What was Leó Szilárd's most significant contribution to science?

Leó Szilárd's most significant contribution was proposing the concept of the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, which laid the groundwork for both nuclear reactors and atomic bombs.

Where did Leó Szilárd work during his career?

Leó Szilárd worked at Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and Brandeis University, where he made significant contributions to nuclear physics and molecular biology.

What was Leó Szilárd's role in the development of the atomic bomb?

Leó Szilárd co-invented the atomic bomb with Enrico Fermi and others, providing critical theoretical insights that were essential for the Manhattan Project.

How did Leó Szilárd advocate for nuclear disarmament?

Leó Szilárd founded the Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists and promoted the peaceful use of atomic energy, advocating for nuclear disarmament and international cooperation.

Leó Szilárd

Q: What awards did Leó Szilárd receive?

Leó Szilárd received the Atoms for Peace Award, the Humanist of the Year award, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Hungarian-American Jewish physicist and inventor (1898–1964)

Person Human Q153238

Facts

32 properties

Instance of: human
Sex or gender: male^[44]
Date of birth: February 11, 1898
Date of death: May 30, 1964
Place of birth: Budapest
Place of death: La Jolla, San Diego^[10]
Country of citizenship: Hungary, Germany (1930–present), United States (1943–present)^[14]^[15]^[16]
Occupation: nuclear physicist, inventor, physicist, university teacher, science fiction writer, scientist, molecular biologist^[18]^[19]
Employer: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Brandeis University^[26]^[27]^[28]^[29]^[30]
Field of work: atomic physics, molecular biology, physics, chain reaction, nuclear bomb, nuclear reactor^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23]^[24]^[25]
Educated at: Budapest University of Technology and Economics (1918), Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (?–1922), Technische Universität Berlin^[31]^[32]^[33]
Award received: Atoms for Peace Award (1959), Humanist of the Year (1960), Albert Einstein Award (1960), National Inventors Hall of Fame (1996)^[36]^[37]^[38]^[39]
Mother: Tekla Szilárd^[12]
Spouse: Gertrud Weiss Szilard^[13]
Doctoral advisor: Max von Laue, Albert Einstein^[34]^[35]
Cause of death: myocardial infarction^[46]
Student of: Max von Laue^[50]
Languages spoken, written or signed: English, Hungarian
Nominated for: Nobel Prize in Physics (1949), Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1947)
Archives at: UC San Diego Library Special Collections & Archives^[45]
Described by source: Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978), Physicists: Biographical Dictionary, Neue Deutsche Biographie
Family name: Szilárd^[47]
Given name: Leo, Leó^[48]^[49]
Interested in: physics

Show all 32 facts +8

Maintained by WikiProject: WikiProject Mathematics
Manner of death: natural causes^[51]
Member of: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Physical Society, Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, National Academy of Sciences^[40]^[41]^[42]^[43]
Name in native language: Szilárd Leó
Native language: Hungarian^[17]
Participant in: Manhattan Project
Place of burial: Fiume Road Graveyard^[11]
Writing language: English

🏷️ Also known as

en Leo Szilard en Leó Szilárd ar ليو زيلارد de Leo Szilard el Λέο Σίλαρντ es Leo Szilard es Leo Szilárd es Leó Szilard fa لئو زیلارد fa لیو زیلارد fi Leo Szilard fr Leo Szilard fr Léo Szilard he לאו סילארד he ליאו סילארד hu Szilárd Leó it Leo Szilard ja シラールド・レオー ja レオ・シラード ja レオ・ジラード

🔖 Identifiers · 108

ISNI: 000000008130310X
VIAF cluster ID: 51792743
Library of Congress Authorities ID: n88277643
GND ID: 119152088
AbART person ID: 123750
Academic Tree ID: 24662
American National Biography ID: 1301632
Arabic Ontology lexical concept ID: 151061600
Archives at Yale agent ID: people/70567
Article ID in the Lithuanian Universal Encyclopedia Online: leo-szilard
Atomic Heritage Foundation ID: leo-szilard
BBC Things ID: f4d9d141-3056-4628-86d3-3434dedbb2c0

