Women in History · Head-to-head
Jocelyn Bell Burnell vs Kiri Te Kanawa
No — based on their recorded years, Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943–) lived before Kiri Te Kanawa (born 1944), and their lifetimes did not overlap.
Jocelyn Bell Burnell
An astrophysicist who discovered the first radio pulsars as a graduate student, a finding for which her supervisor won the Nobel Prize without her.
Key achievements
- Discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967 while a graduate student at Cambridge University
- Her discovery led to a 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to her supervisor, Antony Hewish, without her
- Later received numerous honors including the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2018
- Served as president of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Physics
Fast fact
Bell Burnell's 1967 discovery of pulsars was initially nicknamed 'LGM-1' for 'Little Green Men' before being identified as a natural astrophysical phenomenon.
Full profile of Jocelyn Bell Burnell →Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa is a New Zealand opera singer celebrated for her warm lyric soprano voice, who became one of the most internationally recognized classical singers of her generation.
Key achievements
- Became one of the most celebrated lyric sopranos of her generation.
- Performed at the 1981 royal wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales.
- Performed at leading opera houses around the world over a decades-long career.
- Was made a Dame for her contributions to music.
Fast fact
Te Kanawa performed at the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, an appearance broadcast to a global television audience estimated in the hundreds of millions.
Full profile of Kiri Te Kanawa →Who lived first, Jocelyn Bell Burnell or Kiri Te Kanawa?
Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943–) lived first, before Kiri Te Kanawa (born 1944), based on their recorded years.
Were Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Kiri Te Kanawa contemporaries?
No — based on their recorded years, Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943–) lived before Kiri Te Kanawa (born 1944), and their lifetimes did not overlap.
What do Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Kiri Te Kanawa have in common?
Both Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Kiri Te Kanawa are grouped among our Women in History figures and lived during the Modern Era.