it took on a new name as the [[Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt]], but administration was not taken over by Germany until after the formation of [[West Germany]] on 23 May 1949. In 1948, the President of the [[American Physical Society]] asked Laue to report on the status of physics in Germany; his report was published in 1949 in the ''[[American Journal of Physics]]''.<ref name=report/> In 1950, he participated in the creation of the Verband Deutscher Physikalischer Gesellschaften, formerly affiliated under the Nordwestdeutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.<ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/><ref name=development/><ref name="Hentschel 1996"/>
In April 1951, Laue became Director of the Max-Planck-Institut für physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie, a position he held until 1959. In 1953, at the request of Laue, the institute was renamed the Fritz-Haber-Institut für physikalische Chemie und Elektrochemie der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft.<ref name=development/><ref>Hentschel, 1996, Appendix A, see entry on KWIPC.</ref>
== Personal life and death == [[File:Grave of Max von Laue at Stadtfriedhof Göttingen 2017 01.jpg|thumb|Laue's grave in the [[Stadtfriedhof]].]]
It was in 1913 that Laue's father, Julius Laue, a civil servant in the military administration, was raised into the ranks of hereditary [[German nobility|nobility]], thus he became '''Max von Laue'''.<ref name=deutsches/> In 1910, Laue married Magdalene Degen, with whom he had two children.<ref name=deutsches/> Their son, [[Theodore H. Von Laue|Theodor]] (1916–2000), went to the United States in 1937, and received his B.A. and Ph.D. from [[Princeton University]]. After his service in the U.S. Army, Theodor taught modern history as a professor at various U.S. universities.<ref>[[Andreas Daum]], [[Hartmut Lehmann]], [[James J. Sheehan]] (eds.), ''The Second Generation: Émigrés from Nazi Germany as Historians. With a Biobibliographic Guide''. New York: Berghahn Books, 2016, {{ISBN|978-1-78238-985-9}} 12, 22, 24, 29, 34, 36, 403‒4 (including a short biography and bibliography of his works).</ref>
Among Laue's chief recreational activities were mountaineering, motoring in his automobile, motor-biking, sailing, and skiing. While not a mountain climber, he did enjoy hiking on the [[Alps|Alpine]] glaciers with his friends.<ref name="nobel bio"/>
On 8 April 1960, while Laue was driving to his laboratory in [[West Berlin]], his car was struck by a motorcyclist, who had received his license only two days earlier. The motorcyclist was killed and Laue's car was overturned. He died from his injuries sixteen days later on 24 April at the age of 80.<ref name="nobel bio"/> He had asked that his [[epitaph]] should read that he had died trusting firmly in [[God's mercy]].<ref>[https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1914/laue-bio.html Max von Laue: Biographical] The Nobel Prize in Physics 1914. Nobel Foundation.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1098/rsbm.1960.0028 | doi-access = free| title = Max von Laue 1879-1960| journal = [[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]]| volume = 6| pages = 134–156| year = 1960| last1 = Ewald | first1 = P. P. | s2cid = 71307727| author-link1 = Paul Peter Ewald}}</ref><ref>Magill, Frank Northen (1989) ''The Nobel Prize Winners'', Salem Press. {{ISBN|0-89356-559-8}}. p. 198</ref> He is buried in the [[Stadtfriedhof]] in [[Göttingen]].
