# Hugh Everett Iii

{{Infobox scientist | name = hugh everett iii | image = Hugh-Everett.jpg | image_size = 270px | caption = Hugh Everett in 1964 | birth_date = (1930-11-11)November 11, 1930 | birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | death_date = July 19, 1982(1982-07-19) (aged 51) | death_place = McLean, Virginia, U.S. | citizenship = United States | field = PhysicsOperations researchOptimizationGame theory | work_institution = Institute for Defense Analyses[[American) | doctoral_advisor = John Archibald Wheeler | doctoral_students = | known_for = Many-worlds interpretationEverett's theorem | prizes = | children = Elizabeth Everett, Mark Oliver Everett }} hugh everett iii (; November 11, 1930 – July 19, 1982) was an American physicist who first proposed the many-worlds interpretation (MWI) of quantum physics, which he termed his "relative state" formulation. In contrast to the then-dominant Copenhagen interpretation, the MWI posits that the Schrödinger equation never collapses and that all possibilities of a quantum superposition are objectively real. Discouraged by the scorn of other physicists for MWI, Everett ended his physics career after completing his PhD. Afterwards, he developed the use of generalized Lagrange multipliers for operations research and applied this commercially as a defense analyst and a consultant.