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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectFrederick A. Saunders
Dates
August 18, 1875 – June 9, 1963
Authorized Form of Name
Saunders, Frederick A. (Frederick Albert), 1875-1963
Additional Forms of Names
Saunders, F. A. (Frederick Albert), 1875-1963
Biography
Abstract
Frederick Saunders was Emeritus Professor of Physics at Harvard University (1941-1963). Other institutional affiliations included Vassar College, Syracuse University, and Haverford College. The first part of his career was spent researching optical spectroscopy. The latter part of his career was spent studing the mechanical properties of violins and related string instruments, during which time he introduced the concept of the "loudness" curve - the curve of total intensity.
Important Dates
August 18, 1875Birth, London (Ontario).
1895Obtained BA, University of Toronto, Toronto (Ont.).
1899Obtained PhD in Physics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (Md.).
1899 – 1901Instructor in Physics, Haverford College.
1901 – 1914Associate Professor of Physics (1901-1905) and Professor of Physics (1905-1914), Syracuse University, Syracuse (N.Y.).
1914 – 1919Professor of Physics, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie (N.Y.).
1917 – 1919Researcher, National Research Council.
1919 – 1963Associate Professor of Physics (1919-1923); Professor of Physics (1923-1941); and Emeritus Professor of Physics (1941-1963), Harvard University, Cambridge (Mass.).
1925Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1937 – 1939President, Acoustical Society of America.
1942 – 1948Visiting Lecturer, Mt. Holyoke College.
June 9, 1963Death, South Hadley (Mass.).
Occupation
Acoustician.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Elder, Grace A.
First Wife. Married in 1900.
Middleton, Margery
Daughter.
Robinson, Sarah Agnes, 1836-
Mother.
Saunders, Anthony E.
Son.
Saunders, Arthur Percy
Brother.
Saunders, Charles E. (Charles Edward), 1867-1937
Brother.
Saunders, Henry Scholey, 1864-1951
Brother.
Saunders, Margaret Tucker
Second Wife. Married in 1925.
Saunders, William Edwin
Brother.
Saunders, William, 1836-1914
Father.
Advisors & Collaborators
Co-wrote book "College physics."
Rowland, Henry Augustus, 1848-1901
PhD advisor at Johns Hopkins University, "A Bolometric Study of the Spectrum of an Absolutely Black Body Between the Temperatures of 100° and 578° Centigrade."
Colleagues
Bainbridge, Kenneth T. (Kenneth Tompkins), 1904-1996
Both employed at Harvard University.
Bridgman, P. W. (Percy Williams), 1882-1961
Both employed at Harvard University.
Conant, James Bryant, 1893-1978
Both employed at Harvard University.
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.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Kemble, Edwin C. (Edwin Crawford), 1889-
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
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.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Slater, John C. (John Clarke), 1900-1976
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Both employed at Harvard University.
Van Vleck, J. H. (John Hasbrouck), 1899-1980
Both employed at Harvard University.
Additional
Allen, Mildred, 1894-1990
Gerlach, Walther, 1889-1979
Miller, Harry B. (Harry Bernard), 1916-1999
Russell, Henry Norris, 1877-1957
Institutions
Major Positions
Harvard University. Department of Physics
Department chair; Associate Professor of Physics; Professor of Physics; and Emeritus Professor of Physics.
Haverford College
Instructor in Physics.
Syracuse University. Department of Physics
Associate Professor and Professor of Physics.
Vassar College
Professor of Physics.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
President.
Member, first Governing Board.
Johns Hopkins University. Department of Physics
Obtained PhD (1899).
Mount Holyoke College. Dept. of Physics.
Visiting Lecturer.
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
National Research Council (U.S.)
Researcher.
University of Toronto. Department of Physics
Obtained BA (1895).
Resources
Archival Resources
Subject
Harvard University Department of Physics records, 1879-[ongoing].
Archives. Pusey Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Henry N. Russell correspondence [microform], 1890-1950.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Mildred Allen papers, 1865-1990.
Archives and Special Collections
Mount Holyoke College
8 Dwight Hall, 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075-6425, USA
Oral history interview with Edward M. Purcell, 1976 November 23.
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 Harry Miller, 1994 June 9.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Robert S. Mulliken, 1964 February 1.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Walther Gerlach, 1963 February 18 and 23.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Selected records, including letters, reports, and notebooks by Arthur Holly Compton, Saul Dushman, Irving Langmuir, Frederic Saunders, and Willis R. Whitney
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Twenty-fifth anniversary celebration [motion picture]
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Published Resources
Author
A survey of physics for college students / by Frederick A. Saunders.
College physics / by Frederick A. Saunders and Paul Kirkpatrick.
Physical laboratory manual / by the staff of the Department of physics, Harvard university.
Subject
"Frederick Albert Saunders: 1875-1963", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences