Karl Schwarzschild discovered black holes in 1916
In the early 18th century, scientists began discussing the concept of an intense gravitational field. However, it wasn’t until 1916 that anyone made a conclusive statement on the matter. Karl Schwarzschild was the first scientist to use Albert Einstein’s gravitational equations to demonstrate a theory of general relativity. This theory forms the basis of our understanding black holes today. It’s amazing to think about how much technology has changed in such a short amount of time and what these scientists had to work with!
David Finkelstein was the first to describe the general reality theory as an area from which nothing could escape in 1958. In 1967, John Wheeler tagged the term “black hole” with the gravitationally collapsed solar matter. They were two of many scientists who contributed greatly to black hole theory.