Show all 108 identifiers +96

BIBSYS ID: 90402372
BabelNet ID: 00050696n
Babelio author ID: 361110
Bibliothèque nationale de France ID: 12492965j
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie online ID: szilard-leo
CANTIC ID: 981058515832306706
Canadiana Name Authority ID: ncf11961743
CiNii Research ID: 1140282266646364416
Comic Vine ID: 4005-136965
DDB person (GND) ID: 119152088
De Agostini ID: Szilard,+Leo
Deutsche Biographie (GND) ID: 119152088
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ID: szilard_leo
Encyclopædia Britannica Online ID: biography/Leo-Szilard
FAST ID: 259399
FES digital collections entity ID: 426952
FactGrid item ID: Zuckerklatsche
Find a Grave memorial ID: 9586
Freebase ID: /m/0flkk
Geni profile ID: 6000000024463728041
Goodreads author ID: 292123
Google Arts & Culture entity ID: m0flkk
Gravsted.dk ID: leoszilard
Great Norwegian Encyclopedia ID: Leo_Szilard
Great Russian Encyclopedia Online ID (2017): 3661640
Great Russian Encyclopedia portal ID: silard-leo-1f4a8c
Harper's tag: leo-szilard
Hrvatska enciklopedija ID: 59259
IMDb ID: nm0844081
INSPIRE-HEP author ID: L.Szilard.1
ISFDB author ID: 11120
IdRef ID: 034141928
Interlingual Index ID: i97084
J9U entity ID: 987007312089805171
JRC Names ID: 205049
Jewish Encyclopedia ID (Russian): 13796
Jewish Virtual Library ID: leo-szilard
JudaicaLink person (GND) ID: 119152088
Kalliope-Verbund (GND) ID: 119152088
Kallías ID: PE00571868
Kinobox person ID: 911809
Krugosvet article (archived): nauka_i_tehnika/fizika/STSILARD_LEO.html
Lex ID: Leo_Szilard
Libraries Australia ID: 35537319
Libris-URI: ljx01tk44t39lz9
MR Author ID: 642312
Magyar életrajzi lexikon ID: ABC14240/15095
Mathematics Genealogy Project ID: 113115
Munzinger person ID: 00000010742
NACSIS-CAT author ID: DA00609432
NDL Authority ID: 00458237
NE.se ID: leo-szilard
NL CR AUT ID: ntk20191030668
NLA Trove people ID: 988570
NLP ID: a0000003638568
NNDB people ID: 472/000104160
NSZL (VIAF) ID: 000000016359
NSZL name authority ID: 139515
NUKAT ID: n2013204483
National Academy of Sciences member ID: 20001657
National Inventors Hall of Fame ID: leo-szilard
National Library of Brazil ID: 000507181
National Library of Israel ID (old): 000244201
National Library of Poland MMS ID: 9810559765605606
National Library of Spain SpMaBN ID: XX5657546
National Virtual Library of India ID: 114096
Nationale Thesaurus voor Auteursnamen ID: 068233477
Nobel Prize People Nomination ID: 8957
NooSFere author ID: 765
Online PWN Encyclopedia ID: 3983016
Open Library ID: OL6226923A
Oxford Reference overview ID: 20110803100548448
PIM authority ID: PIM71861
PM20 folder ID: pe/031967
PUG authority ID: 180157
Parsifal cluster ID: 801285
Physics History Network ID: 11606022
RERO ID (legacy): A017740775
SBN author ID: RAVV033915
SELIBR ID: 208294
SHARE Catalogue author ID: 50852
SNAC ARK ID: w6dn46tv
Scopus author ID: 23058888400
TMDB person ID: 2422459
The Black Book ID: 219
Treccani ID: leo-szilard
U.S. National Archives Identifier: 10572431
University of Barcelona authority ID: 981058515832306706
University of Barcelona authority ID (former scheme): a1287246
Vegetti Catalog of Fantastic Literature NILF ID: 15167
Wellcome Collection concept ID: cd2c9ckz
WikiTree person ID: Spitz-545
WordNet 3.1 Synset ID: 11348284-n
WorldCat Entities ID: E39PBJdGQvBwxRBQcPqjWkgFrq
Yale LUX ID: person/82a64c04-8a1b-4d38-a60b-7d5bc6028203
ZbMATH author ID: szilard.leo

