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Table of Contents

Biography

AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjects

Relationships

PeopleInstitutions

Resources

Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as Subject

Arthur Jeffrey Dempster

Photo

Dates

August 14, 1886 – March 11, 1950

Authorized Form of Name

Dempster, Arthur Jeffrey

Biography

Abstract

Arthur Jeffrey Dempster was a Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago (1916-1950). Other institutional affiliations included Argonne National Laboratory and the Manhattan Project. His research interests included mass spectrometry and atomic energy.

Important Dates

August 14, 1886Birth, Toronto (Ont.).

1909Obtained BA, University of Toronto, Toronto (Ont.).

1910Obtained MA, University of Toronto, Toronto (Ont.).

1910 – 1911Assistant in Physics, University of Toronto.

1911 – 1912Graduate Student, University of Göttingen, Göttingen (Germany).

1912Graduate Student, University of Munich.

1912 – 1914Graduate Student, University of Würzburg.

1914 – 1916Obtained PhD in Physics, University of Chicago.

1916 – 1950Assistant and Instructor in Physics (1916-1921); Assistant Professor of Physics (1921-1924); Associate Professor of Physics (1924-1927); and Professor of Physics (1927-1950), University of Chicago, Chicago (Ill.).

1917 – 1919Soldier, United States Army.

1937Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1943 – 1946Researcher (1943-1945) and Director (1945-1946), Division of Physics and Metallurgy, Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

1944President, American Physical Society.

1946 – 1950Director, Division of Mass Spectroscopy and Crystallography, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont (Ill.).

March 11, 1950Death, Stuart (Fla.).

Occupation

Mass spectrometry physicist.

Places

Birth

Toronto (Ont.)

Undergraduate Education

Toronto (Ont.)

Graduate Education

Göttingen (Germany)

Munich (Germany)

Wurzburg (Germany)

Chicago (Ill.)

Employment

Chicago (Ill.)

Lemont (Ill.)

Death

Stuart (Fla.)

Subjects

Atomic bomb.

Canal rays.

Chemical elements.

Mass spectrometry.

Stable isotopes.

Relationships

People

Advisors & Collaborators

Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953

Ph.D. advisor at University of Chicago.

States, M. N. (Marshall Ney)

Advised by Dempster at University of Chicago.

Colleagues

Allison, Samuel King, 1900-1965

Both employed at University of Chicago and the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Alvarez, Luis W., 1911-1988

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Anderson, Herbert Lawrence

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Charney, Jule G.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Compton, Arthur Holly, 1892-1962

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Daniels, Farrington, 1889-1972

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Eckart, Carl, 1902-1973

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Ference, Michael, 1911-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Franck, James, 1882-1964

Both employed at University of Chicago and at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Garwin, Richard L.

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Goldberger, Marvin L.

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Hilberry, Norman, 1899-

Both employed at University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, and at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Mason, Max, 1877-1961

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Mayer, Maria Goeppert, 1906-1972

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Michelson, Albert A. (Albert Abraham), 1852-1931

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Morrison, Philip

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Mulliken, Robert Sanderson

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Reynolds, John Hamilton, 1923-2000

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Rieser, Leonard M.

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Rossi, Bruno, 1905-1993

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Sachs, Robert Green, 1916-

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Schwinger, Julian, 1918-1994

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Seaborg, Glenn T. (Glenn Theodore), 1912-1999

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Simpson, John A. (John Alexander), 1916-2000

Both employed at University of Chicago and at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Smyth, Henry De Wolf, 1898-1986

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Stearns, Joyce C.

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

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

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Szilard, Leo

Both employed at University of Chicago and at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Telegdi, Val, 1922-2006

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Teller, Edward, 1908-2003

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Thomas, Tracy Y. (Tracy Yerkes), 1899-1983

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Turkevich, Anthony, 1916-2002

Both employed at University of Chicago and at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Weinberg, Alvin Martin, 1915-2006

Both employed at University of Chicago and at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Wentzel, Gregor, 1898-1978

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Wigner, Eugene Paul, 1902-1995

Both employed at the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Williams, John H. (John Harry), 1908-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Yang, Chen Ning, 1922-

Both employed at University of Chicago.

Zener, Clarence, 1905-

Both employed at the University of Chicago.

Zinn, Walter H. (Walter Henry), 1906-2000

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory and at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Additional

Darrow, Karl K. (Karl Kelchner), 1891-

Feenberg, Eugene

Froman, Darol K. (Darol Kenneth), 1906-1997

Gingrich, Newell Shiffer, 1906-

Hoag, J. Barton, 1898-1962

Laird, Elizabeth Rebecca, 1874-1969

Loeb, Leonard B. (Leonard Benedict), 1891-

McFarlan, Ronald Lyman

Institutions

Major Positions

Argonne National Laboratory

Director, Division of Mass Spectroscopy and Crystallography.

Manhattan Project (U.S.)

Researcher and Director, Division of Physics, Chicago Metallurgy Laboratory, US Office of Scientific Research and Development.

United States. Army

Soldier.

United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. Metallurgical Laboratory

Researcher and Director, Division of Physics, Manhattan Project.

University of Chicago. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD in 1916; Assistant and Instructor in Physics; Assistant Professor of Physics; Associate Professor of Physics; and Professor of Physics.

University of Toronto. Department of Physics

Obtained BA and MA. Assistant in Physics.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Physical Society

President.

Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universitat Wurzburg

Graduate Student.

Universität Göttingen

Graduate Student.

Universitat Munchen. Fakultat fur Physik

Graduate Student.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Arthur J. Dempster papers [microform], 1945-1950.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Arthur J. Dempster records.

Center for History and Philosophy of Physics

University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Subject

Elizabeth Rebecca Laird papers, 1897-1959.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Eugene Feenberg correspondence, 1927-1958.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

J. Barton Hoag papers, 1914-1963 (bulk 1917-1962).

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Karl K. Darrow papers, 1872-1978 (bulk 1917-1972).

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Lecture on stable isotopes from CO2 [videorecording].

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Newell S. Gingrich student notebooks, 1927-1929.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Darol Kenneth Froman, 1976 June 7.

The Bancroft Library

University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley, CA, 94720-6000, USA

Oral history interview with Karl K. Darrow, 1964 April 2 and 10 June.

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 Ronald Lyman McFarlan, 1979 December 18.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Subject

Arthur J. Dempster Physics Today obituary.