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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectRichard C. Tolman
Dates
March 4, 1881 – September 5, 1948
Authorized Form of Name
Tolman, Richard C. (Richard Chace), 1881-1948
Additional Forms of Names
Tolman, R. C. (Richard Chace), 1881-1948
Tolman, Richard Chace, 1881-1948
Biography
Abstract
Richard Tolman was Professor of Physical Chemistry and Mathematical Physics at California Institute of Technology (1922-1948). Other institutional affiliations included University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, University of California, Berkeley, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). His research interests included statistical mechanics and thermodynamics.
Important Dates
March 4, 1881Birth, West Newton (Mass.).
1903Obtained BS in Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).
1903 – 1904Studied at Technical Institute of Berlin.
1904 – 1910Assistant Technical Analyst (1904-1905); Instructor in Theoretical Chemistry (1907-1909); and Research Associate in Physical Chemistry (1909-1910), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).
1910Obtained PhD in Physical Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge (Mass.).
1910 – 1911Instructor in Physical Chemistry, University of Michigan.
1911 – 1912Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Cincinnati.
1912 – 1916Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley.
1916 – 1918Professor of Physical Chemistry, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
1918Chief, Dispersoid Section, Chemical Warfare Service, United States, Army.
1919 – 1921Associate Director (1919-1920) and Director (1920-1921), Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, United States Department of War.
1921 – 1922Director, Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture.
1922 – 1948Professor of Physical Chemistry and Mathematical Physics (1922-1948) and Dean, Graduate School (1935-1946), California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (Calif.).
1923Member, National Academy of Sciences.
1940 – 1946Vice Chair, National Defense Research Committe (1940-1946) and Chair, Armor and Ordnance Division, National Defense Research Committee (1941-1942), Office of Scientific Research and Development.
1942 – 1946Chief Technical Advisor to General Leslie Groves, Manhattan Project.
September 5, 1948Death, Pasadena (Calif.).
Occupation
Physical chemist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Tolman, Ruth Sherman
Wife. Married in 1924.
Advisors & Collaborators
Mitchell, Allan C. G. (Allan Charles Gray), 1902-
Advised by Tolman at California Institute of Technology, "Investigation of reactions sensitized by optically excited mercury vapor. The specific heat and entropy of hydrogen chloride derived from infra-red spectra."
Noyes, Arthur A. (Arthur Amos), 1866-1936
PhD advisor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), "The Electromotive Force Produced in Solutions by Centrifugal Action."
Colleagues
Anderson, Carl D. (Carl David), 1905-1991
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Bacher, Robert F. (Robert Fox), 1905-2004
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Bonner, Tom Wilkerson, 1910-1961
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Coolidge, William David, 1873-1975
Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Crane, H. R. (Horace Richard), 1907-2007
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
DuBridge, Lee A. (Lee Alvin), 1901-1994
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
DuMond, Jesse W. M. (Jesse William Monroe), 1892-1976
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Epstein, Paul S. (Paul Sophus), 1883-1966
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Furry, W. H. (Wendell Hinkle), 1907-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Houston, W. V. (William Vermillion), 1900-
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Keyes, Frederick G. (Frederick George), 1885-1976
Both employed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Kirkwood, John Gamble, 1907-1959
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Lauritsen, Charles Christian, 1892-1968
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Lin, C. C. (Chia-Chʻiao), 1916-2013
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Millikan, Robert Andrews, 1868-1953
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Neddermeyer, Seth H. (Seth Henry), 1907-1988
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Rice, Oscar Knefler, 1903-1978
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Robertson, H. P. (Howard Percy), 1903-1961
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Schiff, Leonard I. (Leonard Isaac), 1915-1971
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Slichter, Louis B. (Louis Byrne), 1896-1978
Both employed at California Institute of Technology.
Additional
Bondi, Hermann
Bowen, Ira Sprague, 1898-1973
Greenstein, Jesse L. (Jesse Leonard), 1909-2002
Huff, L. D. (Lorenz Ditmar), 1905-
Meggers, William F. (William Frederick), 1888-1966
Oppenheimer, Frank, 1912-1985
Pauling, Linus, 1901-1994
Placzek, G. (George), 1905-1955
Plesset, Milton S. (Milton Spinoza)
Richter, Charles, 1900-1985
Sandage, Allan
Schwarzschild, Martin
Stewart, Homer J.
Wooldridge, Dean E.
Institutions
Major Positions
California Institute of Technology
Dean, Graduate School.
California Institute of Technology. Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy
Professor of Physical Chemistry and Mathematical Physics.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemistry
Obtained PhD (1910). Assistant Technical Analyst; Instructor in Theoretical Chemistry; and Research Associate in Physical Chemistry.
United States. Department of Agriculture
Director, Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory.
United States. War Department
Associate Director and Director, Fixed Nitrogen Research Laboratory.
University of California, Berkeley. Department of Chemistry
Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry.
University of Cincinnati. Department of Chemistry
Assistant Professor of Physical Chemistry.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Department of Chemistry
Professor of Physical Chemistry.
University of Michigan. Department of Chemistry
Instructor in Physical Chemistry.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Manhattan Project (U.S.)
Chief Technical Advisor to General Leslie Groves.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Obtained BS (1903).
National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)
Member.
Technische Hochschule Berlin
Student from 1903-1904.
United States. Army
Chief, Dispersoid Section, Chemical Warfare Service.
United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. National Defense Research Committee
Vice Chair; and Chair, Armor and Ordnance Division.
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Richard C. Tolman papers, 1735-1958.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Subject
Albert Einstein speeches [sound recording], 1932-1933.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
George Placzek papers, 1934-1955, undated.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Lorenz D. Huff papers, 1928-1948.
Libraries. Special Collections
Clemson University
Senator Strom Thurmond Institute Building, Clemson, SC 29634-3001, USA
Lorenz D. Huff student lecture notes, 1928-1931.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Office of Scientific Research and Development [OSRD], 1939-1950 (bulk 1939-1947).
Office of the National Archives
National Archives and Records Administration
8th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20408, USA
Oral history interview with Allan Sandage, 1974 May 16.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Allan Sandage, 1977 February 8.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Charles F. Richter, 1978 February 15-September 1.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Dean E. Wooldridge, 1976 August 21.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Frank Oppenheimer, 1984 November 16.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with H. R. Crane, 1973 March 28 and 1974 June 18.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Hermann Bondi, 1978 March 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Homer J. Stewart, 1982 October to November and 1993 November 3.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Ira Bowen, 1968 August 9 and 1969 August 26.
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 Jesse Leonard Greenstein, 1974 July 31.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Linus Carl Pauling, 1964 March 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Linus Pauling, 1984 May 10.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Martin Schwarzchild, 1977 September 27.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Milton Plesset, 1981 December 8.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
Oral history interview with Philip Morrison, 2002 December 19 and 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Robert F. Bacher, 1986 February 13.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Seth H. Neddermeyer, 1984 May 7.
Institute Archives
California Institute of Technology
1201 East California Blvd. (Mail Code 015A-74), Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
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
Published Resources
Author
Relativity, thermodynamics and cosmology / by Richard C. Tolman …
Statistical mechanics with applications to physics and chemistry / by Richard C. Tolman …
The principles of statistical mechanics / by Richard C. Tolman …
The theory of the relativity of motion / by Richard C. Tolman.
Subject
"Richard Chance Tolman: 1881-1948", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences