CERN

In October 1952, Geneva was chosen as the location for the CERN Laboratory during the third session of the provisional council. The decision was later confirmed by a successful referendum in June 1953.

At the sixth session of the CERN Council in Paris, the convention establishing the organization was signed by 12 states, subject to ratification. The convention was gradually ratified by the 12 founding Member States, leading to the official establishment of the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, was established on September 29, 1954. It is one of the world's largest and most respected centers for scientific research, focusing on particle physics.

On June 10, 1955, Felix Bloch, the Director-General of CERN, laid the foundation stone at the Laboratory site. The event was witnessed by Max Petitpierre, the President of the Swiss Confederation.

The 600 MeV Synchrocyclotron (SC) became operational, marking a significant milestone for CERN.

On 24 November 1959, the Proton Synchrotron (PS) at CERN successfully accelerated protons for the first time, marking the beginning of CERN's particle physics program with a beam energy of 28 GeV.

On September 1, 1965, the first observations of antinuclei were made at the Proton Synchrotron (PS). This marked a significant milestone in the history of particle physics and experimental research at CERN.

On January 27, 1971, Kjell Johnsen announced that the world's first interactions from colliding protons were recorded at the Intersecting Storage Rings (ISR) at CERN. This marked a significant milestone in particle physics research.

On 3 May 1976, the Super Proton Synchrotron started operating after the completion of civil engineering and installation work in record time. This marked a significant milestone in the field of particle physics.

On June 17, 1976, the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) at CERN achieved a milestone by accelerating protons to 400 GeV for the first time, as depicted in the control room photo.

In 1979, CERN decided to convert the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) into a proton–antiproton collider. This conversion was crucial for the project's success in collecting enough antiprotons to create a beam.

In April 1981, the first proton-antiproton collisions were achieved at the Intersecting Storage Rings, leading to groundbreaking discoveries in particle physics.

In January 1983, the discovery of W and Z particles marked a significant breakthrough in the understanding of fundamental particles and forces.

In 1983, CERN announced the discovery of the W and Z particles. The UA1 experiment detected the first Z0 particle on April 30, 1983, by observing an electron-positron pair produced in the decay of Z0.

Carlo Rubbia and Simon van der Meer were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1984 for their experimental work on proton-antiproton collisions at CERN, leading to the discovery of the W and Z bosons in 1983.

Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist at CERN, invented the World Wide Web in March 1989 to meet the demand for information sharing among physicists in universities and institutes worldwide.

In December 1990, the world's first browser/editor, website, and server went live at CERN, marking the birth of the World Wide Web and revolutionizing information sharing.

Georges Charpak was awarded the 1992 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention and development of particle detectors, particularly the multiwire proportional chamber, which revolutionized particle detection.

In 1994, the CERN governing Council approved the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest particle accelerator. The project had an estimated cost of 10 billion Swiss francs.

On September 15, 1995, a team at CERN led by Walter Oelert successfully created atoms of antihydrogen for the first time at the Low Energy Antiproton Ring (LEAR) facility. These antihydrogen atoms were produced in collisions between antiprotons and xenon atoms, demonstrating the creation of antimatter.

On February 7, 1997, the Antiproton Decelerator project was approved, aiming to deliver dense beams of protons at low energy levels using the Antiproton Collector.

On February 14, 1997, the ALICE experiment was approved, marking a significant milestone in the field of particle physics and research at CERN.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) was established on this date. It is one of the world's largest and most respected centers for scientific research, focusing on particle physics.

In 1999, the NA48 experiment at CERN made the significant discovery of direct CP violation, a phenomenon crucial in understanding the differences between matter and antimatter.

After 11 years of research and significant contributions to the study of electroweak interaction and particle generations, LEP was closed down on 2 November 2000 to pave the way for the construction of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the same tunnel.

ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is one of the major experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider, focusing on heavy-ion collisions to study quark-gluon plasma.

CERN celebrates its 50th birthday, marking half a century of groundbreaking research and discoveries in the field of particle physics.

The ATLAS Barrel Toroid, the largest superconducting magnet at the time, was activated for the first time at CERN. It provides a strong magnetic field for the ATLAS particle detector at the Large Hadron Collider.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) started operating on September 10, 2008. It is the largest and most powerful particle accelerator in the world, located at CERN.

CERN engaged in collaborative efforts with scientists worldwide, fostering a spirit of cooperation and knowledge-sharing in the field of nuclear physics.

The ALPHA experiment at CERN successfully trapped antimatter atoms for over 16 minutes, enabling detailed studies of their properties. This breakthrough allows for the precise mapping of antihydrogen using spectroscopy, facilitating comparisons with the hydrogen atom.

CERN announced the discovery of the Higgs boson particle, a monumental achievement in the field of particle physics that confirmed the existence of the Higgs field.

In a seminar on December 13, 2011, the ATLAS and CMS experiments provided tantalizing hints of the Higgs boson.

The Higgs Boson, a crucial particle in the Standard Model of particle physics, was discovered by scientists at CERN in 2012.

On March 18, 2014, CERN celebrated its 60th anniversary, marking six decades of scientific research and collaboration for the advancement of peace through science.

On 14 July 2015, CERN announced the discovery of pentaquarks, a particle composed of five quarks that might be tightly bound or weakly assembled into a meson and a baryon.

On September 28, 2018, CERN unveiled its new official address, Esplanade des Particules, in collaboration with the État de Genève and the Ville de Meyrin, marking a significant milestone for the research facility.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) became operational again on April 22, 2022, with a new maximum beam energy of 6.8 TeV (13.6 TeV collision energy). This upgrade allowed for higher luminosity and paved the way for new discoveries in particle physics.

The international LHCb collaboration at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) observed three never-before-seen particles, including a new kind of pentaquark and the first-ever pair of tetraquarks, which includes a new type of tetraquark. These findings were presented at a CERN seminar, adding three new exotic members to the list of new hadrons found at the LHC.

On December 20, 2022, the LHCb Collaboration announced that the analysis of Run 1 and Run 2 data confirmed the Universality Principle of the leptonic 'flavour', fulfilling expectations set in March 2021.

CERN made official communications and news announcements on March 22, 2024, regarding the latest developments in science, experiments, and technology. This event highlighted the significant role of CERN in advancing scientific knowledge.