23 moments

1. Birth in Oslo

   1903-11-27 · Oslo, Norway

   Onsager was born in Oslo, then commonly called Kristiania. This is the starting point of his documented life chronology. The source uses the modern name Oslo; Kristiania was the city's official name in 1903.

2. Chemical-engineering student at NTH

   1920-01-01 · Norwegian Institute of Technology, Trondheim, Norway

   Onsager entered Norges Tekniske Høgskole in Trondheim to study chemical engineering, beginning the training that shaped his early work on electrolytes. Coordinates identify the historic NTH/modern NTNU Gløshaugen campus area.

3. Visit to Debye in Zürich

   1925-01-01 · ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

   Onsager traveled to Zürich to challenge Peter Debye's electrolyte theory, an encounter that led to his later ETH research-assistant appointment. Coordinates identify ETH Zürich, where Debye's office was located.

4. Research assistant at ETH Zürich

   1926-01-01 · ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

   After his initial Zürich visit, Onsager became a research assistant at ETH, beginning a two-year period that advanced his electrolyte-transport research. The source supports a 1926–1928 appointment; the card date marks its start.

5. Associate in chemistry at Johns Hopkins

   1928-01-01 · Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States

   Onsager emigrated to the United States and briefly served as an associate in chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. Coordinates identify the Homewood campus area.

6. Instructor at Brown University

   1928-01-01 · Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, United States

   Following his short Johns Hopkins appointment, Onsager began his formative Brown University period, during which he developed work leading to the reciprocal relations. The source supports a 1928–1933 appointment; the card date marks its start.

7. Sterling and Gibbs Fellow at Yale

   1933-01-01 · Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

   Onsager began the Yale affiliation that became the central institutional base of his scientific career. Coordinates identify Yale's central campus.

8. Visit to Austria and marriage

   1933-01-01 · Austria

   During a European trip after leaving Brown, Onsager visited Austrian electrochemist Hans Falkenhagen, met Margarethe Arledter, and married her later that year. The cited evidence identifies Austria but not a more specific locality; coordinates are a representative national point.

9. Family home in New Haven

   1934-01-01 · New Haven, Connecticut, United States

   After becoming a Yale assistant professor, Onsager established family life in New Haven while completing the work for his Yale doctorate. The source locates his home on Whitney Avenue but does not provide a street number; coordinates represent New Haven.

10. Ising-model announcement in New York

    1942-02-18 · New York Academy of Sciences, New York City, New York, United States

    Onsager publicly revealed his exact two-dimensional Ising-model result in a discussion following a New York Academy of Sciences paper. The historical meeting venue is not identified in the source; coordinates represent New York City.

11. Ising-model conference report

    1946-01-01 · Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

    Onsager reported a further route to the Ising solution at a Cambridge conference, using spinor algebras developed with Bruria Kaufman. The conference venue is not specified; coordinates represent Cambridge.

12. IUPAP meeting intervention in Florence

    1948-01-01 · Florence, Italy

    At the first postwar IUPAP statistical-mechanics meeting in Florence, Onsager again displayed his formula for spontaneous magnetization. The memoir places this event in its account of 1948 activities but does not provide a day or month.

13. Fulbright research at the Cavendish Laboratory

    1951-01-01 · Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, United Kingdom

    Onsager spent the 1951–1952 academic year in Cambridge as a Fulbright Scholar, conducting work at the Cavendish Laboratory on metallic diamagnetism. The source supports the 1951–1952 academic-year stay; the card date marks its beginning. Coordinates represent the historic Cavendish Laboratory site.

14. Liquid-helium conference in Japan

    1953-01-01 · Japan

    Onsager attended a 1953 Japanese conference on liquid helium, where Richard Feynman recalled meeting and discussing theory with him. The conference city is not identified; coordinates are a representative national point.

15. Visiting professor at UC San Diego

    1961-01-01 · University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States

    Onsager held a visiting professorship at the University of California, San Diego during a period of growing international recognition. Coordinates identify the UC San Diego campus.

16. Visiting professor at Rockefeller University

    1967-01-01 · Rockefeller University, New York City, New York, United States

    Onsager served as a visiting professor at Rockefeller University in New York during 1967–1968, alongside his continuing Yale appointment. The source supports a 1967–1968 appointment; the card date marks its start.

17. Visiting professor at Göttingen

    1968-01-01 · University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    In the year he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Onsager also held a visiting professorship at the University of Göttingen. Coordinates represent the University of Göttingen central campus area.

18. Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm

    1968-12-12 · Stockholm, Sweden

    

    Onsager was photographed in Stockholm shortly after the 1968 Nobel award ceremony, at which he received the Chemistry Prize. The source dates the post-ceremony photograph to 12 December 1968; coordinates represent central Stockholm.

19. Visiting professor at Leiden

    1970-01-01 · Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

    Onsager held a visiting professorship at the University of Leiden in 1970. Coordinates represent Leiden University's central campus area.

20. Move to the University of Miami

    1972-01-01 · University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, United States

    Upon retiring from Yale, Onsager accepted the University of Miami appointment in Coral Gables and joined its Center for Theoretical Studies. The source dates his retirement from Yale and transition to Miami to 1972.

21. Seventieth-birthday conference paper

    1973-01-01 · Miami, Florida, United States

    At a Miami conference arranged for his seventieth birthday, Onsager presented a paper on his ideas about the origin of life. His seventieth birthday was in 1973; the exact conference date is not given. Coordinates represent Miami.

22. Radiation-chemistry conference in Canada

    1976-01-01 · Canada

    In the final autumn of his life, Onsager traveled to Canada for a conference on radiation chemistry. Neither the conference city nor exact dates are identified; coordinates are a representative national point.

23. Death in Coral Gables

    1976-10-05 · Coral Gables, Florida, United States

    

    Onsager died in Coral Gables after returning from his final Canadian conference; his death ended his University of Miami period. The exact death date, 5 October 1976, is given in the article's biographical infobox; coordinates represent Coral Gables.