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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectWilliam F. Meggers
Dates
July 13, 1888 – November 19, 1966
Authorized Form of Name
Meggers, William F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966
Additional Forms of Names
Meggers, W. F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966
Meggers, Wm. F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966
Biography
Abstract
William Meggers was Chief of the Sepctroscopy Section of the National Bureau of Standards (1920-1958). Other instititonal affiliations included Carnegie Institute of Technology. His research included the precision measurement of standard wavelengths, detailed descriptions of photographed spectra, quantum interpretation of these spectra, and practical applications of spectroscopy.
Important Dates
July 13, 1888Birth, Clintonville (Wis.).
1910Obtained BA, Ripon College, Ripon (Wis.).
1912 – 1914Instructor in Physics, Carnegie Institute of Technology.
1914 – 1958Laboratory Assistant (1914-1916); Assistant Physicist (1916-1919); Physicist (1919-1920); and Chief, Spectroscopy Section (1920-1958), National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg (Md.).
1916Obtained MA, University of Wisconsin, Madison (Wis.).
1917Obtained PhD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (Md.).
1946 – 1950Chair, Committee on Line Spectra, National Research Council.
1949 – 1951President, Optical Society of America.
1952 – 1958Member, Governing Board, American Institute of Physics.
1954Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1959 – 1966Consultant, Union Carbide Nuclear Company.
1960 – 1966Consultant, W. M. Welch Scientific Company.
1960 – 1966Consultant, Argonne National Laboratory.
1966-11-19Death.
Occupation
Spectroscopist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Meggers, Betty Jane
Daughter.
Meggers, John Charles
Son.
Meggers, William
Son.
Raddant, Edith Marie
Wife. Married 1920.
Colleagues
Berkner, Lloyd V. (Lloyd Viel), 1905-1967
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Briggs, Lyman J. (Lyman James), 1874-1963
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Brode, Robert B. (Robert Bigham), 1900-1986
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Coblentz, William W. (William Weber), 1873-1962
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Condon, Edward Uhler, 1902-1974
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Davisson, Clinton Joseph, 1881-1958
Both employed at Carnegie Institute of Technology.
Dryden, Hugh L. (Hugh Latimer), 1898-1965
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Foote, Paul D. (Paul Darwin), 1888-1971
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Kemble, Edwin C. (Edwin Crawford), 1889-
Both employed at Carnegie Institute of Technology.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
McLean, William B. (William Burdette), 1914-1976
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Neddermeyer, Seth H. (Seth Henry), 1907-1988
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Schubauer, Galen B. (Galen Brandt), 1904-
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Swann, W. F. G. (William Francis Gray), 1884-1962
Both employed at the National Bureau of Standards.
Additional
Goldberg, Leo
Moore, Charlotte Emma, 1898-1990
Russell, Henry Norris, 1877-1957
Shenstone, A. G. (Allen Goodrich)
Tolman, Richard C. (Richard Chace), 1881-1948
Waals, J. D. van der (Johannes Diderik), 1837-1923
Wheeler, John Archibald, 1911-2008
Institutions
Major Positions
Carnegie Institute of Technology. Department of Physics
Instructor in Physics.
United States. National Bureau of Standards
Laboratory Assistant; Assistant Physicist; Physicist; and Chief, Spectroscopy Section.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Member, Governing Board.
Consultant.
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Johns Hopkins University. Department of Physics
Obtained PhD (1917).
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
National Research Council (U.S.)
Chair, Committee on Line Spectra.
President.
Ripon College
Obtained BA (1910).
Union Carbide Corporation
Consultant.
University of Wisconsin--Madison. Department of Physics
Obtained MA (1916).
W.M. Welch Scientific Company
Consultant.
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Henry Norris Russell papers, 1894-1980.
Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Princeton University
1 Washington Road, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
William F. Meggers addition to papers, 1870-1973 (bulk 1906-1966).
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
William F. Meggers home movies [motion picture], 1927-1957.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
William F. Meggers papers, 1917-1966.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Subject
American Institute of Physics Office of the Treasurer records of Arthur Bent, 1973-1997.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Ebbe Rasmussen papers, 1928-1952.
Niels Bohr Archive
Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark
Henry N. Russell correspondence [microform], 1890-1950.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
International Astronomical Union General Assembly, Zurich, 1948 [motion picture] / photographed by Leo Goldberg 1948.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Betty Jane Meggers, 2004.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Charlotte Moore Sitterly, 1978 June 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Pieter Zeeman papers, 1877-1946.
Rijksarchief in Noord-Holland
Kleine Houtweg 18, Haarlem, Netherlands
Published Resources
Author
Key to the Welch periodic chart of the atoms.
Revision of the NBS tables of spectral-line intensities below 2450 A / [by] Charles H. Corliss.
Scientific papers of W.F. Meggers, 1915-1966.
Subject
"William Frederick Meggers: 1888-1966", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
William F. Meggers Dies; Was World-Famous Spectroscopist Physics Today obituary.