Feynman’s father was born in which city of the Russian Empire? He was born in Minsk.
Melville Arthur Feynman was born into a Jewish family in Minsk, then part of the Russian Empire. He later immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was five years old, becoming part of the family background that shaped Richard Feynman’s New York upbringing.
Minsk is now the capital of Belarus. Its historical identity has changed across eras: in Melville’s childhood it lay within the Russian Empire, while today it is located in an independent nation. That change in political geography is why older biographies describe the birthplace using the Russian Empire rather than Belarus.
The city is sometimes confused with Odessa, Vilnius or Kyiv because all were important centers of Jewish life and Eastern European migration. However, the biographical account of Richard Feynman specifically identifies his father’s birthplace as Minsk. Richard himself was born in Queens, New York, not Eastern Europe.