François Englert (1932 – 2026)
Written and published by the SouleMap editorial team. Published June 19, 2026. Updated June 21, 2026. This tribute was not created by the family. Are you a family member? Claim this memorial.
In loving memory of François Englert. Born November 5, 1932. Passed away June 17, 2026. Final resting place: Belgium.
Their Story
François Englert was a Belgian theoretical physicist whose groundbreaking work in particle physics earned him the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Peter Higgs. Born in 1932, Englert dedicated his career to understanding the fundamental forces of nature, becoming a professor emeritus at the Université libre de Bruxelles and holding positions at leading research institutions worldwide. His most celebrated contribution was the Brout–Englert–Higgs mechanism, a theoretical framework that explains how particles acquire mass through interaction with an energy field—a discovery confirmed by the detection of the Higgs boson at CERN. Beyond this landmark achievement, Englert made significant contributions across multiple domains of theoretical physics, including statistical physics, quantum field theory, cosmology, string theory, and supergravity. Throughout his distinguished career, he received numerous honors recognizing his profound impact on modern physics, including the Wolf Prize in Physics and the Prince of Asturias Award. Englert's legacy endures as a cornerstone of contemporary particle physics, representing a lifetime of intellectual rigor and scientific innovation.
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