Francis William Aston

Dates

September 1, 1877 – November 20, 1945

Authorized Form of Name

Aston, Francis William, 1877-1945

Additional Forms of Names

Aston, F. W., 1877-1945

Aston, F. W. (Francis William), 1877-1945

Biography

Abstract

Francis William Aston was a chemist at the University of Cambridge, specializing in physical chemistry. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1922 for "his discovery, by means of his mass spectrograph, of isotopes, in a large number of non-radioactive elements, and for his enunciation of the whole-number rule."

Important Dates

September 1, 1877Birth, Harbone (England).

1898Awarded Forster Scholarship.

1901Published work on optical properties of tartaric acid derivatives.

1909Researcher, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge (England).

1910Obtained BSc in Applied/Pure Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham (England).

1914Obtained DSc in Applied/Pure Science, University of Birmingham, Birmingham (England).

1914 – 1918Researcher, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Farnborough (Hampshire, England).

1920Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge (England).

1921Fellow, Royal Society.

1922Awarded Hughes Medal, Royal Society.

1922Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "his discovery, by means of his mass spectrograph, of isotopes, in a large number of non-radioactive elements, and for his enunciation of the whole-number rule".

1938Awarded Royal Medal.

1941Awarded Duddell Medal, Physical Society.

November 20, 1945Death, Cambridge (England).

Occupation

Physical chemist.

Places

Subjects

Relationships

People

Advisors & Collaborators

Frankland, Percy, 1858-1946

PhD advisor at Mason College, University of Birmingham.

Poynting, J. H. (John Henry), 1852-1914

PhD advisor at Mason College, University of Birmingham.

Thomson, J. J. (Joseph John), 1856-1940

Advisor at University of Cambridge. Aston served as Thomson's assistant and both employed at Cavendish Laboratory.

Tilden, William A. (William Augustus), Sir, 1842-1926

PhD advisor at Mason College, University of Birmingham.

Additional

Barton, Henry Askew, 1898-1983

Beck, Guido, 1903-1988

Cherwell, Frederick Alexander Lindemann, Viscount, 1886-1957

Compton, Betty Charity McCloskey, 1916-

Grosse, Aristid von, 1905-1985

Hevesy, Georg von, 1885-1966

Oliphant, Mark, 1901-2000

Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959

Institutions

Major Positions

Cavendish Laboratory (Cambridge, England)

Researcher and Assistant to J. J. Thomson.

Royal Aircraft Establishment (Great Britain)

Researcher.

Trinity College (University of Cambridge)

Fellow.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

Physical Society (Great Britain)

Member and awarded 1941 Duddell Medal.

Royal Society (Great Britain)

Fellow and awarded 1922 Hughes Medal.

University of Birmingham. Department of Physics

Obtained BSc in Applied/Pure Science (1910) and DSc in Applied/Pure Science (1914).

University of Oxford. Alembic Club

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Francis W. Aston papers and correspondence, 1911-1945.

Department of Manuscripts and University Archives

Cambridge University

West Road, Cambridge, CH3 9DR

O. W. Richardson papers, 1897-1959 (bulk 1920-1940).

Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center

University of Texas at Austin

P.O. Drawer 7219, Austin, TX 78713-7219, USA

Subject

Frederick Lindemann Cherwell papers and correspondence, circa 1899-1957.

Library

Nuffield College, Oxford

New Road, Oxford OX1 1NF

Georg von Hevesy scientific correspondence, 1910-1966.

Niels Bohr Archive

Blegdamsvej 17, Copenhagen, Denmark

Oral history interview with Aristid Victor Grosse, 1974 January 11 and April 5.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics