Franck, James (1882-1964), a German scientist, collaborated with Gustav Hertz in 1914 to prove the Niels Bohr theory of atomic structure. Franck and Hertz received the 1925 Nobel Prize in physics for research proving that electrons occupy certain energy levels in atoms. This research confirmed Bohr’s theory. Franck also won recognition for his research in photochemistry and photosynthesis. He was awarded the Max Planck medal in 1953.
Franck was born in Hamburg, Germany, and studied at Heidelberg and the University of Berlin. He taught physics and chemistry in Berlin and in Gottingen. He became professor of physics at the University of Chicago in 1938.