Report an error or request removal Lineage (PROV-JSON)

🔗 Connections

Occupation 7

scientist, physicist, inventor, university teacher, nuclear physicist, molecular biologist, science fiction writer

Field of work 6

physics, molecular biology, nuclear reactor, atomic physics, chain reaction, nuclear bomb

Employer 5

Columbia University, University of Chicago, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Brandeis University

Award received 4

Albert Einstein Award, Atoms for Peace Award, National Inventors Hall of Fame, Humanist of the Year

Member of 4

National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Physical Society, Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists

Country of citizenship 3

United States, Germany, Hungary

Educated at 3

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Budapest University of Technology and Economics

Named after 3

38442 Szilárd, Szilard, Leo Szilard Lectureship Award

Doctoral advisor 2

Albert Einstein, Max von Laue

Doctoral advisors 2

Albert Einstein, Max von Laue

Languages spoken, written or signed 2

English, Hungarian

Nominated for 2

Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Place of death 2

San Diego, La Jolla

← Signatory 2

Franck Report, Szilárd petition

Belongs to 1

The Martians

Cause of death 1

myocardial infarction

Given name 1

Leo

Instance of 1

human

Interested in 1

physics

Maintained by WikiProject 1

WikiProject Mathematics

Manner of death 1

natural causes

Native language 1

Hungarian

Participant in 1

Manhattan Project

Place of birth 1

Budapest

Place of burial 1

Fiume Road Graveyard

Sex or gender 1

male

Student of 1

Max von Laue

Teachers 1

Max von Laue

Works by author 1

Szilárd petition

Writing language 1

English

← Contributor to the creative work or subject 1

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

← Discoverer or inventor 1

Einstein refrigerator

← FactGrid item ID 1

Roman Catholic Diocese of Passau

← Named by 1

The Martians

← Significant person 1

Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists

Press Enter · cited answer in seconds

Leó Szilárd was born on February 11, 1898, in Budapest ^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11]^[12] and died on May 30, 1964, in La Jolla ^[11]^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[12]. He held citizenship in Hungary, Germany, and the United States . His education took place at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Technische Universität Berlin ^[13].

He worked as a nuclear physicist, inventor, physicist, university teacher, science fiction writer, and scientist ^[14]^[9]^[15]. His professional appointments included positions at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago . His fields of work encompassed atomic physics, molecular biology, physics, and chain reaction .

Szilárd received the Atoms for Peace Award, Humanist of the Year, Albert Einstein Award, and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame ^[15]. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Physical Society, Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, and National Academy of Sciences ^[16]. He is buried at Fiume Road Graveyard ^[17].

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Leó Szilárd include Leo Szilard Lectureship Award^[52], a science award^[53], in United States^[54]; Szilard^[55], a lunar crater^[56]; and 38442 Szilárd^[57], an asteroid^[58].

Why It Matters

Leó Szilárd is credited with the discovery of Einstein refrigerator^[59], an absorption refrigerator^[60]. Works attributed to him include Szilárd petition^[61], a petition^[62]. Entities named for him include Leo Szilard Lectureship Award^[52], a science award^[53], in United States^[54]; Szilard^[55], a lunar crater^[56]; and 38442 Szilárd^[57], an asteroid^[58].

FAQs

Where was Leó Szilárd born?

Leó Szilárd was born in Budapest^[2].

