16 moments

1. Birth in Vladivostok

   1895-07-08 · Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia

   Tamm was born in Vladivostok, then in the Russian Empire. Coordinates represent central Vladivostok; the specific birth site is not identified.

2. Family relocation to Elisavetgrad

   1898-01-01 · Kropyvnytskyi (then Elisavetgrad), Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukraine

   

   As a child, Tamm moved with his parents to Elisavetgrad, where he later attended gymnasium. Coordinates represent the modern city center.

3. Studies at the University of Edinburgh

   1913-01-01 · University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

   After finishing gymnasium, Tamm left for Scotland to study in the University of Edinburgh's faculty of exact sciences. The source states that he studied in Scotland for one year; coordinates are for Old College, a representative historic University of Edinburgh site.

4. Transfer to Moscow University

   1914-01-01 · Moscow University, Moscow, Russia

   Before the First World War, Tamm transferred from Edinburgh to the physics-and-mathematics faculty of Moscow University. Coordinates represent the historic central Moscow University area; the source does not identify a specific building.

5. Delegate to the First Congress of Soviets

   1917-01-01 · Tauride Palace, Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg), Russia

   During the revolutionary period, Tamm served as a delegate from Elisavetgrad to the First Congress of Soviets in Petrograd. Coordinates are for Tauride Palace, the meeting place of the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets; the source gives the city but not a venue.

6. Physics teaching in Simferopol

   1919-01-01 · Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine

   Following his Moscow University graduation, Tamm taught physics at Tavrida University in Simferopol. The source places this teaching after his 1918 graduation; coordinates represent Simferopol because the historic university premises are not specified.

7. Move to Odessa for academic work

   1920-01-01 · Odessa, Ukraine

   In the summer of 1920, Tamm moved to Odessa to work under Leonid Mandelstam; he subsequently taught at the Odessa Polytechnic Institute. Coordinates represent central Odessa; the source does not identify his initial workplace address.

8. Return to Moscow

   1922-01-01 · Moscow, Russia

   Tamm returned to Moscow from Odessa, beginning the long Moscow-centered phase of his scientific career. Coordinates represent central Moscow.

9. Begins teaching at Second Moscow State University

   1923-05-01 · Second Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia

   Tamm began teaching physics at Second Moscow State University, an important early Moscow academic appointment. Coordinates are for the present-day successor institution, Moscow Pedagogical State University; its historic campus arrangement in 1923 is not specified by the source.

10. Research stay in Leiden

    1928-01-01 · University of Leiden, Leiden, Netherlands

    Tamm spent several months at the University of Leiden with Paul Ehrenfest, where he formed a lasting friendship with Paul Dirac. The same source identifies Tamm's Leiden stay as January–June 1928. Coordinates represent the historic physics-laboratory area in Leiden.

11. Head of theory at the Lebedev Physical Institute

    1934-01-01 · Lebedev Physical Institute, Moscow, Russia

    

    Tamm became head of the theoretical department at Moscow's Lebedev Physical Institute, a post he retained until his death. Coordinates represent the institute's Leninsky Prospekt campus.

12. Establishes theoretical-physics department at MEPhI

    1945-01-01 · Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow, Russia

    Tamm organized and led a theoretical-physics department at the newly created Moscow Engineering Physics Institute. Coordinates represent the present MEPhI campus and are a representative point; the institution's 1945 premises are not specified.

13. Arrival at Arzamas-16

    1950-01-01 · Sarov (then Arzamas-16), Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia

    Tamm arrived at the secret nuclear center of Arzamas-16 with Andrei Sakharov and Yuri Romanov, leading the theoretical department working on RDS-6s. Coordinates represent Sarov, formerly the closed city Arzamas-16; the secret facility's exact historical building is not identified.

14. RDS-6s test participation at Semipalatinsk

    1953-08-12 · Semipalatinsk Test Site, Kazakhstan

    Tamm participated in the RDS-6s thermonuclear test at the Semipalatinsk test site after signing the project's final report in June. Coordinates are a representative point for the broad Semipalatinsk Test Site; the source does not specify Tamm's exact observation location.

15. Return to Moscow after thermonuclear project

    1954-01-01 · Moscow, Russia

    

    After his work at Arzamas-16, Tamm returned to Moscow and resumed work at the Physics Institute of the Academy of Sciences. Coordinates represent the Lebedev Physical Institute, where the source states he subsequently worked until the end of his life.

16. Death in Moscow

    1971-04-12 · Moscow, Russia

    Tamm died in Moscow at age 75, ending a career principally based there from 1922 onward. Coordinates represent central Moscow; the specific place of death is not identified.