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After the Nazi defeat, Niels Bohr returned home to Copenhagen; soon his own institute was open for business once more. Bohr was recognized as the leading citizen of Denmark, but to the end of his life he never quite believed that he was really a famous man. Once he went into the office of Scandinavian Airlines and asked diffidently whether he might cash a small check. When the manager offered to cash any amount he wanted, he was amazed that his name had been recognized. Though creative theoretical physics is for younger men, Bohr did extraordinary work in getting European science on the track again after the war. He pleaded tirelessly for the peaceful uses of atomic energy, was one of the leading backers of CERN, Europe's cooperative research center at Geneva. Honors came so thickly that he could not have worn all his medals at the same time.
Last summer Bohr suffered a slight cerebral hemorrhage. After an autumn vacation in Italy, he seemed to recover, and he began writing his eagerly awaited history of quantum physics. But he spoke of a growing concern: Who would carry on his work when he was gone? One afternoon last week, while talking with a colleague, he felt dizzy. He went to bed with a slight headache, lost consciousness and died.