Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut
French physicist and crystallographer
Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut (9 February 1913 – 6 November 2003), also known separately as Erwin Lewy, Félix Bertaut, and E. F. Bertaut, or Erwin Félix Lewy-Bertaut, was a German-born French materials scientist who led a former life as a law school student in Nazi Germany. He was renowned internationally for his work in magnetic crystallography, X-ray diffraction, and neutron scattering. He was a research director at CNRS, a member of the French Academy of Sciences and played an important role in the creation of Institut Laue–Langevin, a leading neutron research facility in the world.
Biography
Lewy-Bertaut was born with the name Erwin Lewy to Jewish parents in Leobschütz of Silesia (then in Germany). The year 1930 marked a significant shift as his mother died, prompting their entire family's relocation to Gleiwitz amidst an era of economic turmoil and the ascent of Nazism. Following this, in 1931, Lewy embarked on his legal studies first at the University of Freiburg and subsequently in University of Breslau (now Wrocław). As Hitler's ascendancy to power unfurled in Germany, instituting a "numerus clausus" that effectively precluded Jewish individuals from university access, Lewy-Bertaut left for Bordeaux, France. There, the Rothschild Foundation awarded him a scholarship, facilitating his enrollment at the University of Bordeaux, where Lewy-Bertaut studied chemical engineering, physics, and mathematics. After graduation, Lewy-Bertaut undertook roles as a mathematics and German tutor and acquired French citizenship in 1936. In 1938, Lewy-Bertaut worked as an engineer at Institut du pin and joined the French army as a military volunteer near Bordeaux.
The public source identifies “Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut” as french physicist and crystallographer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Erwin-Félix, Lewy-Bertaut and French.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut”, the useful work is to connect “french physicist and crystallographer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q9254834. VIAF identifies the subject as 77332710. The Library of Congress control number is no2012079620. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1913, 2003, 1930 and 1931.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut primary sources, Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut archive and Erwin-Félix research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Erwin-Félix Lewy-Bertaut” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.