== Organizations == * 1919: Corresponding member of the [[Prussian Academy of Sciences]]<ref name=deutsches/> * 1921: Regular member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences<ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/> * From 1921: Chairman of the physics commission of the [[Notgemeinschaft der Deutschen Wissenschaft]] (Renamed in 1937: Deutsche Gemeinschaft zur Erhaltung und Förderun der Forschung. No longer active by 1945.)<ref>Hentschel, 1966, Appendix A, see entry for NG.</ref> * From 1922: Member of the Board of Trustees of the [[Astrophysical Institute Potsdam#Foundation of the Astrophysical Observatory Potsdam .28AOP.29|Potsdam Astrophysics Observatory]]<ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/> * 1925 – 1933: Advisor to the [[Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt]] (Today: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt).<ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/> Laue had been sacked in 1933 from his advisory position by Johannes Stark, Nobel Prize recipient and President of the Physikalisch-Technische Reichsanstalt, in retribution for Laue's open opposition to the Nazis by blocking Stark's regular membership in the Prussian Academy of Sciences. * 1931 – 1933: Chairman of the [[Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft]]<ref name="Hentschel F Laue"/>
== Recognition == === Awards === {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Organization ! Award ! Citation ! {{Reference column heading}} |- | 1914 | {{Flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} [[Accademia dei XL]] | [[Matteucci Medal]] | align=center | — | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Medaglie|url=https://www.accademiaxl.it/attivita/medaglie/|website=www.accademiaxl.it|language=it|access-date=2025-11-04}}</ref> |- | 1914 | {{Flagicon|Sweden}} [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]] | [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] | "For his discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals." | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Nobel Prize in Physics 1914|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1914/summary/|url-status=live|publisher=[[Nobel Foundation]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915195235/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1914/index.html |archive-date=2008-09-15|access-date=2008-10-09}}</ref> |- | 1932 | {{Flagicon|Weimar Republic}} [[German Physical Society]] | [[Max Planck Medal]] | align=center | — | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Preisträgerinnen und Preisträger|url=https://www.dpg-physik.de/auszeichnungen/dpg-preise/max-planck-medaille/preistraeger|url-status=live|website=www.dpg-physik.de|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251009202127/https://www.dpg-physik.de/auszeichnungen/dpg-preise/max-planck-medaille/preistraeger|archive-date=2025-10-09|access-date=2021-03-23}}</ref> |}
=== Memberships === {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Organization ! Type ! {{Reference column heading}} |- | 1924 | {{Flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} [[Accademia dei Lincei]] | Foreign Member | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Laue (von), Max|url=https://www.lincei.it/it/socio/laue-von-max|website=www.lincei.it|language=it|access-date=2026-03-14}}</ref> |- | 1948 | {{Flagicon|US|1912}} [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] | International Honorary Member | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Max Theodor Felix von Laue|url=https://www.amacad.org/person/max-theodor-felix-von-laue |url-status=live|website=www.amacad.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302155755/https://www.amacad.org/person/max-theodor-felix-von-laue|archive-date=2023-03-02|access-date=2023-03-02}}</ref> |- | 1949 | {{Flagicon|UK}} [[Royal Society]] | Foreign Member | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Search Results|url=https://catalogues.royalsociety.org/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=NA415&pos=1|website=catalogues.royalsociety.org|access-date=2026-03-14}}</ref> |- | 1949 | {{Flagicon|US|1912}} [[American Philosophical Society]] | International Member | <ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Max+von+Laue&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|url-status=live|website=search.amphilsoc.