Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck was born at Kiel, Germany, on April 23, 1858. He studied at the universities of Munich and Berlin, where he spent most of his professional life as Professor of Physics. He died in Göttingen on October 3, 1947.

He is the founder of the Quantum Theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1918.

He is also remembered for his opposition to the policies of the Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler, particularly for his persecution of the Jewish people in Germany.