World Year of Physics

Stamp Set

Ireland marked the UNESCO world Year of Physics, 2005 with a set of three stamps. The issue includes a stamp to mark the bi-centenary of the birth of William Rowan Hamilton, Ireland's greatest ever scientist. There is also a stamp to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the death of Albert Einstein, perhaps the most famous physicist of all time. The set is completed with the headquarters building of UNESCO in Paris.

UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

UNESCO was founded on 16 November 1945 to provide a centre for sharing ideas, information and knowledge. It aimed to create a universal standard amongst its 190-plus Member States. UNESCO helps to build human and institutional capacities in diverse fields and promotes international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication.

Bi-centenary of the birth of William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865)

Born in Dublin in 1805, William Rowan Hamilton was an astonishing child prodigy who spoke thirteen languages by the age of twelve and had mastered analytic geometry by fifteen. In 1824 he entered Trinity College, where his prodigious intellect led to his appointment as Professor of Astronomy while still an undergraduate. Knighted in 1835, he developed his quaternions theory in 1844 (published 1853), a landmark in algebra that has had a lasting influence on mathematical physics. The 'Elements of Quaternions', arguably his greatest work, was published the year after his death in 1866.

50th anniversary of the death of Albert Einstein

Perhaps the most famous physicist and mathematician of all time, Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Bavaria in 1879. He graduated in 1900 and was appointed Technical Expert in the Bern Patent Office. It was here in 1905 that he completed his astonishing range of theoretical physics publications, written in his spare time and without the benefit of close contact with scientific literature or colleagues. After writing several more landmark papers, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 - a fitting tribute to his years at the cutting edge of Physics. Forced to flee Germany in 1933, he became a US citizen in 1940 and died in 1955.
 

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World Year of Physics