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230302155750/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Max+von+Laue&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|archive-date=2023-03-02|access-date=2023-03-02}}</ref> |- | 1955 | {{Flagicon|Vatican City}} [[Pontifical Academy of Sciences]] | Academician | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Max Theodor Felix von Laue|url=https://www.pas.va/en/academicians/deceased/laue_von.html|url-status=live|website=www.pas.va|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260227075226/https://www.pas.va/en/academicians/deceased/laue_von.html|archive-date=2026-02-27|access-date=2026-03-14}}</ref> |- | 1958 | {{Flagicon|US|1912}} [[National Academy of Sciences]] | International Member | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Max von Laue|url=https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/max-von-laue-proc6i/|url-status=live|website=www.nasonline.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260113015522/https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/max-von-laue-proc6i/|archive-date=2026-01-13|access-date=2026-03-14}}</ref> |}
=== Orders === {| class="wikitable" ! Year ! Head of state ! Order ! {{Reference column heading}} |- | 1952 | {{Flagicon|West Germany}} [[Theodor Heuss]] | {{Lang|fr|[[Pour le Mérite]]}} | <ref>{{Cite web|title=Max Theodor Felix von Laue|url=https://www.orden-pourlemerite.de/mitglieder/max-theodor-felix-von-laue|website=www.orden-pourlemerite.de|language=de|access-date=2026-03-14}}</ref> |}
== Publications == [[File:maxlj.jpg|thumb|200px|''Deutsche Post (der DDR) Briefmarke'' (postage stamp), 1979]] [[File:Laue, Max Theodor Felix von – Relativitätsprinzip, 1913 – BEIC 6467296.jpg|thumb|''Relativitätsprinzip'', 1913]] *Max von Laue ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Band 1: Die spezielle Relativitätstheorie'' (Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig, 1911, and 1919) *Max von Laue ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Erster Band. Das Relativitätsprinzip der Lorentz-transformation. Vierte vermehrte Auflage.'' (Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, 1921) *Max von Laue ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Zweiter Band : Die Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie Und Einsteins Lehre Von Der Schwerkraft '' (Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig, 1921 and 1923) *Max von Laue ''Korpuskular- und Wellentheorie'' (Leipzig, 1933) *Max von Laue ''Die Interferenzen von Röntgen- und Elektronenstrahlen. Fünf Vorträge.'' (Springer, 1935) *Max von Laue ''Eine Ausgestaltung der Londonschen Theorie der Supraleitung'' (Barth, 1942) *Max von Laue ''Materiewellen und ihre Interferenzen'' (Akadem. Verl.-Ges. Becker & Erler, 1944) (Geest und Portig, 1948) *Max von Laue ''Theorie der Supraleitung'' (Springer, 1947 and 1949) **Max von Laue, translated by Lothar Meyer and William Band ''Theory of Superconductivity'' (N.Y., 1952) *Max von Laue ''Geschichte der Physik'' (Univ.-Verl., 1946 and 1947), (Athenäum-Verl., 1950) and (Ullstein Taschenbücher-Verl., 1959, 1966 and 1982) [This book was translated into seven other languages.<ref name="nobel bio"/>] **Max von Laue, translated by Ralph E. Oesper ''History of Physics'' (Academic Press, 1950) **Max von Laue ''Histoire De La Physique'' (Lamarre, 1953) **Max von Laue ''Geschiedenis der natuurkunde'' ('s Gravenhage, Stols, 1950 and 1954) *Max Planck and Max von Laue ''Wissenschaftliche Selbstbiographie'' (Barth, 1948) *Max von Laue ''Röntgenstrahlinterferenzen'' (Akadem. Verl.-Ges., 1948) *Max von Laue ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Bd. 2. Die allgemeine Relativitätstheorie'' (Vieweg, 1953) *Max Planck and Max von Laue ''Vorlesungen über Thermodynamik'' de Gruyter (Gebundene, 1954) *Walter Friedrich, Paul Knipping, and Max von Laue ''Interferenzerscheinungen bei Röntgenstrahlen'' (J. A. Barth, 1955) *Max von Laue ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Bd. 1. Die spezielle Relativitätstheorie'' (Vieweg, 1955) *Max von Laue ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Bd. 2. Die allgemeine Relativitätstheorie'' (Vieweg, 1956) *Max von Laue ''Max von Laue'' *Max von Laue ''Röntgenwellenfelder in Kristallen'' (Akademie-Verl., 1959) *Max von Laue ''Von Laue-Festschrift. 