Pioneering physicist John A. Wheeler dies

HIGHTSTOWN, N.J., April 15 (UPI) -- John A. Wheeler, a pioneering physicist who gave black holes their name, has died of pneumonia at age 96 at his home in New Jersey.

Wheeler collaborated with scientists such as Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr and helped invent the theory of nuclear fission.

"Laura and I are saddened by the death of John Archibald Wheeler, one of America's greatest physicists," President George W. Bush said Monday in a statement. "His early work with Bohr on how nuclei split apart, his vision of the possibilities of Einstein's curved space, and his work on quantum theory demonstrated his innovation and brilliance."

Wheeler, who was the Joseph Henry Professor of Physics Emeritus at Princeton University, was born in 1911 in Jacksonville, Fla., The Times said.