Richard Feynman, Demigod of Physics, Father of the Quantum Computer

In the rankings of the greatest physicists of the last century, American physicist Richard Feynman (1918–1988) levels just a few notches below Albert Einstein. His name, legend, and legacy live in the halls of academia as the labors of a demigod. Feynman achieved so much in his 5+ decades in the field of physics: he was part of the Manhattan project that developed the first atomic weapon; his lectures and books in computation and quantum electrodynamics (QED) are the stuff of legend; his book Six Easy Pieces revolutionized the teaching of physics around the world. Feynman was one of the pioneers of quantum field theory (QFT), the modern view of quantum mechanics; his contributions were profound, earning him the Nobel Prize in 1965 for his work in quantum electrodynamics.