Fritz Zwicky advanced astronomy over much of the twentieth century, pioneering findings on constituents of the cosmos from supernovae and neutron stars to dark matter and compact galaxies. It was not until 1956 that Zwicky devoted considerable time to the search for galaxies and the production of catalogs. Sign up for the Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Her money was instrumental in the funding of the A recent biography in English was published by the Fritz Zwicky Foundation: Alfred Stöckli & Roland Müller: Fritz Zwicky was a prolific scientist and made important contributions in many areas of astronomy. In 1933, Zwicky was the first to use the virial theorem to infer the existence of unseen dark matter, describing it as "dunkle Materie". Although Johnson does not describe it in depth, Zwicky clearly found it essential to doing good, creative science.For instance, in 1943, he used the method in researching and developing a jet engine at Aerojet, a rocket-manufacturing company that at the time was based in Pasadena, California. From 1961 to 1968 he and his colleagues published a comprehensive six volume Zwicky was an original thinker, and his contemporaries frequently had no way of knowing which of his ideas would work out and which would not. Internet Explorer). Zwicky posited that novae launched a sea of particles into space that might account for cosmic rays, the then-unexplained phenomenon observed by Nobel laureate Victor Hess in 1912, during experiments conducted in a balloon. Zwicky was part of a new generation of early-twentieth-century astrophysicists, probing the cosmos beyond the Milky Way. If Johnson had more thoroughly explored what linked the man and his work to these historical developments, what insights might have emerged?To some degree, then, Zwicky remains elusive. Jaco de Swart enjoys a biography of the scientist who pioneered findings on dark matter and supernovae. On February 14, 1898, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky was born. In the 1971 Readers seeking that understanding might find Johnson’s book too anecdotal, and lacking in the context needed for an integrated portrait. Nevertheless, Johnson’s book is rich enough to inspire interesting meditations on research, idiosyncrasy — and reputation.An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday.An essential round-up of science news, opinion and analysis, delivered to your inbox every weekday. Thank you for visiting nature.com. In 1904, at the age of six, Fritz was sent to his grandparents in the family's ancestral canton of He was responsible for positing numerous cosmological theories that have a profound impact on the understanding of our universe today.