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Charles K. Kao
David Dobkin [1] · CC BY-SA 3.0
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Charles K. Kao

Hong Kong-British-American physicist

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Sir Charles Kuen Kao was a Hong Kong electrical engineer who contributed to the development and use of fibre optics in telecommunications. In the 1960s, Kao created various methods to combine glass fibres with lasers in order to transmit digital data, which laid the groundwork for the evolution of the Internet and the eventual creation of the World Wide Web.

Quick facts

Born
wd
Place of birth
Shanghai wd
Died
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Place of death
Bradbury Hospice wd
Citizenship
United Kingdom, United States wd
Occupation
physicist, inventor, entrepreneur, electrical engineer, scientist, university teacher wd
Education
University College London, University of Greenwich, University of London wd

Awards wd

  • IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award (1978)
  • IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal (1985)
  • Marconi Prize (1985)
  • C&C Prize (1987)
  • Faraday Medal (1989)
  • James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials (1989)
  • SPIE Gold Medal (1992)
  • Prince Philip Medal (1996)
  • Japan Prize (1996)
  • Charles Stark Draper Prize (1999)
  • Asian of the Century
  • Nobel Prize in Physics (2009)
  • Grand Bauhinia Medal (2010)
  • Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Questions

When was Charles K. Kao born?
Charles K. Kao was born on 4 November 1933 in Shanghai.
Where did Charles K. Kao study?
Charles K. Kao was educated at University College London, University of Greenwich, University of London.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia (English): Charles K. Kao · CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Wikidata item Q16389 · CC0 1.0
  3. Image: Charles K. Kao cropped 2.jpg by David Dobkin [1] (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Last updated · facts checked 5 November 2026

Cite this page

"Charles K. Kao". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/charles-k-kao. Retrieved 6 November 2026.

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Text from the Wikipedia article Charles K. Kao, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Charles K. Kao cropped 2.jpg — David Dobkin [1], CC BY-SA 3.0.

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