Richard Feynman
Fixed radios 'by thinking' as a boy; cracked safes at Los Alamos and explained the Challenger with ice water.
Richard Feynman was born in 1918 in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, US. Richard Feynman's background is described as Jewish American; Russian and Polish immigrant grandparents. Growing up, the family was middle class — his uniform-salesman father taught him to distrust titles — knowing a bird's name, he said, tells you nothing about the bird. Fixed radios 'by thinking' as a boy; cracked safes at Los Alamos and explained the Challenger with ice water.
- Born
- 1918 · Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, US
- Roots
- Jewish American; Russian and Polish immigrant grandparents
- Family
- Middle class
- His uniform-salesman father taught him to distrust titles — knowing a bird's name, he said, tells you nothing about the bird.
- Education
- MIT → Princeton (PhD)
- Started with
- A home radio lab
- Repaired neighbors' radios as a boy; one customer marveled that he fixed them by thinking.
- Affiliations & societies
- None documented.
- Information only — claims like these are often unverifiable and may be wrong.
The pathway
- 1943 · age 24Los Alamos
Among the youngest group leaders on the Manhattan Project; picks colleagues' document safes and leaves notes as a hobby.
- 1945 · age 27Arline dies
His first wife succumbs to tuberculosis weeks before the Trinity test.
- 1948 · age 30QED reformulated
Path integrals and the diagrams that now carry his name.
- 1965 · age 47Nobel Prize in Physics
Shared with Schwinger and Tomonaga.
- 1985 · age 67Surely You're Joking
The anecdote collection makes a physicist a bestseller list regular.
- 1986 · age 67The O-ring demonstration
On live TV, drops a clamped ring into ice water to show why Challenger failed.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Richard Feynman from?
Richard Feynman was born in 1918 in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, US. Their background is described as Jewish American; Russian and Polish immigrant grandparents.
When was Richard Feynman born?
Richard Feynman was born in 1918, in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, US.
What is Richard Feynman's background or ethnicity?
Richard Feynman's roots are described as Jewish American; Russian and Polish immigrant grandparents. These are broad categories drawn from public sources, not statements about how the person identifies.
Where did Richard Feynman go to school?
Richard Feynman's education: MIT → Princeton (PhD).
What was Richard Feynman's family background growing up?
At birth the family was middle class. His uniform-salesman father taught him to distrust titles — knowing a bird's name, he said, tells you nothing about the bird.
How did Richard Feynman get started?
Richard Feynman started with a home radio lab. Repaired neighbors' radios as a boy; one customer marveled that he fixed them by thinking.
Sources
Compiled from these references and contemporaneous press reporting. Figures are approximate; verify before relying on them.