  We review the work and life of Otto Stern who developed the molecular beam
technique and with its aid laid the foundations of experimental atomic physics.
Among the key results of his research are: the experimental determination of
the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution of molecular velocities (1920), experimental
demonstration of space quantization of angular momentum (1922), diffraction of
matter waves comprised of atoms and molecules by crystals (1931) and the
determination of the magnetic dipole moments of the proton and deuteron (1933).
