Portrait of Willem Hendrik Keesom

Birthday profile

Willem Hendrik Keesom

Willem Hendrik Keesom, Dutch physicist and academic (died 1956)

Born
June 21, 1876
Age in 2026
150
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1876

About Willem Hendrik Keesom

Willem Hendrik Keesom () (21 June 1876, Texel – 3 March 1956, Leiden) was a Dutch physicist who, in 1926, invented a method to freeze liquid helium. He also developed the first mathematical description of dipole–dipole interactions in 1921. Thus, dipole–dipole interactions are also known as Keesom interactions. He was previously a student of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, who had discovered superconductivity (a feat for which Kamerlingh Onnes received the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physics). He also discovered the lambda point transition specific-heat maximum between helium-I and helium-II in 1930. In 1924 he became member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1966, the minor planet 9686 Keesom was named after him. == See also == Timeline of low-temperature technology == References == == External links == Albert van Helden, Willem Hendrik Keesom 1876 – 1956, In: K. van Berkel, A. van Helden and L. Palm ed., A History of Science in the Netherlands. Survey, Themes and Reference (Leiden: Brill, 1999) 498–500. Scientists of the Dutch School: Willem Hendrik Keesom @ Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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

Career and life highlights

Willem Hendrik Keesom timeline

  1. Willem Hendrik Keesom () (21 June 1876, Texel – 3 March 1956, Leiden) was a Dutch physicist who, in 1926, invented a method to freeze liquid helium.
  2. He was previously a student of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, who had discovered superconductivity (a feat for which Kamerlingh Onnes received the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physics).
  3. He also discovered the lambda point transition specific-heat maximum between helium-I and helium-II in 1930.

The world when Willem Hendrik Keesom was born

Willem Hendrik Keesom was born in 1876. 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

  • Major sports momentFirst National League baseball season
  • Top headlineBattle of Little Bighorn — Custer's Last Stand
  • Technology milestoneAlexander Graham Bell patents the telephone
  • Notable inventionTelephone
  • World population~1.56B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderUlysses S. Grant
  • U.S. population43.4M

1876 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Willem Hendrik Keesom's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18762026
Population43.4M341 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. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

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