Which physicist popularized the term "black hole" in 1967?

John Archibald Wheeler popularized the term “black hole” in 1967.

Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist who worked extensively on general relativity, gravitation, and quantum theory. Before his terminology caught on, physicists often used cumbersome phrases such as “gravitationally completely collapsed object” to describe a body whose gravity prevents light from escaping.

During a 1967 lecture, Wheeler used the shorter and more memorable phrase “black hole,” helping make it the standard name for these objects. The phrase may have circulated earlier: other physicists recalled related uses in the early 1960s. For that reason, Wheeler is usually credited with popularizing the term rather than necessarily inventing it in an absolute sense.

Wheeler also helped revive interest in black-hole physics during a period when relativists were clarifying the structure of event horizons, singularities, and gravitational collapse. He coined or popularized several other influential expressions, including “wormhole” and “quantum foam.” Stephen Hawking later called Wheeler a major figure in the black-hole story.