2016/12/09 by Simon Mitton, Mitton, Simon
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #History and Developments in Astronomy #History and Philosophy of Physics (physics.hist-ph) #physics.hist-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1612.03003
Talk given on 11 November 2026 at the Ordinary Meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society
arxiv created 2016/12/09 · openalex publication_date 2016/12/09 · arxiv updated 2016/12/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This paper celebrates the remarkable life, science and legacy of Abbé Georges Lemaître, the Belgian cleric and professor of physics; he was the architect of the fireworks model for the origin of the universe. He died half a century ago, three days after learning that Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson had discovered the cosmic microwave background. Despite being gravely ill from leukaemia, Lemaître lucidly praised this news, which confirmed the explosive genesis of our universe.