Georges Lemaître
On the 7th of August 1914, Georges Lemaître stood in uniform alongside his younger brother Jacques. They had volunteered for the Belgian Army just days after Germany invaded their homeland. The young engineer from Charleroi found himself on the front lines during the Battle of the Yser. This conflict halted the German advance and saved Belgium from total occupation. Lemaître served in the infantry before being transferred to artillery training. He soon discovered a mathematical error in the official manual used by instructors. His attempt to correct this mistake led to demotion and dashed hopes for an officer commission. Yet he earned the Belgian War Cross with bronze palm at the end of hostilities. Only five rank-and-file soldiers received that award directly from King Albert I.
Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier ordained Georges Lemaître as a priest on the 22nd of September 1923. This event marked a pivotal shift from engineering studies to theological and scientific pursuits. Lemaître spent three years between 1920 and 1923 studying at the seminary for late vocations in Mechelen. During spare time there, he taught himself the general theory of relativity. He joined the Priestly fraternity of the Friends of Jesus and took vows including chastity, poverty, obedience, and immolation. Silent retreats in Schilde became his regular practice while translating mystical works by John of Ruusbroec. Cardinal Mercier supported his dual path allowing travel to England and later the United States. This support enabled research opportunities that would define modern cosmology.
Ten days after ordination, Lemaître left Belgium to reside at St Edmund's House in Cambridge. There he worked under astrophysicist Arthur Eddington who introduced him to stellar astronomy and numerical analysis. The year following this British period found him at the Harvard College Observatory in Massachusetts. Harlow Shapley served as his mentor during this American phase spanning 1924 to 1925. Lemaître also registered for doctoral work at MIT with engineer Paul Heymans advising him. These collaborations exposed him to cutting-edge data about spiral nebulae now known as galaxies. His exposure to both European and American scientific communities broadened his perspective significantly. The experience prepared him to challenge static universe models held by many contemporaries.
Lemaître published a report titled A homogeneous Universe of constant mass and growing radius accounting for the radial velocity of extragalactic nebulae in 1927. This document appeared in the Annals of the Scientific Society of Brussels which few astronomers outside Belgium read. He argued that Einstein field equations implied an expanding universe rather than a static one. The paper included proportionality between galaxy recession velocities and their distance from Earth. Despite its brilliance, the work received little initial attention due to limited distribution. Einstein later told Lemaître that while calculations were correct, physics was abominable. An English translation appeared in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1931 but omitted key estimates. Those missing paragraphs contained what we now call Hubble's law constants.
In March 1931, Lemaître proposed that the universe expanded from a single quantum he called the primeval atom. This idea appeared briefly in Nature before being presented publicly at a London colloquium on the 29th of September 1931. Newspapers worldwide began calling him leader of new physical cosmology after his December 1932 Popular Science article. Albert Einstein attended a lecture by Lemaître at California Institute of Technology in January 1933. Afterward Einstein reportedly stood up applauding saying this was most beautiful explanation of creation ever heard. Disagreement exists over whether Einstein meant the whole theory or just cosmic ray fossil proposals. Fred Hoyle later coined Big Bang term during 1949 BBC broadcast to mock such theories. The discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation in 1965 finally convinced experts of validity.
Manuel Sandoval Vallarta collaborated with Lemaître showing cosmic rays vary intensity based on latitude. Their calculations used MIT differential analyzer computer developed by Vannevar Bush proving particles carry electric charge. This disproved Robert Millikan's view that rays were high-energy photons. Lemaître introduced Burroughs E101 electromechanical computer to Louvain university in late 1950s. He also worked on fast Fourier transform algorithms decades before James Cooley and John Tukey published theirs. Collaborations included numerical calculation of energy levels for monodeuteroethyelene molecules. Programming language Velocode emerged from work with nephew Gilbert Lemaître as precursor to BASIC. These computational efforts demonstrated early adoption of machines for complex physics problems.
Pope Pius XII gave an address linking Big Bang cosmology to creatio ex nihilo doctrine in 1951. Lemaître reportedly felt horror at this intervention mixing science directly with religious dogma. With Father Daniel O'Connell he convinced the Pope not make further public statements on physical cosmology interpretations. He argued Bible does not purport be textbook of science so old controversy vanishes once realized. His opposition to concordism meant keeping faith separate from scientific criteria entirely. He feared combining both would hinder acceptance while misrepresenting Catholic teaching. This stance allowed his theories to develop without theological interference or distortion.
The International Astronomical Union voted 78% in October 2018 to rename Hubble law as Hubble-Lemaître law. Google celebrated his 124th birthday with a Doodle on the 17th of July 2018 honoring Belgian scientist. VRT recovered lost interview footage from 1964 described by Thomas Hertog as gem. Lemaître received Francqui Prize highest Belgian distinction the 17th of March 1934 from King Leopold III. Einstein and Eddington were among proposers for that award. Inaugural Eddington Medal came from Royal Astronomical Society in 1953 recognizing expansion work. Posthumous honors include lunar crater named after him plus minor planet 1565 Lemaître. UCLouvain Charleroi campus main building stands adjacent birthplace bearing name. His death the 20th of June 1966 occurred shortly after learning cosmic microwave background discovery solidified Big Bang theory.
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Common questions
When did Georges Lemaître volunteer for the Belgian Army?
Georges Lemaître volunteered for the Belgian Army on the 7th of August 1914. He stood in uniform alongside his younger brother Jacques after Germany invaded their homeland.
Who ordained Georges Lemaître as a priest and when did this occur?
Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier ordained Georges Lemaître as a priest on the 22nd of September 1923. This event marked a pivotal shift from engineering studies to theological and scientific pursuits.
What title did Georges Lemaître give to his 1927 report on the expanding universe?
Georges Lemaître published a report titled A homogeneous Universe of constant mass and growing radius accounting for the radial velocity of extragalactic nebulae in 1927. This document appeared in the Annals of the Scientific Society of Brussels which few astronomers outside Belgium read.
When did Georges Lemaître propose that the universe expanded from a single quantum he called the primeval atom?
In March 1931, Georges Lemaître proposed that the universe expanded from a single quantum he called the primeval atom. This idea appeared briefly in Nature before being presented publicly at a London colloquium on the 29th of September 1931.
Why did Georges Lemaître oppose Pope Pius XII linking Big Bang cosmology to creatio ex nihilo doctrine in 1951?
Georges Lemaître reportedly felt horror at this intervention mixing science directly with religious dogma. He argued Bible does not purport be textbook of science so old controversy vanishes once realized.
When was Hubble law renamed as Hubble-Lemaître law by the International Astronomical Union?
The International Astronomical Union voted 78% in October 2018 to rename Hubble law as Hubble-Lemaître law. Google celebrated his 124th birthday with a Doodle on the 17th of July 2018 honoring Belgian scientist.