Where did Leó Szilárd die?

Leó Szilárd died in La Jolla^[4].

Who were Leó Szilárd's parents?

Leó Szilárd's mother was Tekla Szilárd^[12].

Who was Leó Szilárd married to?

Leó Szilárd's spouses include Gertrud Weiss Szilard^[13].

What did Leó Szilárd do for work?

Leó Szilárd worked as a nuclear physicist^[5], inventor^[6], physicist^[7], university teacher^[8], and science fiction writer^[9].

Where did Leó Szilárd go to school?

Leó Szilárd was educated at Budapest University of Technology and Economics^[31], Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin^[32], and Technische Universität Berlin^[33].

What awards did Leó Szilárd receive?

Honors received include Atoms for Peace Award^[36], Humanist of the Year^[37], Albert Einstein Award^[38], and National Inventors Hall of Fame^[39].

What did Leó Szilárd discover?

Leó Szilárd is credited as discoverer of Einstein refrigerator^[59].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ Leó Szilárd — place of birth (P19): Budapest. Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). Retrieved 2015-09-28. wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ Leó Szilárd — place of death (P20): La Jolla. wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ Leó Szilárd — place of death (P20): San Diego. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2023-07-29. wikidata.org.
[44] ↑ Leó Szilárd — sex or gender (P21): male. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2025-08-29. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ Leó Szilárd — mother (P25): Tekla Szilárd. Geni.com. wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ Leó Szilárd — spouse (P26): Gertrud Weiss Szilard. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ Leó Szilárd — country of citizenship (P27): Hungary. wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ Leó Szilárd — country of citizenship (P27): Germany. wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ Leó Szilárd — country of citizenship (P27): United States. wikidata.org.
[31] ↑ Leó Szilárd — educated at (P69): Budapest University of Technology and Economics. wikidata.org.
[32] ↑ Leó Szilárd — educated at (P69): Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. wikidata.org.
[33] ↑ Leó Szilárd — educated at (P69): Technische Universität Berlin. wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ Leó Szilárd — field of work (P101): atomic physics. wikidata.org.
[21] ↑ Leó Szilárd — field of work (P101): molecular biology. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-11-07. wikidata.org.
[22] ↑ Leó Szilárd — field of work (P101): physics. wikidata.org.
[23] ↑ Leó Szilárd — field of work (P101): chain reaction. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-11-07. wikidata.org.
[24] ↑ Leó Szilárd — field of work (P101): nuclear bomb. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-11-07. wikidata.org.
[25] ↑ Leó Szilárd — field of work (P101): nuclear reactor. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-11-07. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ Leó Szilárd — native language (P103): Hungarian. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ Leó Szilárd — occupation (P106): nuclear physicist. Integrated Authority File. Retrieved 2026-04-20. wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ Leó Szilárd — occupation (P106): inventor. wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ Leó Szilárd — occupation (P106): physicist. The Fine Art Archive. Retrieved 2021-04-01. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ Leó Szilárd — occupation (P106): university teacher. wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ Leó Szilárd — occupation (P106): science fiction writer. wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ Leó Szilárd — occupation (P106): scientist. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-12-19. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ Leó Szilárd — occupation (P106): molecular biologist. Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved 2022-12-19. wikidata.org.
[26] ↑ Leó Szilárd — employer (P108): Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. wikidata.org.
[27] ↑ Leó Szilárd — employer (P108): Technische Universität Berlin. wikidata.org.
[28] ↑ Leó Szilárd — employer (P108): Columbia University. wikidata.org.
[29] ↑ Leó Szilárd — employer (P108): University of Chicago. wikidata.org.
[30] ↑ Leó Szilárd — employer (P108): Brandeis University. wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ Leó Szilárd — place of burial (P119): Fiume Road Graveyard. wikidata.org.
[36] ↑ Leó Szilárd — award received (P166): Atoms for Peace Award. wikidata.org.
[37] ↑ Leó Szilárd — award received (P166): Humanist of the Year. wikidata.org.
[38] ↑ Leó Szilárd — award received (P166): Albert Einstein Award. wikidata.org.
[39] ↑ Leó Szilárd — award received (P166): National Inventors Hall of Fame. National Inventors Hall of Fame. wikidata.org.
[34] ↑ Leó Szilárd — doctoral advisor (P184): Max von Laue. wikidata.org.
[35] ↑ Leó Szilárd — doctoral advisor (P184): Albert Einstein. wikidata.org.
[40] ↑ Leó Szilárd — member of (P463): American Academy of Arts and Sciences. wikidata.org.
[41] ↑ Leó Szilárd — member of (P463): American Physical Society. NNDB. wikidata.org.
[42] ↑ Leó Szilárd — member of (P463): Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists. wikidata.org.
[43] ↑ Leó Szilárd — member of (P463): National Academy of Sciences. wikidata.org.
[45] ↑ Leó Szilárd — archives at (P485): UC San Diego Library Special Collections & Archives. wikidata.org.
[46] ↑ Leó Szilárd — cause of death (P509): myocardial infarction. wikidata.org.
[1] ↑ Leó Szilárd — date of birth (P569): February 11, 1898. IMDb. Retrieved 2015-10-16. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ Leó Szilárd — date of death (P570): May 30, 1964. Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978). Retrieved 2015-09-28. wikidata.org.
[47] ↑ Leó Szilárd — family name (P734): Szilárd. wikidata.org.
[48] ↑ Leó Szilárd — given name (P735): Leo. wikidata.org.
[49] ↑ Leó Szilárd — given name (P735): Leó. wikidata.org.
[50] ↑ Leó Szilárd — student of (P1066): Max von Laue. wikidata.org.
[51] ↑ Leó Szilárd — manner of death (P1196): natural causes. wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

