Lise Meitner

1878 – 1968 · died at about 90^[1][2]

Science & Invention

Fun Facts About Lise Meitner

• Lise Meitner worked out the physics of nuclear fission with her nephew Otto Frisch during a walk in the snow. He wore skis, while she claimed she could walk just as fast without them.^[1]
• Meitner was nominated 49 times for the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry but never won. The 1944 chemistry prize for fission went to her collaborator Otto Hahn alone.^[1]
• When Meitner began work in Berlin, women were barred from the rest of the institute, so to use a toilet she had to go to a restaurant down the street.^[1]
• For her secret escape from Germany, Otto Hahn gave Meitner a diamond ring he had inherited from his mother, for emergencies. She took only 10 marks in her purse.^[1]
• Element 109, meitnerium, is named after her. She is the only non-mythological woman to have an element named exclusively in her honor.^[1][3][4]
• Albert Einstein praised Meitner as the "German Marie Curie."^{[1][3][4][5][6]}
• Lise Meitner was alive at the same time as Jimmy Wales — their lives overlapped for 2 years (1966–1968).^[1][2][7][8]
• Lise Meitner shares a birthday with Marie Curie: both were born on November 7.^[1][2][3][4]

Elise "Lise" Meitner was an Austrian and Swedish nuclear physicist who was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission.^[1]

Contemporaries

Bertrand Russell

90 yr overlap

Helen Keller

88 yr overlap

Winston Churchill

87 yr overlap

Pablo Picasso

87 yr overlap

Albert Schweitzer

87 yr overlap

Igor Stravinsky

86 yr overlap

Coco Chanel

85 yr overlap

Harry S. Truman

84 yr overlap

Carl Jung

83 yr overlap

Georgia O'Keeffe

81 yr overlap

Chiang Kai-shek

81 yr overlap

Frank Lloyd Wright

81 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Lise Meitner

When was Lise Meitner born?

Lise Meitner was born on November 7, 1878, and died on October 27, 1968.

How old was Lise Meitner at death?

Lise Meitner was born on November 7, 1878, and died on October 27, 1968, at age 89.

What was Lise Meitner known for?

Lise Meitner was known for: Discovered nuclear fission, overlooked for Nobel. Elise "Lise" Meitner was an Austrian and Swedish nuclear physicist who was instrumental in the discovery of nuclear fission.

Who was alive at the same time as Lise Meitner?

Lise Meitner's closest contemporary was Bertrand Russell. Their lives overlapped for 90 years.