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Biography
AbstractImportant DatesOccupationPlacesSubjectsRelationships
PeopleInstitutionsResources
Archival as AuthorArchival as SubjectPublished as AuthorPublished as SubjectJ. J. Thomson
Dates
December 18, 1856 – August 30, 1940
Authorized Form of Name
Thomson, J. J. (Joseph John), 1856-1940
Additional Forms of Names
Thomson, J. J., 1856-1940
Thomson, Joseph John, 1856-1940
Thomson, Joseph John, Sir, 1856-1940
Biography
Abstract
J. J. Thomson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906 "in recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations on the conduction of electricity by gases." He was affiliated with University of Cambridge his entire career, first getting his education there and later holding positions such as Lecturer, Master of Trinity College, and Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics. He is credited with discovering the electron, but his work covered a wide variety of areas like electricity and gases, magnetism, light, and properties of matter.
Important Dates
December 18, 1856Birth, Manchester (England).
1880Obtained BA degree in Mathematics, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (England).
1880 – 1918Fellow; Lecturer; Master, Trinity College; and Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (England).
1883Obtained MA degree in Mathematics, Trinity College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge (England).
1884Fellow, Royal Society.
1894Awarded the Royal Medal, Royal Society.
1902Awarded the Hodgkins Medal, Smithsonian Institute.
1902Awarded the Hughes Medal, Royal Society.
1906Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "in recognition of the great merits of his theoretical and experimental investigations on the conduction of electricity by gases".
1908Knighted.
1909President, British Science Association.
1914Awarded the Copley Medal, Royal Society.
1915 – 1920President, Royal Society.
1923Awarded the Franklin Medal and the Scott Medal, Franklin Institute.
1931Awarded the Dalton Medal, Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.
1938Awarded the Faraday Medal, Institute of Civil Engineers.
August 30, 1940Death, Cambridge (England).
Occupation
Atomic physicist.
Places
Birth
Undergraduate Education
Graduate Education
Employment
Death
Subjects
Relationships
People
Family
Thomson, G. P. (George Paget), 1892-1975
Son and advised by J. J. Thomson at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
Advisors & Collaborators
Appleton, Edward Victor, Sir, 1892-1965
Advised by Thomson under Wiltshire Prize and Hutchinson Research Studentship.
Aston, Francis William, 1877-1945
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge. Aston served as Thomson's assistant and both employed at Cavendish Laboratory.
Barkla, C. G. (Charles Glover), 1877-1944
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Bose, Devendramohan
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Bragg, William Lawrence, Sir, 1890-1971
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Burton, E. F. (Eli Franklin)
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Callender, Hugh Longbourne
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Davisson, Clinton Joseph, 1881-1958
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Ditchburn, R. W.
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Hughes, Arthur Llewelyn, 1883-
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
James, R. W. (Reginald William)
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Keys, D. A. (David Arnold), 1890-
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Laby, T. H. (Thomas Howell)
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Langevin, Paul, 1872-1946
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
McLennan, John Cunningham, Sir
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Natanson, Wladyslaw, 1864-1937
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Niven, W. D. (William Davidson), Sir, 1842-1917
Advisor at University of Cambridge.
Oppenheimer, J. Robert, 1904-1967
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Pol, Balthasar van der, 1889-1959
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Poynting, J. H. (John Henry), 1852-1914
Collaborated on textbook "Properties of Matter."
Pringsheim, Peter, 1881-1963
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Rayleigh, John William Strutt, Baron, 1842-1919
Advisor at University of Cambridge.
Rayleigh, Robert John Strutt, Baron, 1875-1947
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959
Advised by Thomson at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
Routh, Edward John
Advisor at University of Cambridge.
Advised by Thomson at Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
Stewart, Balfour
Advisor at Owens College, University of Manchester.
Taylor, Geoffrey Ingram, 1886-1975
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Townsend, John, Sir, 1868-1957
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Watson, Herbert Edmeston
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Whiddington, Richard
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Wilson, Charles Thomson Rees, 1869-1959
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Wilson, Harold A. (Harold Albert), 1874-1964
Advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge.
Research advised by Thomson at University of Cambridge, B.A. thesis: "The Velocity of the Ions produced in Gases by Röntgen Rays."
Additional
Bassett, Alfred Barnard, 1854-1930
Beck, Guido, 1903-1988
Bohr, Margrethe
Both employed at Cavendish Laboratory.