1'' (Akadem. Verl.-Ges., 1959) *Max von Laue ''Von Laue-Festschrift. 2'' (Akadem. Verl.-Ges., 1960) *Max von Laue and Ernst Heinz Wagner ''Röntgenstrahl-Interferenzen'' (Akadem. Verl.-Ges., 1960) *Max von Laue and Friedrich Beck ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Bd. 1. Die spezielle Relativitätstheorie'' (Vieweg, 1961 and 1965) *Max von Laue ''Gesammelte Schriften und Vorträge. Bd. 1'' (Vieweg, 1961) *Max von Laue ''Gesammelte Schriften und Vorträge. Bd. 2'' (Vieweg, 1961) *Max von Laue ''Gesammelte Schriften und Vorträge. Bd. 3'' (Vieweg, 1961) *Max von Laue ''Aufsätze und Vorträge'' (Vieweg, 1961 and 1962) *Max von Laue and Friedrich Beck ''Die Relativitätstheorie. Bd. 2. Die allgemeine Relativitätstheorie'' (Vieweg, 1965) *Max von Laue ''Die Relativitätstheorie II. Die allgemeine Relativitätstheorie'' (Vieweg Friedr. und Sohn Ver, 1982)
=== Other publications === * {{cite journal| vauthors = Friedrich W, Knipping P, von Laue M |date=1912|title=Interferenz-Erscheinungen bei Röntgenstrahlen|trans-work=Interference phenomena in X-rays|journal=Sitzungsberichte der Mathematisch-Physikalischen Classe der Königlich-Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München|volume=1912|page=303|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Interferenz-Erscheinungen_bei_Röntgenstrahlen.pdf}} * {{cite journal|last=Laue|first=Max von|year=1913|title=Kritische Bemerkungen zu den Deutungen der Photogramme von Friedrich und Knipping|journal=[[Physikalische Zeitschrift]]|volume=14|issue=10|pages=421–423}} Received 1 April 1913, published in issue No. 10 of 15 May 1913. As cited in Mehra, Volume 5, Part 2, 2001, p. 922. * {{cite journal|last=Laue|first=Max von|year=1913|title=Zur Optik der Raumgitter|journal=Physikalische Zeitschrift|volume=14|issue=21|pages=1040–1041}} Received 1 October 1913, published in issue No. 21 of 1 November 1913. As cited in Mehra, Volume 5, Part 2, 2001, p. 922. *{{cite journal|last=Laue|first=Max von|year=1913|title=Röntgenstrahlinterferenzen|journal=Physikalische Zeitschrift|volume=14|issue=22/23|pages=1075–1079}} Presented on 24 September 1913 at the 85th Naturforscherversammlung, Vienna, published in issue No. 22/23 of 15 November 1913. As cited in Mehra, Volume 5, Part 2, 2001, p. 922. *{{cite journal|last=Laue|first=Max von|year=1913|title=Zur Optik der Raumgitter|journal=Physikalische Zeitschrift|volume=14|issue=25|pages=1286–1287}} Received 21 November 1913, published in issue No. 25 of 15 December 1913. As cited in Mehra, Volume 5, Part 2, 2001, p. 922. *{{cite journal|last=Laue|first=Max von |author2=Fritz London |author3-link=Heinz London |author3=Heinz London|year=1935|title=Zur Theorie der Supraleitung|journal=Zeitschrift für Physik|volume=96|issue=5–6|pages=359–364|doi=10.1007/BF01343868|bibcode = 1935ZPhy...96..359L |s2cid=122522994 |author2-link=Fritz London }}
== See also == *[[History of special relativity]] *[[Laue equations]] *[[Sagnac effect]] *[[Trouton–Noble experiment]] *[[Twin paradox]] *[[Einstein synchronisation]] *[[Institut Laue–Langevin]] *[[Laue (crater)]] *[[10762 von Laue]]
== References == <references> <ref name=Bernstein>{{cite book |last=Bernstein |first=Jeremy |author-link=Jeremy Bernstein |title=Hitler's uranium club: the secret recordings at Farm Hall |publisher=Copernicus |location=New York |year=2001 |isbn=0-387-95089-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/hitlersuraniumcl00bern/page/333 333–334] |url=https://archive.org/details/hitlersuraniumcl00bern/page/333 }}</ref> <ref name=Beyerchen>{{cite book |last=Beyerchen |first=Alan D. |title=Scientists under Hitler: politics and the physics community in the Third Reich |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven, Conn |year=1977 |isbn=0-300-01830-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/scientistsunderh00alan/page/64 64–69, 208–209] |url=https://archive.org/details/scientistsunderh00alan/page/64 }}</ref> <ref name=Ewald>[[Paul Peter Ewald|Ewald, P. P.]] (ed.) [http://www.iucr.org/iucr-top/publ/50YearsOfXrayDiffraction/ ''50 Years of X-Ray Diffraction''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080323071738/http://www.iucr.org/iucr-top/publ/50YearsOfXrayDiffraction/ |date=23 March 2008 }} (Reprinted in pdf format for the IUCr XVIII Congress, Glasgow, Scotland, [[International Union of Crystallography]]). Ch. 4, pp. 37–42.