The Bohr atomic model
Who
Niels Bohr, the Danish physicist, whose mother came from a prominent Danish-Jewish family (his father was not Jewish).
When
1913
Where
Copenhagen, Denmark
In 1913 Niels Bohr proposed a model of the atom in which electrons orbit the nucleus in fixed energy levels, a key step toward quantum theory that won him the 1922 Nobel Prize. Bohr's mother, Ellen Adler, came from a well-known Danish-Jewish family, so he was of Jewish descent on his mother's side, though his father was not Jewish and he was not raised in the faith. During the war Bohr, at risk under Nazi rule, escaped occupied Denmark.
Sources
Part of “The Gifts of the Jews” — verified Jewish contributions to the world, with sources.