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Last update: September 30, 2025

Georges Lemaître: The Father of the Big Bang Theory

Georges Lemaître (1894-1966)

Education Between Science and Faith

Born on July 17, 1894 in Charleroi (Belgium), Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître (1894-1966) showed an early interest in mathematics and physics. After secondary studies at the Jesuit College of the Sacred Heart, he entered the Catholic University of Louvain in 1911.

Academic background:

This unique training, combining science and theology, made him a thinker capable of reconciling faith and scientific reason.

The Primeval Atom Theory (1927-1931)

1. Initial Hypothesis (1927)

In an article published in 1927 in the Annales de la Société Scientifique de Bruxelles, Lemaître proposed a solution to Einstein's general relativity equations that implied an expanding universe:

Einstein, initially skeptical, reportedly said: "Your calculations are correct, but your physics is abominable."

2. Confirmation by Hubble (1929-1931)

After Edwin Hubble's discovery of the velocity-distance relation in 1929, Lemaître published in 1931 in Nature a foundational article where he:

His article began with these famous words: We could conceive of space as having been initially filled with a kind of super-dense fluid...

Major Contributions to Cosmology

1. Cosmological Constant

Lemaître proposed an original interpretation of Einstein's cosmological constant:

2. Hubble-Lemaître Law

Although often attributed solely to Hubble, this fundamental relation also bears Lemaître's name:

3. Other Scientific Contributions

Lemaître also worked on:

Academic Life and Recognition

Professional career:

International recognition:

Lemaître and the Relationship Between Science and Faith

As both a priest and scientist, Lemaître had a particular view of the relationship between science and religion:

He stated: "The primeval atom theory is a neutral scientific theory, without religious implications."

Legacy and Posterity

Lemaître died on June 20, 1966 in Louvain, leaving an immense scientific legacy:

In 2018, the International Astronomical Union officially renamed Hubble's law as the Hubble-Lemaître law to recognize his fundamental contribution.

Georges Lemaître's Major Contributions
FieldYearContributionImpact
Cosmology1927Primeval atom theoryFoundation of Big Bang theory, origin of the universe
Astrophysics1927Velocity-distance relationBasis of Hubble-Lemaître law, universe expansion
Relativity1931Interpretation of cosmological constantPrecursor to dark energy theory (1998)
Physics1933Cosmic ray theoryCollaboration with Robert Millikan on their origin
Methodology1931Prediction of cosmic microwave backgroundDiscovered in 1965 by Penzias and Wilson (Nobel Prize 1978)

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