# Tsung-Dao Lee

_Chinese-American physicist (1926–2024)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/tsung-dao-lee
Last updated: 2026-11-01

> Tsung-Dao Lee (Chinese: 李政道; pinyin: Lǐ Zhèngdào; November 24, 1926 – August 4, 2024) was a Chinese-American physicist known for his work on parity violation, the Lee–Yang theorem, particle physics, relativistic heavy ion (RHIC) physics, nontopological solitons, and soliton stars. He was a university professor emeritus at Columbia University in New York City, where he taught from 1953 until his retirement in 2012.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 24 November 1926 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P569))
- **Place of birth:** Shanghai ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P19))
- **Died:** 4 August 2024 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P570))
- **Place of death:** San Francisco ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P20))
- **Citizenship:** United States; Republic of China ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P27))
- **Occupation:** physicist; university teacher; theoretical physicist ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P106))
- **Education:** Zhejiang University; National Southwestern Associated University; University of Chicago; Tsinghua University; Peking University; Nankai University ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P69))
- **Spouse:** Jeannette Hui-Chun Chin ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P26))
- **Awards:** Nobel Prize in Physics; Guggenheim Fellowship; Oskar Klein Medal; Matteucci Medal; Fellow of the American Physical Society; honorary doctor of the Peking University; honorary doctor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Great Immigrants Award ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679#P166))

## About

In 1957, at the age of 30, Lee won the Nobel Prize in Physics with Chen Ning Yang for their work on the violation of the parity law in weak interactions, which Chien-Shiung Wu experimentally proved from 1956 to 1957, with her well known Wu experiment.

Lee remains the youngest Nobel laureate in the science fields after World War II. He is the third-youngest Nobel laureate in sciences in history after William L. Bragg (who won the prize at 25 with his father William H. Bragg in 1915) and Werner Heisenberg (who won in 1932 also at 30). Lee and Yang were the first Chinese laureates. Since he became a naturalized American citizen in 1963, Lee is also the youngest American ever to have won a Nobel Prize.

## Questions

**When was Tsung-Dao Lee born?**  
Tsung-Dao Lee was born on 24 November 1926 in Shanghai.

**Where did Tsung-Dao Lee study?**  
Tsung-Dao Lee was educated at Zhejiang University, National Southwestern Associated University, University of Chicago, Tsinghua University.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Tsung-Dao Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsung-Dao_Lee) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q183679](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q183679) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: TD Lee.jpg by Nobel foundation (Public domain)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TD_Lee.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Tsung-Dao Lee, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: TD Lee.jpg — Nobel foundation, Public domain.

## Cite this page

"Tsung-Dao Lee". DigiNepal. Last updated 1 November 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/tsung-dao-lee. Retrieved 6 November 2026.