Cockcroft, John, Sir, 1897-1967
Compton, Betty Charity McCloskey, 1916-
Comstock, Daniel F. (Daniel Frost), 1883-1970
Cunningham, Ebenezer
Dadourian, H. M. (Haroutune Mugurditch), 1878-1974
Davis, E. A. (Edward Arthur), 1936-
Dirac, P. A. M. (Paul Adrien Maurice), 1902-1984
Duane, William, 1872-1935
Fokker, A. D. (Adriaan Daniël), 1887-1972
Gerlach, Walther, 1889-1979
Gibbs, J. Willard (Josiah Willard), 1839-1903
Grosse, Aristid von, 1905-1985
Havelock, Thomas, Sir
Heaviside, Oliver, 1850-1925
Lockyer, Norman, Sir, 1836-1920
Lummer, O. (Otto), 1860-1925
Maxwell, James Clerk, 1831-1879
McDowell, Louise S. (Louise Sherwood), 1876-1966
McKeehan, L. W. (Louis Williams), 1887-1975
Michell, John Henry
Pegram, George Braxton, 1876-1958
Pohl, Robert Wichard, 1884-1976
Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad, 1845-1923
Seaborg, Glenn T. (Glenn Theodore), 1912-1999
Shaw, Napier, Sir
Shenstone, A. G. (Allen Goodrich)
Threlfall, Richard
Webb, Harold Worthington, 1884-1974
Wood, A. B. (Albert Beaumont)
Worthington, A. M. (Arthur Mason), 1852-1916
Institutions
Major Positions
British Science Association
President.
Cavendish Laboratory (Cambridge, England)
Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics.
Royal Society (Great Britain)
Fellow and President. Awarded the Royal Medal (1894), the Hughes Medal (1902), and the Copley Medal (1914).
Trinity College (University of Cambridge)
Received B.A. degree in Mathematics (1880) and M.A. degree in Physics (1883). Fellow; Lecturer; and Master.
University of Cambridge. Department of Physics
Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics, Cavendish Laboratory.
Professional Activities & Affiliations
Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Awarded the Franklin Medal and the Scott Medal (1923).
Institution of Civil Engineers (Great Britain)
Awarded the Faraday Medal (1938).
Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
Awarded the Dalton Medal (1931).
Smithsonian Institution
Awarded the Hodgkins Medal (1902).
Resources
Archival Resources
Author
Archive recording of J.J. Thomson, [videorecording]/ 1934.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Atomic physics [sound recording] : sound track of the film / produced by J. Arthur Rank for the Atomic Energy Commission, 1948.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
J. J. Thomson handwritten volume of A TREATISE ON THE MOTION OF VORTEX RINGS, 1882.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
J. J. Thomson letters to Ernest Rutherford, 1895-1935.
Department of Manuscripts and University Archives
Cambridge University
West Road, Cambridge, CH3 9DR
J. J. Thomson papers, 1884-1934.
Royal Society
6 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, England UK
J. J. Thomson papers.
Department of Manuscripts and University Archives
Cambridge University
West Road, Cambridge, CH3 9DR
J. J. Thomson's seventieth birthday tribute, 1936.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Lectures, 1910-1911.
Cavendish Laboratory
cambridge
Norman Lockyer letters, 1869-1919.
Library
University of Exeter
Exeter EX4 4PT, England UK.
Nuclear history [sound recording]: voices of the past; compiled by Glenn Seaborg.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
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
Sir J. J. Thomson papers and correspondence, 1836-1956.
Library
Trinity College
Cambridge CB2 1TQ
Subject
Archive for the History of Quantum Physics, 1898-1950 (bulk).
Library
American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, USA
Century of the atom [sound recording]: ...told through the voices of the scientists who created the nuclear age / a presentation of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission ; narrated by Chet Huntley and Glenn T. Seaborg.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Clinton J. Davisson correspondence, 1913-1957.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Daniel F. Comstock autobiography, 1963.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Edmund C. Stoner papers and correspondence, 1909-1969.
Brotherton Library, Department of Special Collections
University of Leeds
Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS2 9JT
Ernest Rutherford correspondence [microform], 1906-1937.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Ernest Rutherford papers, 1908-1933.
Basser Library
Australian Academy of Science
GPO Box 783, Canberra, ACT 2601
Harold A. Wilson autobiographical notes, 1962.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Harold W. Webb autobiography, circa 1962.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Items in various series of The Royal Society, 1882-1899.
Royal Society
6 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, England UK
Items in various series of The Royal Society, 1887-1923.
Royal Society
6 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, England UK
Items in various series of The Royal Society, 1891-1921.
Royal Society
6 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG, England UK
John Henry Michell papers, 1884-1890.
Basser Library
Australian Academy of Science
GPO Box 783, Canberra, ACT 2601
Johns Hopkins University Department of Physics records, 1887-1988 (bulk 1949-1969).
Special Collections, Milton S. Eisenhower Library
Johns Hopkins University
3400 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
Josiah W. Gibbs papers, 1811-1947.
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Yale University Library
Box 208240, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
Louis McKeehan autobiography, circa 1970.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Louise S. McDowell papers, 1894-1955.
