# Burton Richter

_American physicist_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/burton-richter
Last updated: 2026-11-01

> Burton Richter was an American physicist. He led the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) team which co-discovered the J/ψ meson in 1974, alongside the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) team led by Samuel Ting for which they won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1976. This discovery was part of the November Revolution of particle physics. He was the SLAC director from 1984 to 1999.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 22 March 1931 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P569))
- **Place of birth:** New York City ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P19))
- **Died:** 18 July 2018 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P570))
- **Place of death:** Palo Alto ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P20))
- **Citizenship:** United States ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P27))
- **Occupation:** physicist; university teacher ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P106))
- **Education:** Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mercersburg Academy; Far Rockaway High School ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P69))
- **Awards:** Nobel Prize in Physics; National Medal of Science; Philip Hauge Abelson Prize; Enrico Fermi Award; Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106#P166))

## Questions

**When was Burton Richter born?**  
Burton Richter was born on 22 March 1931 in New York City.

**Where did Burton Richter study?**  
Burton Richter was educated at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mercersburg Academy, Far Rockaway High School.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Burton Richter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton_Richter) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q192106](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q192106) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Burton Richter NSF crop.jpg by Burton_Richter_NSF.jpg : NSF derivative work: Materialscientist ( talk ) (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burton_Richter_NSF_crop.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Burton Richter, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Burton Richter NSF crop.jpg — Burton_Richter_NSF.jpg : NSF derivative work: Materialscientist ( talk ), Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Burton Richter". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/burton-richter. Retrieved 15 November 2026.