ABSTRACT
Edwin Ernest Salpeter (1924–2008) was an Austrian–Australian– American astrophysicist. Born in Vienna to a Jewish family, Salpeter emigrated from Austria to Australia while in his teens to escape the Nazis. He attended Sydney Boys High School (1939–40) and Sydney University, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in 1944 and his Master’s degree in 1945. In the same year, he was awarded an overseas scholarship and attended the University of Birmingham, England. He earned his doctorate in 1948 under the supervision of Sir Rudolf Peierls. He spent the remainder of his career at Cornell University, where he was the James Gilbert White Distinguished Professor of the Physical Sciences. Salpeter died of leukemia at his home in Ithaca, New York, on 26 November 2008.