Archives
Wellesley College
Margaret Clapp Library, Wellesley, MA 02481, USA
Napier Shaw scientific papers.
Department of Manuscripts and University Archives
Cambridge University
West Road, Cambridge, CH3 9DR
Oliver Heaviside selected papers [microform], 1874-1922,
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Adriaan Daniël Fokker, 1963 April 1.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Allen Goodrich Shenstone 1979 March 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Aristid Victor Grosse, 1974 January 11 and April 5.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Betty Compton, 1968 April 11 and 15.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Ebenezer Cunningham, 1963 June 19.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Guido Beck, 1967 April 22.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Harold A. Wilson, 1964 March 3.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Haroutune Mugurditch Dadourian, 1964 April 4.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with James Chadwick, 1969 April 15, 16, 17 and 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Margrethe Norlund Bohr, 1963 January 23 and 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
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 Otto Stern, 1962 May 29 and 1963 May 30.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with P. A. M. Dirac, 1962 April 1, 1963 May 6, 7, 10 and 14.
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
Oral history interview with Robert Wichard Pohl, 1963 June 25.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Sir George Paget Thomson, 1963 June 20.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral history interview with Sir John Cockcroft, 1963 May 2.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Oral History interview with Sir William Lawrence Bragg, 1969 June 20.
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
Otto Lummer correspondence, 1899-1922.
Dept. of Manuscripts
Wroclaw University, Library
Sw. Jadwigi 3/4, 50-266 Wroclaw
Pieter Zeeman papers, 1877-1946.
Rijksarchief in Noord-Holland
Kleine Houtweg 18, Haarlem, Netherlands
Reminiscences of A. B. Wood [sound recording], 1960.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Richard Threlfall correspondence with Sir J. J. Thomson, 1886-1896.
Department of Manuscripts and University Archives
Cambridge University
West Road, Cambridge, CH3 9DR
Robert Wichard Pohl papers, 1900-1973.
Deutsches Museum
Museumsinsel 1, 80306 Munich, Germany
Sir Thomas Havelock papers, 1894-1968.
The Robinson Library
University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HQ
Sir William Lawrence Bragg papers.
Royal Institution of Great Britain
London, England UK
William Duane correspondence with K. T. Compton, Marie and Pierre Curie, Max Planck, Ernest Rutherford, and J. J. Thomson, 1905-1933.
Niels Bohr Library & Archives
American Institute of Physics
One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
William Henry Bragg papers, 1889-1960.
Royal Institution of Great Britain
London, England UK
Wladyslaw Natanson correspondence, 1884-1937.
Archiwum
Uniwersytet Jagiellonski. Archiwum.
Ul. sw. Anny 6, 31-007 Kraców, Poland
Published Resources
Author
A text-book of physics / by J.H. Poynting ... and J.J. Thomson ... Properties of matter.
A text-book of physics / by J.H. Poynting ... and J.J. Thomson ... Sound.
A text-book of physics / by J.H. Poynting and Sir J.J. Thomson.
A text-book of physics : By J.H. Poynting and J.J. Thomson. Heat /with 193 illustrations.
A treatise on the motion of vortex rings.
Applications of dynamics to physics and chemistry / by J. J. Thomson.
Beyond the electron / by Sir J. J. Thomson.
Conduction of electricity through gases / by J.J. Thomson
Electricity and matter / by J.J. Thomson.
Elektrizitat und materie / Von dr. J.J. Thomson ... Autorisierte übersetzung von G. Siebert.
Elements of the mathematical theory of electricity and magnetism / by J.J. Thomson.
On some applications of dynamical principles to physical phenomena : [part 1]/ by J. J. Thomson.
On some applications of dynamical principles to physical phenomena : part II/ by J. J. Thomson.
Rays of positive electricity and their application to chemical analyses.
Recollections and reflections.
Röntgen rays : memoirs by Röntgen, Stokes, and J.J. Thomson /tr. and ed. by George F. Barker.
Tendencies of recent investigations in the field of physics / by Sir J. J. Thomson.
The atomic theory /by Sir J.J. Thomson ... ; delivered in the Sheldonian theatre, June 10, 1914.
The corpuscular theory of matter / by J.J. Thomson
Subject
Flash of the cathode rays : a history of J.J. Thomson's electron / Per D. Dahl.
Histories of the electron : the birth of microphysics /edited by Jed Z. Buchwald and Andrew Warwick.
J. J. Thomson discoverer of the electron.
J. J. Thomson Nobel Prize biography.
J.J. Thomson and the Cavendish Laboratory in his day.
J.J. Thomson and the discovery of the electron /E.A. Davis and I.J. Falconer.
The life of Sir J.J. Thomson, O.M., sometime master of Trinity college, Cambridge, by Lord Rayleigh.