Chien-Shiung Wu vs David Bowie
Two child prodigies, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Chien-Shiung Wu | David Bowie | |
| Field | Science | Film |
| Sub-field | Physics | Actor |
| Born | 1912 | 1947 |
| Died | 1997 | 2016 |
| Country of birth | China | United Kingdom |
| Star sign | Gemini | Capricorn |
Who they are
Chien-Shiung Wu
Wu Experiment 1956 — Proved parity violation, overturned a law of physics The First Lady of Physics · Columbia University · Wolf Prize 1978 Born May 31, 1912 · Liuhe, China · Died February 16, 1997
Full biography of Chien-Shiung Wu →
David Bowie
On June 6, 1972, a twenty-four-year-old Brixton-born musician named David Robert Jones — performing under the name David Bowie, inhabiting a character he had named Ziggy Stardust — appeared on the BBC television programme Top of the Pops to perform "Starman," draped his arm around his guitarist Mick Ronson's shoulders in a gesture that was, for British television in 1972, practically avant-garde, and stared directly into the camera. The performance reached approximately fifteen million viewers. Within a week, the Ziggy Stardust album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars was…
Full biography of David Bowie →
What they share
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- Different fields: Science for Chien-Shiung Wu, Film for David Bowie.
- Born in different countries: China and United Kingdom.
- 35 years separate their births (1912 and 1947).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Chien-Shiung Wu or David Bowie?
- Chien-Shiung Wu. Chien-Shiung Wu was born in 1912, David Bowie in 1947.
- What field is each of them in?
- Chien-Shiung Wu is filed under Science (Physics). David Bowie is filed under Film (Actor).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.