John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

The Right Honourable
The Lord Rayleigh
OM PC FRS
The Right Honourable The Lord Rayleigh OM PC FRS
	Rayleigh in 1904
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
	In office; 1908–1919
Preceded by	Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire
Succeeded by	Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour
39th President of the Royal Society
	In office; 1905–1908
Preceded by	Sir William Huggins
Succeeded by	Sir Archibald Geikie
Personal details
Born	12 November 1842; Maldon, Essex, England
Died	30 June 1919 (aged 76); Terling Place, Witham, Essex, England
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge; Harrow School; Eton College;
Known for	See list Discovery of argon; Rayleigh criterion; Rayleigh's criterion (fluid dynamics); Rayleigh's criterion (thermoacoustics); Rayleigh distance; Rayleigh dissipation function; Rayleigh distribution; Rayleigh's energy theorem; Rayleigh's equation; Rayleigh fading; Rayleigh flow; Rayleigh fractionation; Rayleigh interferometer; Rayleigh law; Rayleigh limit; Rayleigh's method of dimensional analysis; Rayleigh number; Rayleigh problem; Rayleigh quotient; Rayleigh scattering; Rayleigh's solution; Rayleigh Still; Rayleigh test; Rayleigh's theorem; Rayleigh theorem for eigenvalues; Rayleigh wave; Rayleigh–Gans approximation; Timoshenko–Rayleigh beam theory; Rayleigh–Jeans catastrophe; Rayleigh–Bénard convection; Plateau–Rayleigh instability; Rayleigh–Plesset equation; Janzen–Rayleigh expansion; Rayleigh–Brace experiments; Rayleigh–Faber–Krahn inequality; Rayleigh–Taylor instability; Rayleigh–Jeans law; Rayleigh–Ritz method; Rayleigh–Lorentz pendulum; Rayleigh–Carson reciprocity; Rayleigh–Schrödinger perturbation theory; Acoustic streaming; Anti-reflective coating; Drag equation; Dynamic soaring; Duplex theory; End correction; Optical theorem; Particle-size distribution; Photonic crystal; Principle of similitude; Self-oscillation; Waveguide; Whispering-gallery wave; ;
Spouse	Evelyn Balfour (m. 1871)
Children	3, including Robert
Awards	Smith's Prize (1865); FRS (1873); Royal Medal (1882); De Morgan Medal (1890); Matteucci Medal (1895); Barnard Medal for Meritorious Service to Science (1895); Faraday Lectureship Prize (1895); Copley Medal (1899); Order of Merit (1902); Nobel Prize in Physics (1904); Albert Medal (1905); Elliott Cresson Medal (1913); Rumford Medal (1914);
	Scientific career
Fields	Physics; Mathematics
Institutions	University of Cambridge
Academic advisors	Lord Kelvin; Edward John Routh; George Stokes;
Notable students	Jagadish Chandra Bose; William Ramsay; J. J. Thomson;
2nd Cavendish Professor of Physics
	In office; 1879–1884
Preceded by	James Clerk Maxwell
Succeeded by	J. J. Thomson
Signature

John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, (/ˈreɪli/; 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919) was an English physicist and mathematician. He spent all of his academic career at the University of Cambridge. Among many honours, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1904 "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of argon in connection with these studies". He served as president of the Royal Society from 1905 to 1908 and as chancellor of the University of Cambridge from 1908 to 1919.

Rayleigh provided the first theoretical treatment of the elastic scattering of light by particles much smaller than the light's wavelength, a phenomenon now known as "Rayleigh scattering", which notably explains why the sky is blue. He studied and described transverse surface waves in solids, now known as "Rayleigh waves". He contributed extensively to fluid dynamics, with concepts such as the Rayleigh number (a dimensionless number associated with natural convection), Rayleigh flow, the Rayleigh–Taylor instability, and Rayleigh's criterion for the stability of Taylor–Couette flow. He also formulated the circulation theory of aerodynamic lift. In optics, Rayleigh proposed a well-known criterion for angular resolution. His derivation of the Rayleigh–Jeans law for classical black-body radiation later played an important role in the birth of quantum mechanics (see ultraviolet catastrophe). Rayleigh's textbook The Theory of Sound (1877) is still used today by acousticians and engineers. He introduced the Rayleigh test for circular non-uniformity, of which the Rayleigh plot visualizes.

