The Martians
Encyclopedia
"The Martians" was the name of a group of prominent scientists (mostly, but not exclusively physicist
s and mathematicians) who emigrated from Hungary
to the United States
in the early half of the 20th century. They included, among others, Theodore von Kármán
, John von Neumann
, Eugene Wigner, Edward Teller
and Paul Erdős
. They received the name from a fellow Martian Leó Szilárd
, who jokingly suggested that Hungary was a front for aliens from Mars
. (This is analogous to Enrico Fermi
's answer to the question whether extraterrestrial beings exist: "Of course, they are already here among us: they just call themselves Hungarians.")
, and were instrumental in American scientific progress, for example developing the atomic bomb.
Since they all spoke English with a strong accent (made famous by horror actor Bela Lugosi
), they were considered outsiders in American society. At the time, the Hungarian educational system was superior to the American, and the Hungarian scientists were seemingly superhuman in intellect. This led to them being christened Martians, a name which they adopted after finding it humorous.
The joke was that Hungarian scientists are actually descendants of a Martian scout force which landed in Budapest sometime in the late 1890s-early 1900s, but later departed after the planet was found unsuitable for their needs, but not before impregnating several women. These children became the Martians who migrated to America. John von Neumann used a number of facts as mock evidence to support this claim, such as the close geographic proximity of the Martian's birthplaces; the well-traceable general career, which started with an interest in chemistry, led the individual in question to German universities where they moved towards physics, at which point the Martian left Europe for America.
However, the original story goes like this:
"The universe is vast, containing myriads of stars, many of them not unlike our Sun. Many of these stars are likely to have planets circling around them. A fair fraction of these planets will have liquid water on their surface and a gaseous atmosphere. The energy pouring down from a star will cause the synthesis of organic compounds, turning the ocean into a thin, warm soup. These chemicals will join each other to produce a self-reproducing system. The simplest living things will multiply, evolve by natural selection and become more complicated till eventually active, thinking creatures will emerge. Civilization, science, and technology will follow. Then, yearning for fresh worlds, they will travel to neighboring planets, and later to planets of nearby stars. Eventually they should spread out all over the Galaxy. These highly exceptional and talented people could hardly overlook such a beautiful place as our Earth. - "And so, " - Fermi came to his overwhelming question, - "if all this has been happening, they should have arrived here by now, so where are they ? " - It was Leo Szilard, a man with an impish sense of humor, who supplied the perfect reply to the Fermi Paradox
: - "They are among us," - he said, - "but they call themselves Hungarians. " (from Gy. Marx's book: The Martians. )
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s and mathematicians) who emigrated from Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the early half of the 20th century. They included, among others, Theodore von Kármán
Theodore von Karman
Theodore von Kármán was a Hungarian-American mathematician, aerospace engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He is responsible for many key advances in aerodynamics, notably his work on supersonic and hypersonic airflow characterization...
, John von Neumann
John von Neumann
John von Neumann was a Hungarian-American mathematician and polymath who made major contributions to a vast number of fields, including set theory, functional analysis, quantum mechanics, ergodic theory, geometry, fluid dynamics, economics and game theory, computer science, numerical analysis,...
, Eugene Wigner, Edward Teller
Edward Teller
Edward Teller was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist, known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb," even though he did not care for the title. Teller made numerous contributions to nuclear and molecular physics, spectroscopy , and surface physics...
and Paul Erdős
Paul Erdos
Paul Erdős was a Hungarian mathematician. Erdős published more papers than any other mathematician in history, working with hundreds of collaborators. He worked on problems in combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, classical analysis, approximation theory, set theory, and probability theory...
. They received the name from a fellow Martian Leó Szilárd
Leó Szilárd
Leó Szilárd was an Austro-Hungarian physicist and inventor who conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, patented the idea of a nuclear reactor with Enrico Fermi, and in late 1939 wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb...
, who jokingly suggested that Hungary was a front for aliens from Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. (This is analogous to Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
's answer to the question whether extraterrestrial beings exist: "Of course, they are already here among us: they just call themselves Hungarians.")
History and origin of the name
During WWII, many Eastern European scientists emigrated to the United States, mostly from the Nazi Germany. Most were Jewish and several were from BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, and were instrumental in American scientific progress, for example developing the atomic bomb.
Since they all spoke English with a strong accent (made famous by horror actor Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
), they were considered outsiders in American society. At the time, the Hungarian educational system was superior to the American, and the Hungarian scientists were seemingly superhuman in intellect. This led to them being christened Martians, a name which they adopted after finding it humorous.
The joke was that Hungarian scientists are actually descendants of a Martian scout force which landed in Budapest sometime in the late 1890s-early 1900s, but later departed after the planet was found unsuitable for their needs, but not before impregnating several women. These children became the Martians who migrated to America. John von Neumann used a number of facts as mock evidence to support this claim, such as the close geographic proximity of the Martian's birthplaces; the well-traceable general career, which started with an interest in chemistry, led the individual in question to German universities where they moved towards physics, at which point the Martian left Europe for America.
However, the original story goes like this:
"The universe is vast, containing myriads of stars, many of them not unlike our Sun. Many of these stars are likely to have planets circling around them. A fair fraction of these planets will have liquid water on their surface and a gaseous atmosphere. The energy pouring down from a star will cause the synthesis of organic compounds, turning the ocean into a thin, warm soup. These chemicals will join each other to produce a self-reproducing system. The simplest living things will multiply, evolve by natural selection and become more complicated till eventually active, thinking creatures will emerge. Civilization, science, and technology will follow. Then, yearning for fresh worlds, they will travel to neighboring planets, and later to planets of nearby stars. Eventually they should spread out all over the Galaxy. These highly exceptional and talented people could hardly overlook such a beautiful place as our Earth. - "And so, " - Fermi came to his overwhelming question, - "if all this has been happening, they should have arrived here by now, so where are they ? " - It was Leo Szilard, a man with an impish sense of humor, who supplied the perfect reply to the Fermi Paradox
Fermi paradox
The Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations....
: - "They are among us," - he said, - "but they call themselves Hungarians. " (from Gy. Marx's book: The Martians. )