Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1850)

Karl Ferdinand Braun was a German physicist, electrical engineer, and inventor. Braun contributed significantly to the development of radio with his 2 circuit system, which made long range radio transmissions and modern telecommunications possible, and with his invention of the phased array antenna in 1905, which led to the development of radar, smart antennas, and MIMO. Before that, he built the first cathode-ray tube in 1897, which led to the development of television, and the first semiconductor device in 1874, which co-started the development of electronics and electronics engineering.

The Nobel Prize in Physics is an annual award given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for those who have made the most outstanding contributions to mankind in the field of physics. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901, the others being the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Physics is traditionally the first award presented in the Nobel Prize ceremony.