</ref> <ref name=Heilbron>{{cite book |last=Heilbron |first=J. L. |author-link=John L. Heilbron |title=The dilemmas of an upright man: Max Planck and the Fortunes of German Science |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |location=Cambridge |year=2000 |isbn=0-674-00439-6|pages=159–162, 167–168}}</ref> <ref name=Jungnickel>{{cite book|last1=Jungnickel|first1=Christa|author1-link=Christa Jungnickel|last2=McCormmach |first2=Russell |author2-link=Russell McCormmach|title=[[Intellectual Mastery of Nature: Theoretical Physics from Ohm to Einstein]], Volume 2: The Now Mighty Theoretical Physics, 1870 to 1925|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=1990|isbn=0-226-41585-6|pages=284–285}}</ref> <ref name=Lanouette>{{cite book|last1=Lanouette|first1=William|last2=Silard |first2=Bela |title=Genius in the Shadows: A Biography of Leó Szilárd the Man Behind the Bomb|publisher=[[Scribners]]|location=New York|year=1992|isbn=0-684-19011-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/geniusinshadowsa00lano/page/56 56–58]|url=https://archive.org/details/geniusinshadowsa00lano/page/56}}</ref> <ref name=Meissner>{{cite book|last=Meissner|first=Walter|author-link=Walther Meißner |title=Max von Laue als Wissenschaftler und Mensch|publisher=Verl. d. Bayer. Akademie d. Wissenschaften|year=1960}} and C. H. Beck Verlag (1986)</ref> <ref name=report>{{cite journal|last=Laue|first=Max von|year=1949|title=A Report on the State of Physics in Germany|journal=[[American Journal of Physics]]|volume=17|issue=3|pages=137–141|doi=10.1119/1.1989526|bibcode = 1949AmJPh..17..137V }}</ref> </references>
== Sources == *{{cite book|editor-last=Hentschel|editor-first=Klaus|others=Ann M. Hentschel (translator) |title=Physics and National Socialism: An Anthology of Primary Sources|publisher=[[Birkhäuser Verlag]]|location=Basel|year=1996|isbn=0-8176-5312-0}} *{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Mark H.|title=Nazi science: myth, truth, and the German atomic bomb |publisher=Plenum Press|location=New York|year=1995|isbn=0-306-44941-2}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last=Greenspan |first=Nancy Thorndike |author-link=Stanley Greenspan|title=[[The End of the Certain World|The End of the Certain World: The Life and Science of Max Born]] |publisher=[[Basic Books]] |location=New York |year= 2005|isbn=0-7382-0693-8}} *{{cite book|last=Herneck|first=Friedrich|title=Max von Laue|publisher=Teubner|location=Leipzig|year=1979}} *{{cite book|last=Jammer|first=Max|author-link=Max Jammer|title=The Conceptual Development of Quantum Mechanics|url=https://archive.org/details/conceptualdevelo0000jamm|url-access=registration|publisher=[[McGraw–Hill]]|location=New York|year=1966}} *{{cite book |last1=Lemmerich |first1=Jost |title = Max von Laue – Furchtlos und treu. Eine Biographie des Nobelpreisträgers für Physik. |location = Rangsdorf |publisher = Basilisken-Presse |year = 2020 |type = hardback |isbn = 978-3-941365-56-8}} *{{cite book |last1=Medawar |first1=Jean |last2=Pyke |first2=David |title = Hitler's Gift: The True Story of the Scientists Expelled by the Nazi Regime |location = New York |publisher = Arcade Publishing| year = 2012 |type = Paperback |isbn = 978-1-61145-709-4}} *{{cite book |last1=Mehra |first1=Jagdish |last2=Rechenberg |first2=Helmut |author-link=Jagdish Mehra|author-link2=Helmut Rechenberg |title=The Historical Development of Quantum Theory. Volume 1 Part 1 The Quantum Theory of Planck, Einstein, Bohr and Sommerfeld 1900–1925: Its Foundation and the Rise of Its Difficulties|publisher=Springer|year=2001|isbn=0-387-95174-1}} *{{cite book |last1=Mehra |first1=Jagdish |last2=Rechenberg |first2=Helmut |title=The Historical Development of Quantum Theory. Volume 1 Part 2 The Quantum Theory of Planck, Einstein, Bohr and Sommerfeld 1900–1925: Its Foundation and the Rise of Its Difficulties|publisher=Springer|year=2001|isbn=0-387-95175-X}} *{{cite book |last1=Mehra |first1=Jagdish |last2=Rechenberg |first2=Helmut |title=The Historical Development of Quantum Theory. Volume 5 Erwin Schrödinger