John Archibald Wheeler

Wheeler helped popularize the term "black hole" in 1967. The phrase became standard in discussions of collapsed stars and general relativity.

Wheeler worked on nuclear fission and was connected to major 20th-century physics projects, including wartime research in the United States. He also collaborated with Niels Bohr on theoretical work related to fission.

Wheeler supervised or influenced major physicists including Richard Feynman, Kip Thorne, and Hugh Everett. Everett's many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics emerged from doctoral work under Wheeler.

"It from bit" was Wheeler's phrase for the idea that physical reality may be deeply connected to information and measurement. It belongs to his later reflections on quantum theory and the role of observers.