Scientists of the early 20th century
Alongside the many Swiss Nobel prize winners, a number of other Swiss scientists made their mark in the 20th century.
Auguste Piccard (1884-1962) was for many years professor of experimental physics at the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology. He became internationally famous for his flight into the stratosphere and for the development of the bathyscape, for deep sea exploration.
In the field of astronomy, Fritz Zwicky (1898-1974) - working largely in the US - carried out groundbreaking work on galaxies, deducing the existence of dark matter and working on supernovae.
One of Switzerland's best known scientists was Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961), the founder of analytical psychology.
Another influential psychologist was Jean Piaget (1896-1980), an early pioneer of research into the intellectual development of children, who has had a lasting impact on educational methods.
The psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922) developed the Rorschach test: a set of "ink blots" used to examine a subject's personality and emotional make-up.
The Piccard dynasty
- Physicist and explorer Auguste Piccard was the first man to reach the stratosphere in a balloon and invented the deep diving vessel he called a "bathyscaphe".
- Auguste Piccard was the model for Professor Calculus in the Tintin comic books. Author Hergé described him as the "archetypal scientist."
- Auguste's father, Jules Piccard, a professor at the university of Basel, installed the first telephone in the city in around 1880.
- Auguste's son, Jacques Piccard, joined his father in building bathyscaphes and in 1960 made the deepest dive in history, to 10,915 metres (35,810ft).
- Jacques' son, Betrand Piccard, also set a world record. In 1999, he and co-pilot Brian Jones were the first to circumnavigate the globe in a hot-air balloon.
Links to related websites
- List of Swiss who have given their names to medical syndromes Who named it?
- Jacques Piccard turns 80 swissinfo (2002)
- Father of LSD celebrates 100th birthday swissinfo (2006)
- The first flight into the stratosphere recalled swissinfo (2006)