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Dates
Novemeber 12, 1842 – June 30, 1919
Authorized Form of Name
Rayleigh, John William Strutt, Baron, 1842-1919
Additional Forms of Names
Rayleigh, John William Strutt, 1842-1919
Rayleigh, John William Strutt, Lord, 1842-1919
Strutt, John William, Baron Rayleigh, 1842-1919
Baron John William Strutt Rayleigh, better known as Lord Rayleigh, was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of argon in connection with these studies." Although he held positions at Cambridge University, much of his research was conducted in his own personal laboratory on his family estate in Terling, England. He is best known for his part in the discovery of the element Argon, but his work covered a wide range of subjects within the field, including acoustics and the theory of sound, electromagnetism, and even the theory of color and optics.
November 12, 1842Birth, Maldon (England).
1864Awarded Smith's Prize, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).
1865Obtained BA degree, Trinity College, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).
1865Named Senior Wrangler, the top student of the Mathematical Tripos, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).
1866Elected Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).
1868Obtained MA degree, Trinity College, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).
1873Inherited his father's title and became the 3rd Baron Rayleigh.
1873 – 1908Fellow (1873); Secretary (1885); and President (1905-1908) Royal Society.
1876 – 1878President, London Mathematical Society.
1877 – 1878Published two volumes of his famous text, "The Theory of Sound".
1879 – 1884Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).
1882Awarded the Royal Medal, Royal Society.
1887 – 1905Professor of Natural Philosophy, Royal Institute, London (England).
1892 – 1901Lord Lieutenant of Essex.
1894Awarded the Matteucci Medal, Italian Society of Sciences.
1894Awarded the De Morgan Medal, London Mathematical Society.
1896 – 1919Scientific Advisor, Trinity House.
1897Member, Swedish Academy of Sciences.
1899Awarded the Copley Medal, Royal Society.
1902Received the Order of Merit.
1904Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics, "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of argon in connection with these studies".
1908Chancellor, Cambridge University, Cambridge (England).
1913Awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal, Franklin Institute.
1914Awarded the Rumford Medal, Royal Society.
1919President, Society for Psychical Research, London (England).
June 30, 1919Death, Terling (England).
Physicist.
Balfour, Evelyn
Wife, married 1871.
Rayleigh, Robert John Strutt, Baron, 1875-1947
Son and 4th Baron Rayleigh.
Bose, Jagadis Chandra, 1858-1937
Advised by Rayleigh at Cambridge University.
Collaborated to discover the element Argon.
Routh, Edward John
Advisor at Trinity College, Cambridge University.
Schuster, Arthur, Sir, 1851-1934
Advised by Rayleigh at Cambridge University.
Thomson, J. J. (Joseph John), 1856-1940
Advised by Rayleigh at Cambridge University.
Bragg, William Henry, 1862-1942
Buckingham, Edgar, 1867-1940
Howard, John N.
Lindsay, Robert Bruce, 1900-
Lodge, Oliver, Sir, 1851-1940.
Maxwell, James Clerk, 1831-1879
Michelson, Albert A. (Albert Abraham), 1852-1931
Morley, Edward Williams, 1838-1923
Severinghaus, Willard L. (Willard Lesly), 1882-1947
Stokes, George Gabriel, 1819-1903
Whiting, Sarah Frances
Wood, Robert Williams, 1868-1955
Royal Institution (Great Britain).
Professor of Natural Philosophy.
University of Cambridge
Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics and Chancellor.
Accademia nazionale delle scienze dette dei XL
Awarded the Matteucci Award (1894).
Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Awarded the Elliott Cresson Medal (1913).
Kungl. Svenska vetenskapsakademien
Member.
London Mathematical Society
President and awarded the De Morgan Medal (1890).
Royal Society (Great Britain)
Fellow; Secretary; President and awarded the Royal Medal (1882), Copley Medal (1899), and Rumford Medal (1914).
Royal Society of Arts (Great Britain)
Awarded the Albert Medal (1905).
Society for Psychical Research (Great Britain)
President.
Trinity College (University of Cambridge)
Received BA degree (1865) and MA degree (1868). Named Senior Wrangler (1865); awarded Smith's Prize (1864); and Fellow.
Baron John William Strutt Rayleigh papers, 1860-1870.
John Rylands University Library
University of Manchester
150 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3EH, England, UK
Baron John William Strutt Rayleigh papers, 1864-1919 [microfilm].
Phillips Laboratory. Geophysics Directorate. Research Library.
United States Air Force
Hanscom Air Force Base, MA 01731, USA
Baron John William Strutt Rayleigh papers, 1871-1919
private
Royal Commision on Historical Manuscripts
Quality House, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London
Baron John William Strutt Rayleigh papers.
Royal Institution of Great Britain
London, Englank UK
Items in various series of The Royal Society, 1870-1908
Royal Society
6 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, England UK
John William Strutt Rayleigh papers [microform], 1864-1919.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Willard L. Severinghaus papers, 1895-1947.
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Columbia University
Butler Library, 6th Floor East, New York, NY 10027, USA
Albert Michelson papers, 1803-1989 (bulk 1861-1965).
Nimitz Library Special Collections Division
United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, MD 21402, USA
Arthur Schuster letter to John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, 1880.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Baron Robert John Strutt Rayleigh notebooks, 1910-1947 [microform].
Phillips Laboratory. Geophysics Directorate. Research Library.
United States Air Force
Hanscom Air Force Base, MA 01731, USA
Edgar Buckingham handwritten transcripts of correspondence with Lord John William Rayleigh, 1915-1916.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Edward Williams Morley papers, 1833-1923 (bulk 1863-1899).
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
James Madison Memorial Building, First Street and Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540, USA
John William Strutt Rayleigh and Robert John Strutt Rayleigh collection, 1865-1976.
Library. Special Collections Brance
United States Air Force Academy
Colorado Springs, CO 80840-5701, USA
Lord Rayleigh typescript notes and abstracts, circa 1924-1945.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oliver Lodge correspondence, 1874- 1938.
Archive
University College of London
Gower Street, London WCIE 6BT
Oral history interview with Niels Bohr, 1962 October 31, November 1, 7, 14, and 17.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Robert S. Shankland, 1974 August 20 and 21.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Sarah Frances Whiting papers, 1859-1927.
Archives
Wellesley College
Margaret Clapp Library, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA
William Henry Bragg papers, 1889-1960.
Royal Institution of Great Britain
London, Englank UK
On the light from the sky, its polarization and colour, 1870.
The theory of sound. By John William Strutt, Baron Rayleigh
Theory of heat / by J. Clerk Maxwell.
Lord Rayleigh Nobel Prize biography.
Men of physics: Lord Rayleigh- the man and his work.
Optics & Photonics News: Lord Rayleigh: A Scientific Life
The Rayleigh Archives dedication / [By] J. N. Howard, editor.