Margrethe Bohr

Margrethe Nørlund Bohr (7 March 1890 – 21 December 1984) was the Danish wife of and collaborator, editor and transcriber for physicist Niels Bohr who received the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physics. Her son, Aage Bohr, won the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Biography Margrethe Nørlund was born in Slagelse, Denmark to pharmacist Alfred Christian Nørlund (1850–1925) and Emma Ottine Sophie, née Holm (1862–1926). Her brothers were mathematician Niels Erik Nørlund and architect Poul Nørlund.

Early life At age 19, Margrethe was studying to be a French teacher when she met Niels Bohr, a friend of her brother, Niels Nørlund. As she remembered it later, her future husband visited the house several times before she really noticed him. Their relationship progressed quickly and by the summer of 1910 they were engaged. The couple married in a civil ceremony at the Slagelse town hall on 1 August 1912, and by all reports, they remained happily married until Niels died.

The Bohrs had six sons but the oldest and youngest died prematurely. Harald died at about 10 from meningitis and his eldest brother, Christian, drowned at 18 when a storm suddenly overtook the boat he was sailing with his father. Notably, one son, Aage Bohr, became a celebrated physicist like his father and also won the Nobel Prize.

Her roles were many but her emphasis was simple, to help Niels explain concepts, even complex ones, in "plain language." As a sounding board, she collaborated with her husband as he worked out his theories, at first by discussing them with her. Then Niels would dictate his thoughts so Margrethe could transcribe and type them (a job his mother had filled before the marriage). Typically, drafts circulated between the two many times. In the course of editing (by both of them), transcribing, re-editing, and retyping the many drafts of her husband’s papers, she insisted that he explain his ideas in language that was understandable to his readers. According to son Hans Bohr, "My mother was the natural and indispensable center…Her opinions were his [father's] guidelines in daily affairs." The family returned to Copenhagen so Niels could restore and expand his damaged Institute. Niels died in 1962. The play looks at the couple's real-life collaboration.As Heisenberg and Bohr recall their science, they remind themselves to always be sure that Margrethe can understand the work discussed in plain language. But in addition to clarifying their science, Margrethe is also key for clarifying their hearts, always pushing the two men to speak to each other about intention, motivation, and memory in the same plain language. The character, like the historical woman, makes Niels’ personal and professional life possible.

Major performances: London Premiere – 1998 Broadway Opening – April 2000 (Tony Award winner for Best Play) TV Movie – 2002 BBC Radio – January 2013

Margrethe is played by Francesca Annis in 2002 film Copenhagen, written and directed by Howard Davies that is based on the play.