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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectDavid Locke Webster
Dates
November 6, 1888 – December 17, 1976
Authorized Form of Name
Webster, David Locke, 1888-1976
Biography
Abstract
PhD, Harvard (1913); Assistant Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Professor of Physics and Executive Head of the Department of Physics, Stanford University; founding member and former President, American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT). Research in x-rays, microwaves and atomic physics.
Important Dates
November 6, 1888Birth, Boston (Mass.).
1910Obtained AB, Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).
1910 – 1917Instructor in Mathematics (1910-1911), Assistant in Physics (1911-1915) and Instructor in Physics (1915-1917), Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).
1913Obtained PhD (Physics), Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).
1917 – 1919Researcher, U.S. Army Air Service.
1919 – 1920Assistant Professor of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
1920 – 1954Professor of Physics (1920-1954) and Executive Head, Department of Physics (1920-1941), Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).
1923Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1929 – 1948Member, Board of Editors, "Review of Modern Physics.".
1933 – 1935Member, Board of Editors, "American Physics Teacher.".
1933 – 1937Vice President (1933-1934) and President (1935-1937), American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
1941Civilian with the U. S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), Civil Aeronautics Administration.
1942Head physicist, Signal Corps, U.S. Army.
1942Consultant, National Defense Research Committee.
1942 – 1943Head Physicist, Ordnance Department, U.S. Army.
1943 – 1950Chief Physicist (1943-1945), and consultant (1945-1950), U. S. Army.
1954 – 1976Emeritus Professor of physics, Stanford University, Stanford (Calif.).
1961 – 1963Consultant, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics.
1962 – 1974Consultant, Ames Research Center, National Aeronatuics and Space Administration (NASA).
December 17, 1976Death.
Occupation
Atomic physicist and physics educator.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Subjects
Physics -- Study and teaching.
Relationships
People
Family
Ross, Olive Durbin
Second wife, married September 1951.
Webster, Andrew Gerrish
Father.
Webster, Cutler
Son.
Webster, David Locke, Jr.
Son.
Webster, Harrison
Brother.
Webster, Lizzie Florence Briggs
Mother.
Webster, Nancy
Daughter.
Wheelwright, Helen Webster
Daughter.
Woodman, Anna Cutler
First wife, married June 1912.
Advisors & Collaborators
Clark, Harry
Collaborated on experiments in x-rays.
Compton, K. T. (Karl Taylor), 1887-1954
Collaborated in founding of American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
Dodge, Homer L. (Homer Levi), 1887-1983
Collaborated in founding of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
Drew, Elmer Reginald
Co-wrote the textbook "General Physics for Colleges."
Farwell, Hermon W.
Co-wrote the textbook "General Physics for Colleges."
PhD advisor at Harvard University, "I. On an electromagnetic theory of gravitation. II. On the existence and properties of the ether," and both employed at Harvard University.
Page, Leigh, 1884-
Co-wrote "A general survey of the present status of the atomic structure problem."
Webb, William S. (William Snyder), 1882-1964
Collaborated in founding of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
Colleagues
Both employed at Stanford University. Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Bridgman, P. W. (Percy Williams), 1882-1961
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Culp, Thomas B.
Did military work together.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Drell, Sidney D. (Sidney David), 1926-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Duff, A. Wilmer (Alexander Wilmer), 1864-
Did military work together.
Fairbank, William Martin, 1917-1989
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Friedman, Jerome I. (Jerome Isaac), 1930-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Hahn, E. L. (Erwin Louis), 1921-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Hänsch, T. W. (Theo W.), 1941-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Hansen, W. W. (William Webster), 1909-1949
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Kendall, Henry W. (Henry Way), 1926-1999
Both employed at Stanford University.
Kent, R. H. (Robert Harrington), 1886-1961
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Lamb, Willis E. (Willis Eugene), 1913-2008
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Mendenhall, Charles E. (Charles Elwood), 1872-1935
Did military work together.
Meyerhof, Walter E. (Walter Ernst), 1922-
Both employed at Stanford University.
Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953
Served under Millikan as a lieutenant in Science and Research Division of U.S. Army Signal Corps.
Panofsky, Wolfgang K. H. (Wolfgang Kurt Hermann), 1919-2007
Both employed at Stanford University.
Pierce, George Washington, 1872-1956
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Ross, Perley A.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Schiff, Leonard I. (Leonard Isaac), 1915-1971
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980
Both employed at Stanford University.