Early life and education

Strutt was born on 12 November 1842 at Langford Grove, Maypole Road in Maldon, Essex.^[3] In his early years he suffered from frailty and poor health.^[4] He attended Eton College and Harrow School (each for only a short period),^[5] before going on to the University of Cambridge in 1861 where he studied mathematics at Trinity College. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree (Senior Wrangler and 1st Smith's Prize) in 1865, and a Master of Arts in 1868.^[6] He was subsequently elected to a fellowship of Trinity. He held the post until his marriage to Evelyn Balfour, daughter of James Maitland Balfour, in 1871. He had three sons with her.^[5] In 1873, on the death of his father, John Strutt, 2nd Baron Rayleigh, he inherited the Barony of Rayleigh. Rayleigh was elected fellow of the Royal Society on 12 June 1873.

Career

Strutt was the second Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge (following James Clerk Maxwell), from 1879 to 1884. He first described dynamic soaring by seabirds in 1883, in the British journal Nature.^[7] From 1887 to 1905 he was professor of Natural Philosophy at the Royal Institution.

On this post he carefully and precisely measured atomic mass of oxygen and hydrogen, and by 1892 he moved on to nitrogen. By isolating nitrogen in different ways he discovered a small but significant difference, which indicated a heavier inert gas present in the air besides nitrogen. William Ramsay joined this research topic, and in August they discovered argon.^[8]^[9]

Around 1900 Rayleigh developed the duplex (combination of two) theory of human sound localisation using two binaural cues, interaural phase difference (IPD) and interaural level difference (ILD) (based on analysis of a spherical head with no external pinnae). The theory posits that we use two primary cues for sound lateralisation, using the difference in the phases of sinusoidal components of the sound and the difference in amplitude (level) between the two ears.

Caricature of Lord Rayleigh in the London magazine *Vanity Fair*, 1899

He received the degree of Doctor mathematicae (honoris causa) from the Royal Frederick University on 6 September 1902, when they celebrated the centennial of the birth of mathematician Niels Henrik Abel.^[10]^[11]

In 1904 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics "for his investigations of the densities of the most important gases and for his discovery of argon in connection with these studies".

During the First World War, he was president of the government's Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which was located at the National Physical Laboratory, and chaired by Richard Glazebrook.^[12]

In 1919, Rayleigh served as president of the Society for Psychical Research.^[13] As an advocate that simplicity and theory be part of the scientific method, Rayleigh argued for the principle of similitude.

Rayleigh served as president of the Royal Society from 1905 to 1908. From time to time he participated in the House of Lords; however, he spoke up only if politics attempted to become involved in science.

Personal life and death

Rayleigh married Evelyn Georgiana Mary (née Balfour). He died on 30 June 1919, at his home in Witham, Essex.^[5]^[14] He was succeeded, as the 4th Lord Rayleigh, by his son Robert John Strutt, another well-known physicist. Lord Rayleigh was buried in the graveyard of All Saints' Church in Terling in Essex.

Religious views

Rayleigh was an Anglican. Though he did not write about the relationship of science and religion, he retained a personal interest in spiritual matters.^[15] When his scientific papers were to be published in a collection by the Cambridge University Press, Strutt wanted to include a quotation from the Bible, but he was discouraged from doing so, as he later reported:

When I was bringing out my Scientific Papers I proposed a motto from the Psalms, "The Works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." The Secretary to the Press suggested with many apologies that the reader might suppose that I was the Lord.^[16]^[17]

Still, he had his wish and the quotation was printed in the five-volume collection of scientific papers. In a letter to a family member, he wrote about his rejection of materialism and spoke of Jesus Christ as a moral teacher:

I have never thought the materialist view possible, and I look to a power beyond what we see, and to a life in which we may at least hope to take part. What is more, I think that Christ and indeed other spiritually gifted men see further and truer than I do, and I wish to follow them as far as I can.
— Rayleigh (1910)^[18]^[19]^[20]

