REVIEW: The Discovery of Magnetic Resonance in the Context of 20th Century Science: Biographies and Bibliography. I: Discoverers of Magnetic Resonance in Matter

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Alexander V. Kessenikh¹ and Vasily V. Ptushenko^2,3,a*

¹Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 125315 Moscow, Russia

²Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119992 Moscow, Russia

³Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119334 Moscow, Russia

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: December 24, 2025; Revised: December 24, 2025; Accepted: December 30, 2025

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This article is a translation of the first chapter from the book “The Discovery of Magnetic Resonance in the Context of 20th Century Science: Biographies and Bibliography”. The book, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of magnetic resonance discovery, chronicles the history and bibliography of this major breakthrough in the 20th century physics (in Russian). In it, biographical accounts of E. K. Zavoisky, E. M. Purcell, and F. Bloch, outstanding physicists and fathers of magnetic resonance methods, are given. For each, a path to this discovery and works beyond it are described. Research preceding the discovery of the electron spin resonance and nuclear magnetic resonance as well as the first works in this new field of science are discussed.

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KEY WORDS: electron paramagnetic (spin) resonance (EPR/ESR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Gorter, Rabi, Zavoisky, Purcell, Bloch

DOI: 10.1134/S0006297925604459

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