Samuel Abraham Goudsmit (11.07.1902—4.12.1979) was an American theoretical physicist and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1947). He was born in The Hague. He studied at the universities of Leiden and Amsterdam, and in 1927 received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Leiden. In 1927—46 he worked at the University of Michigan (professor from 1932), and in 1946—48 he was professor at Northwestern University. In 1948 — 70 he worked at Brookhaven National Laboratory.
His work was in the field of quantum mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics and spectroscopy. In 1925, together with G. Uhlenbeck, he introduced the concept of electron spin. He was the first to determine the spin of a nucleus. In 1944—45 he took part in the American secret mission Alsos, which collected information on the state of atomic research in Germany, removed documentation and equipment from the German institutes connected with the atomic problem and interned German atomic physicists. He also did research in the field of Egyptology.
In 1951 —74 he was editor-in-chief of the American Physical Society. The M. Planck Medal (1964). The National Medal of Science (1977), the K. Compton Prize (1974).