Hans Bethe is one of the premier physicists of the twentieth century, and one of only a very small number whose understanding and contributions span nearly all of the subfields of physics. His achievements range widely through science, his most well-known achievement being a theory that accounts for the energy production of stars. He also contributed to theories regarding quantum mechanics , fundamental particles, nuclear reactors, nuclear weapons, and astrophysics, and has been active for many years in the scientific community's efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.

Hans Albrecht Bethe was born in Strasbourg (then part of Germany) on July 2, 1906. He was the only child of Albrecht Theodore Julius Bethe, a privatdocent (unsalaried lecturer) in physiology at the University of Strasbourg, and Anna Kuhn, the daughter of a professor. Bethe showed an early precocity in mathematics. He recalls walking with his mother at age five and noting...