Varian, Russell Harrison, 1898-1959
Both employed at Stanford University.
Varian, Sigurd Fergus, 1901-1961
Both employed at Stanford University.
Both employed at Stanford University.
Additional
Alksne, Alberta Y.
Companion in later life.
Bartlett, Albert A.
Byerly, William Elwood, 1849-1935.
Took courses from Byerly at Harvard University.
Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962
Coolidge, Julian Lowell, 1873-1954
Took courses from Coolidge at Harvard University.
Cope, Thomas D. (Thomas Darlington)
Duane, William, 1872-1935
Greenhall, James J.
High school physics teacher who influenced Webster to pursue a career in physics.
Harrison, George Russell, 1898-1979
Student at Stanford University.
Hunt, Franklin
Student at Stanford University.
Huntington, E. V. (Edward Vermilye), 1874-1952
Took courses from Huntington at Harvard University.
Klopsteg, Paul E. (Paul Ernest), 1889-
Lemon, Harvey Brace, 1885-
Loeb, Leonard B. (Leonard Benedict), 1891-
Loomis, F. W. (Francis Wheeler), 1889-1976
Students at Harvard University together.
Lorentz, H. A. (Hendrik Antoon), 1853-1928
Osgood, William F. (William Fogg), 1864-1943
Took courses from Osgood at Harvard University.
Attended Harvard together and both held office in the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
Peirce, B. O. (Benjamin Osgood), 1854-1914
Took courses from Peirce at Harvard University.
Reynolds, Wallace B.
Richtmyer, F. K. (Floyd Karker), 1881-1939
Sabine, Wallace Clement
Took courses from Sabine at Harvard University.
Sutton, Richard Manliffe, 1900-1966
Taylor, Lloyd William, 1893-1948
Wheelwright, George W., III
Wood, Robert Williams, 1868-1955
Woodyard, John R., 1904-1981
Institutions
Major Positions
Ames Research Center
Consultant.
Harvard University. Department of Mathematics
Instructor in Mathematics.
Harvard University. Department of Physics
Obtained AB and PhD in Physics. Assistant in Physics and Instructor in Physics.
Hawaii Institute of Geophysics
Consultant.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Assistant Professor of Physics.
Stanford University. Department of Physics
Professor of Physics; Executive Head, Department of Physics; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
United States. Army
Chief Physicist and Consultant.
United States. Army Air Forces
Civilian, Civil Aeronautics Division.
United States. Army. Air Service
Researcher.
United States. Army. Ordnance Department
Head Physicist.
United States. Army. Signal Corps
Head Physicist.
United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. National Defense Research Committee
Consultant.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Association of Physics Teachers
Vice President and President.
American Philosophical Society
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Phi Beta Kappa
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration
University of Michigan. Department of Physics
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
American Association of Physics Teachers records of David Locke Webster, 1930-1958.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
David Locke Webster correspondence concerning William Duane, 1954-1970.
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
David Locke Webster papers, 1914-1966.
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
David Locke Webster papers, 1915-1973.
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Oral history interview with David Locke Webster, 1963 January 26.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with David Locke Webster, 1964 May 21.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Preliminary experiments on the distribution of ionizing power in the tungsten x-ray spectrum: research notebook, 1915.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Reminiscences of a Rolling Stone [autobiography], 1977.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Reminiscences of David Locke Webster : oral history, 1963.
Oral History Research Office
Columbia University
Box 20, Room 801 Butler Library, New York, NY 10027, USA
Subject
AAPT records of early history, 1929-1966.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with John R. Woodyard, 1974 October 18 and 1975 December 17.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with John R. Woodyard: Cyclotron and Klystron development: oral history transcript, 1974 October 18 and 1975 December 17.
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, USA
Oral history interview with Leonard B. Loeb, 1962 August 7.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Marshall Ney States, 1963 January 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Wallace B. Reynolds, 1975 December 12.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Wallace B. Reynolds, 1975 December 12.
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, USA
Papers of physicists and astronomers in Hoover Library, 1918-1965.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library
West Branch, IA 52358, USA
Stanford University Department of Physics records, 1937-1949.
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Stanford University, School of Engineering, Dean's Office records, 1915-1969 (inclusive), 1925-1955 (bulk).
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA
William W. Hansen papers, 1925-1974.
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305, USA