Frederick Soddy FRS was an English radiochemist who explained, with Ernest Rutherford, that radioactivity is due to the transmutation of elements, now known to involve nuclear reactions. He also proved the existence of isotopes of certain radioactive elements.
Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dated facts from Wikidata; ages marked “about” come from year-only dates.
Every fact on this page traces to one of these.
Also born on September 2
Actor
1964 · Canada
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor and musician. The recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades, he is known for his leading roles in action films, his amiable public image, and his philanthropic efforts.
Birgit Fostervold, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Actor
1966 · United States
Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela Teresa (1989–1991) as well as the romantic drama Midaq Alley (1995).
Martin Kraft, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athlete
1951 · United States
Thomas Mark Harmon is an American actor, writer, producer, television director and former football player. He is best known for playing the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs on NCIS.
Jerry Avenaim, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Inventor
1853–1932 · Germany
Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst and Svante Arrhenius.
Nobel Foundation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Scientist
1922–2020 · United States
Arthur Ashkin was an American scientist and Nobel laureate who worked at Bell Labs. Ashkin has been considered by many as the father of optical tweezers, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2018 at age 96, becoming the oldest Nobel laureate until 2019 when John B.
Bengt Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Athlete
2002 · France
Bradley Jean-Manuel Essolisam Addo Barcola is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and the France national team. He is known for his speed, agility and dribbling.