Edwin C. Kemble

Biography

Abstract

Professor of Physics, Harvard University, 1919-1957. He was made chair of the Physics Dept. in 1940. He made contributions to the theory of quantum mechanics and molecular structure and spectroscopy. During World War II, he was a consultant to the Navy on acoustic detection of submarines and to the Army on Operation Alsos.

Important Dates

January 28, 1889Birth, Delaware (Ohio).

1906 – 1907Studied at Ohio-Wesleyan University, Delaware (Ohio).

1911Obtained B.S. in physics, Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland (Ohio).

1911 – 1913 AssistanI instructor in Physics (1911-12) and Instructor in Physics (1912-13), Carnegie Institute of Technology.

1917Obtained Ph.D. in physics. His doctoral thesis was the first on theoretical physics to be written in the U.S, Cambridge (Mass.).

1917 – 1918Engineering Physicist, Curtiss Aircraft Company.

1919Instructor in Physics, Williams College.

1919 – 1984 Instructor oPhysics (1919-1930), Professor of Physics (1930-1957), Chair of Physics Department (1940-45), and Emeritus Professor oPhysics (1957-1984), Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).

1927Guggenheim Fellow at the University of Munich and the University of Gottingen.

1931Elected member, National Academy of Sciences.

1945Member, Operation ALSOS, Office of Field Service, Office of Scientific Research and Development.

1945 – 1948Chair, Physics Section, National Academy of Sciences.

1946 – 1949Chair, Coulomb's Law Committee, American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).

1957 – 1960Director, Academic Year Institute for High School Teachers, Harvard University.

March 12, 1984Death.

Occupation

Physicist and spectroscopist.

Places

Birth

Delaware (Ohio)

Undergraduate Education

Delaware (Ohio)

Cleveland (Ohio)

Graduate Education

Cambridge (Mass.)

Employment

Cambridge (Mass.)

Death

Cambridge (Mass.)

Subjects

Atomic theory.

Nuclear physics.

Quantum theory.

Statistical mechanics.

Relationships

People

Family

Kemble, Jean A.

Daughter.

Kemble, Martha

Second wife.

Kemble, Robert D.

Son.

Advisors & Collaborators

Bartlett, James H. (James Holley), 1904-2000

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University.

Birge, Raymond T. (Raymond Thayer), 1887-

Co-wrote "Molecular Spectra in Gases."

Bourgin, David Gordon

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University.

Bridgman, P. W. (Percy Williams), 1882-1961

Ph.D. advisor at Harvard and both employed at Harvard University.

Colby, Walter F. (Walter Francis), 1880-

Co-wrote "Molecular Spectra in Gases."

Crawford, Franzo H. (Franzo Hazlett), 1900-

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University.

Feenberg, Eugene

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University and both employed at Harvard University.

Hill, Edward Lee, 1904-1974

Co-wrote two articles.

James, Hubert Maxwell, 1908-

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University.

Knipp, Julian K. (Julian Knause), 1910-1990

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University.

Loomis, F. W. (Francis Wheeler), 1889-1976

Co-wrote "Molecular Spectra in Gases."

Page, Leigh, 1884-

Co-wrote "Molecular Spectra in Gases."

Present, Richard David, 1913-

Co-wrote an article.

Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972

Co-wrote the book "Science Ponders Religion."

Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University in using classical mechanics to compute the energy of a model of the helium atom and both employed at Harvard University.

Witmer, Enos Eby, 1898-

Co-wrote an article.

Zener, Clarence, 1905-

Advised by Kemble at Harvard University.

Colleagues

Adler, Stephen L.

Both employed by Havard University. Both employed at Harvard University.

Bainbridge, Kenneth T. (Kenneth Tompkins), 1904-1996

Both employed at Harvard University.

Barton, Henry Askew, 1898-1983

Both employed at Harvard University (NRC fellowship).

Benedek, George Bernard, 1928-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Bloembergen, N.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Branscomb, Lewis M., 1926-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Brewer, Richard G.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Brillouin, Léon, 1889-1969

Both employed at Harvard University.

Brooks, Harvey

Both employed at Harvard University.

Callan, Curtis G.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Coleman, Sidney, 1937-2007

Both employed at Harvard University.

Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978

Both employed at Harvard University.

Davisson, Clinton Joseph, 1881-1958

Both employed at Carnegie Institute of Technology.

Deser, S. (Stanley)

Both employed at Harvard University.

Fisk, James B. (James Brown), 1910-1981

Both employed at Harvard University.

Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Gallagher, Thomas F., 1944-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Gates, S. James

Both employed at Harvard University.

Georgi, Howard

Both employed at Harvard University.

Glashow, Sheldon L.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Glauber, Roy J., 1925-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Griggs, David, 1911-1974

Both employed at Harvard University.

Gross, David J. (David Jonathan)

Both employed at Harvard University.

Halperin, Bertrand I.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Hooft, G. 't

Both employed at Harvard University.

Jackiw, Roman W.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Jaffe, Arthur, 1937-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Kleppner, Daniel

Both employed at Harvard University.

Kohn, Walter, 1923-2016

Both employed at Harvard University.

Leggett, A. J. (Anthony J.)

Both employed at Harvard University.

Lyman, Theodore, 1874-1954

Both employed at Harvard University.