and the Rise of Wave Mechanics. Part 1 Schrödinger in Vienna and Zurich 1887–1925|publisher=Springer|year=2001|isbn=0-387-95179-2}} *{{cite book |last1=Mehra |first1=Jagdish |last2=Rechenberg |first2=Helmut |title=The Historical Development of Quantum Theory. Volume 5 Erwin Schrödinger and the Rise of Wave Mechanics. Part 2 Schrödinger in Vienna and Zurich 1887–1925|publisher=Springer|year=2001|isbn=0-387-95180-6}} *{{cite book|last=Rosenthal-Schneider|first=Ilse|title=Begegnungen mit Einstein, von Laue und Planck. Realität und wissenschaftliche Wahrheit|publisher=Vieweg|location=Braunschweig|year=1988|isbn=3-528-08970-9}} *{{cite book|last=Rosenthal-Schneider|first=Ilse|title=Reality and Scientific Truth: Discussions with Einstein, von Laue, and Planck|publisher=Wayne State University|year=1980|isbn=0-8143-1650-6}} *{{cite book|last=Walker|first=Mark H.|title=German National Socialism and the Quest for Nuclear Power, 1939–1949|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|year=1993|isbn=0-521-43804-7}} *{{cite book|last=Zeitz|first=Katharina|title=Max von Laue (1879–1960) Seine Bedeutung für den Wiederaufbau der deutschen Wissenschaft nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg|publisher=Steiner Franz Verlag|year=2006|isbn=3-515-08814-8}}
==External links== {{commons category}} {{wikisource|works=or}} {{wikiquote}} *[http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/LaueMax/ Max von Laue Biography] – Deutsches Historisches Museum Berlin {{in lang|de}} *{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990203170938/http://www.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/paf/paf24.html |date=3 February 1999 |title=Max von Laue Biography }} – University of Frankfurt am Main {{in lang|de}} * {{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture, 3 June 1920 ''Concerning the Detection of X-ray Interferences'' *[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1914/present.html Nobel Presentation Address] – An account of Laue's work is by Professor G. Granqvist, Chairman of the Nobel Committee for Physics
{{Nobel Prize in Physics Laureates 1901–1925}} {{1914 Nobel Prize winners}} {{Crystallography}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laue, Max Von}} [[Category:1879 births]] [[Category:1960 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century German physicists]] [[Category:Scientists from Koblenz]] [[Category:German experimental physicists]] [[Category:German optical physicists]] [[Category:Members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:Nobel laureates in Physics]] [[Category:German Nobel laureates]] [[Category:Scientists from the Rhine Province]] [[Category:Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)]] [[Category:University of Strasbourg alumni]] [[Category:University of Göttingen alumni]] [[Category:LMU Munich alumni]] [[Category:Academic staff of LMU Munich]] [[Category:Humboldt University of Berlin alumni]] [[Category:Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin]] [[Category:People associated with the University of Zurich]] [[Category:Academic staff of Goethe University Frankfurt]] [[Category:Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:Institute for Advanced Study visiting scholars]] [[Category:Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1917–1925)]] [[Category:Corresponding Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:Honorary members of the USSR Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:Foreign members of the USSR Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:German crystallographers]] [[Category:Foreign members of the Royal Society]] [[Category:Road incident deaths in Germany]] [[Category:Winners of the Max Planck Medal]] [[Category:Scientists from Frankfurt]] [[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany]] [[Category:Operation Epsilon]] [[Category:Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin]] [[Category:Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences]] [[Category:Recipients of the Matteucci Medal]] [[Category:German Christians]] [[Category:Max Planck Institute directors]] [[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]] [[Category:International members of the American Philosophical Society]] [[Category:German fellows of the Royal Society]]