Portrait of Percy Williams Bridgman

Birthday profile

Percy Williams Bridgman

Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1961)

Born
April 21, 1882
Died
August 20, 1961
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1882

About Percy Williams Bridgman

Percy Williams Bridgman (April 21, 1882 – August 20, 1961) was an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1946 for his work on the physics of high pressures. He also wrote extensively on the scientific method and on other aspects of the philosophy of science. The Bridgman effect, the Bridgman–Stockbarger technique, and the high-pressure mineral bridgmanite are named after him. == Early life and education == Percy Williams Bridgman was born on April 21, 1882, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and grew up in nearby Auburndale. His parents were both born in New England. His father, Raymond Landon Bridgman, was "profoundly religious and idealistic" and worked as a newspaper reporter assigned to state politics. His mother, Mary Ann Maria Williams, was described as "more conventional, sprightly, and competitive." Bridgman attended both elementary and high school in Auburndale, where he excelled at competitions in the classroom, on the playground, and while playing chess. Described as both shy and proud, his home life consisted of family music, card games, and domestic and garden chores. The family was deeply religious; reading the Bible each morning and attending a Congregational Church. However, Bridgman later became an atheist.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Percy Williams Bridgman was born

Percy Williams Bridgman was born in 1882. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineChinese Exclusion Act signed
  • Technology milestoneFirst hydroelectric power plant (Appleton, WI)
  • World population~1.42B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderChester A. Arthur
  • U.S. population51.9M

1882 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Percy Williams Bridgman's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18822026
Population51.9M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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