Martin, Paul Cecil, 1931-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Meggers, William F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966

Both employed at Carnegie Institute of Technology.

Mulliken, Robert Sanderson

Both employed at Harvard University.

Nelson, David R., 1951-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Nier, Alfred O. (Alfred Otto), 1911-1994

Both employed at Harvard University.

Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967

Both employed at Harvard University.

Pierce, George Washington, 1872-1956

Both employed at Harvard University.

Pound, Robert V.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Purcell, Edward M.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Quinn, Helen R.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Ramsey, Norman, 1915-2011

Both employed at Harvard University.

Raney, William P.

Both employed at Harvard University.

Saunders, Frederick A. (Frederick Albert), 1875-1963

Both employed at Harvard University.

Schwinger, Julian, 1918-1994

Both employed at Harvard University.

Slater, John C. (John Clarke), 1900-1976

Took quantum physics course offered by Kemble at Harvard University and both employed at Harvard University.

Starr, Chauncey

Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Street, Jabez Curry, 1906-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Tinkham, Michael

Both employed at Harvard University.

Tousey, Richard

Both employed at Harvard University.

Weinberg, Steven, 1933-

Both employed at Harvard University.

Wilson, Robert R., 1914-2000

Both employed at Harvard University.

Wu, Tai Tsun

Both employed at Harvard University.

Additional

Bohr, Niels, 1885-1962

Breit, Gregory, 1899-1981

Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962

Goudsmit, Samuel A. (Samuel Abraham), 1902-1978

Holden, Alan

Holton, Gerald James

Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953

Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988

Richtmyer, F. K. (Floyd Karker), 1881-1939

Sabine, Wallace Clement

Shankland, Robert S., 1908-

Swann, W. F. G. (William Francis Gray), 1884-1962

Urey, Harold Clayton, 1893-1981

Wood, Robert Williams, 1868-1955

Institutions

Major Positions

Carnegie Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

Assistant Instructor in Physics and Instructor in Physics.

Curtiss aircraft

Engineering Physicist.

Harvard University

Director, Academic Year Institute for High School Teachers.

Harvard University. Department of Physics

Obtained Ph.D. (physics) and Instructor of Physics, Professor of Physics, Chair of Department, and Emeritus Professor of Physics.

Williams College

Instructor in Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

American Association of Physics Teachers

Chair, Coulomb's Law Committee.

American Institute of Physics

American Physical Society

Case School of Applied Science

Obtained B.S. (physics).

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Chair, Physics Section.

National Research Council (U.S.)

Ohio Wesleyan University

Attended for undergraduate studies.

United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development

Member, Operation ALSOS, Office of Field Service.

Universität Göttingen

Guggenheim Fellow.

Universität München

Guggenheim Fellow.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Edwin C. Kemble manuscripts, 1917-1937.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Edwin C. Kemble papers [microform], 1919-1937.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Edwin C. Kemble papers, 1913-1983.

Archives. Pusey Library

Harvard University

Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Molecular spectra in gases: report of the Committee on Radiation in Gases, Edwin C. Kemble, Raymond T. Birge, Walter F. Colby, F. Wheeler Loomis, Leigh Page, 1926.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Edwin C. Kemble, 1962 May 11 to 1963 October 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Edwin Kemble, 1976 November 18.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Subject

Archive for the History of Quantum Physics, 1898-1950 (bulk).

Library

American Philosophical Society

105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

Eugene Feenberg correspondence, 1927-1958.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Hubert Maxwell James response to early 1930s Ph.D.s Survey, 1980.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

J. H. Van Vleck biographical information, 1963.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

J. H. Van Vleck papers, 1923-1959.

Library

American Philosophical Society

105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA

J. H. Van Vleck selected correspondence and notes [microform], 1923-1959, (bulk 1923-1938).

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Niels Bohr scientific correspondence, supplement, 1910-1962.

Niels Bohr Archive

Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark

Oral history interview with Alan Holden, 1974 July 30 and 1976 June 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Eugene Feenberg, 1973 April 13 and 14.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Harold Clayton Urey, 1964 March 24.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Hubert Maxwell James, 1981 July 15.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with I. I. Rabi, 1963 December 8.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with J. H. Van Vleck, 1963 October 2 and 4.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with J. H. Van Vleck, 1966 February 28 and 1973 January 19.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with J. Robert Oppenheimer, 1963 November 18 and 20.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with John Clarke Slater, 1963 October 3 and 8.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Robert S. Shankland, 1974 August 20 and 21.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Samuel Abraham Goudsmit, 1963 December 5 and 7.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Stanford Goldman response to early 1930s Ph.D.s Survey, 1980.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Walter F. Colby papers, 1924-1970.

Bentley Historical Library

University of Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2113, USA

Published Resources

Author

Molecular spectra in gases / report of the Committee on Radiation in Gases: Edwin C. Kemble, Raymond T. Birge, Walter F. Colby, F. Wheeler Loomis, Leigh Page.

Molecular spectra in gases [microform] / report of the Committee on Radiation in Gases: Edwin C. Kemble, Raymond T. Birge, Walter F. Colby, F. Wheeler Loomis, Leigh Page.

Physical science; its structure and development [by] Edwin C. Kemble.

The fundamental principles of quantum mechanics : with elementary applications / by Edwin C. Kemble …

Subject

Edwin C. Kemble Physics Today obituary