Biography

Taken from: School of Mathematics and Statistics: University of St Andrews, Scotland

Niels Bohr was born on October 7, 1885, in Copenhagen, Denmark, to Christian Bohr, a physiologist at the University of Copenhagen, and Ellen Adler.  Niels had two siblings, Jenny, who was born in 1883; and Harald, who was born in 1887 and became a famous mathematician in his life time. 

In October of 1891 Niels entered the Grammelholms school where he completed his secondary education in 1903.  Niels specialized in mathematics and physics during his last two years at school.  Bohr entered the University of Copenhagen in 1903, where he studied physics as his main subject, and mathematics, astronomy, and chemistry as minor subjects.  The University did not have physics laboratories, so Bohr conducted experiments in his father’s physiology laboratory.  His first paper was over the experiments he conducted in this laboratory, which is the only paper he ever wrote describing his experiments.  With this paper he won the Gold Medal for 1906 from the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences for his analysis of the vibrations of water jets as a way to determine the surface tension.  He received his Master’s degree form the university in 1909 and his doctorate in 1911.  Bohr married on August 1, 1912, to Margrethe Norlund.  They had six sons: Hans Henrik (M.D.), Erik (chemical engineer), Aage( Ph.D., theoretical physicist), Ernest (lawyer), and the other two sons died.