Inline context (facts about related entities)

[60] ↑ Einstein refrigerator — P31: absorption refrigerator. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[62] ↑ Szilárd petition — P31: petition. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[53] ↑ Leo Szilard Lectureship Award — P31: science award. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[54] ↑ Leo Szilard Lectureship Award — P17: United States. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[56] ↑ Szilard — P31: lunar crater. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
[58] ↑ 38442 Szilárd — P31: asteroid. Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

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Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Leó Szilárd. Retrieved November 12, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/leo-szilard

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BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_leo-szilard_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Leó Szilárd}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/leo-szilard}, note = {Accessed: 2026-11-12}}

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According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Leó Szilárd — https://4ort.xyz/entity/leo-szilard (retrieved 2026-11-12)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

3d ago · Bargioni · 2026-11-12 view diff on Wikidata ↗

SBN author ID → RAVV033915

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #67274: add P396 using AI: similarity 80"
12d ago · Printstream · 2026-11-02 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Described by source → Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1969–1978), Physicists: Biographical Dictionary, Neue Deutsche Biographie

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #63392: add described by source NDB and NDB-online (2/2)"
28d ago · OKA bot bot · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗

"source for place of birth, source for date of death from Store norske leksikon (OKA bot…"
12w ago · Mahirtwofivesix · 2026-08-19 view diff on Wikidata ↗

BabelNet ID → 00050696n

WordNet 3.1 Synset ID → 11348284-n

Arabic Ontology lexical concept ID → 151061600

"added/modified IDs mapped to WordNet 3.1"
16w ago · Susmuffin · 2026-07-23 view diff on Wikidata ↗

Harper's tag → leo-szilard

"Created claim: Harper's tag: leo-szilard, Matched to leo szilard (#289947680) in Harper's tag"
20w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗

FES digital collections entity ID → 426952

"Created claim: FES digital collections entity ID: 426952, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782398664614"
25w ago · Epìdosis · 2026-05-18 view diff on Wikidata ↗

"Changed the item: QuickStatements 3.0 batch #31724: import P21 and P106 from GND (18)"

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