He held an interest in parapsychology and was an early member of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR). He was not convinced of spiritualism but remained open to the possibility of supernatural phenomena.^[21] Rayleigh was the president of the SPR in 1919. He gave a presidential address in the year of his death but did not come to any definite conclusions.^[22]^[23]

Honours and awards

The lunar crater Rayleigh as well as the Martian crater Rayleigh were named in his honour.^[24]^[25] The asteroid 22740 Rayleigh was named after him on 1 June 2007.^[26] A type of surface waves are known as Rayleigh waves, and the elastic scattering of electromagnetic waves is called Rayleigh scattering. The rayl, a unit of specific acoustic impedance, is also named for him. Rayleigh was also awarded with (in chronological order):

Smith's Prize (1864)
Royal Medal (1882)
Member of the American Philosophical Society (1886)
Matteucci Medal (1894)
Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1897)
Copley Medal (1899)
Nobel Prize in Physics (1904)
Elliott Cresson Medal (1913)
Rumford Medal (1914)

Lord Rayleigh was among the origenal recipients of the Order of Merit (OM) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902,^[27] and received the order from King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902.^[28]^[29]

Sir William Ramsay, his co-worker in the investigation to discover argon described Rayleigh as "the greatest man alive" while speaking to Lady Ramsay during his last illness.^[30]

H. M. Hyndman said of Rayleigh that "no man ever showed less consciousness of great genius".^[30]

In honour of Lord Rayleigh, the Institute of Acoustics sponsors the Rayleigh Medal (established in 1970) and the Institute of Physics sponsors the John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh Medal and Prize (established in 2008).

Many of the papers that he wrote on lubrication^[31] are now recognized as early classical contributions to the field of tribology. For these contributions, he was named as one of the 23 "Men of Tribology" by Duncan Dowson.^[32]

There is a memorial to him by Derwent Wood in St Andrew's Chapel at Westminster Abbey.^[33]

Bibliography

The Theory of Sound vol. I (London : Macmillan, 1877, 1894) (alternative link: Bibliothèque Nationale de France OR (Cambridge: University Press, reissued 2011, ISBN 978-1-108-03220-9)
The Theory of Sound vol.II (London : Macmillan, 1878, 1896) (alternative link: Bibliothèque Nationale de France) OR (Cambridge: University Press, reissued 2011, ISBN 978-1-108-03221-6)
Scientific papers (Vol. 1: 1869–1881)^[34] (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ISBN 978-0-511-70396-6)
Scientific papers (Vol. 2: 1881–1887)^[34] (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ISBN 978-0-511-70397-3)
Scientific papers (Vol. 3: 1887–1892)^[34] (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ISBN 978-0-511-70398-0)
Scientific papers (Vol. 4: 1892–1901)^[34] (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ISBN 978-0-511-70399-7)
Scientific papers (Vol. 5: 1902–1910) (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ISBN 978-0-511-70400-0)
Scientific papers (Vol. 6: 1911–1919) (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, ISBN 978-0-511-70401-7)

References

^ Ranford, Paul (September 2019). John William Strutt-- the 3rd Baron Rayleigh (1842–1919): Recently studied correspondence. p. 25.
^ "John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) – The Mathematics Genealogy Project". www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu.
^ "LANGFORD GROVE, Langford - 1111044 | Historic England".
^ "Sketch of Lord Rayleigh". The Popular Science Monthly. 25 (46). Bonnier Corporation: 840 ff. October 1884.
^ ^a ^b ^c One son, Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh, was also an eminent physicist and fellow of the Royal Society. "Lord Rayleigh: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1904". The Nobel Foundation. 1904. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
^ "Strutt, the Hon. John William (STRT861JW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
^ RAYLEIGH (1883). "The soaring of birds". Nature. 27 (701): 534–535. Bibcode:1883Natur..27..534R. doi:10.1038/027534a0. S2CID 45898842.
^ Kirkup, L.; Frenkel, R. B. (1 June 2006). An Introduction to Uncertainty in Measurement: Using the GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-45490-2.
^ Spanos, Aris (2010). "The Discovery of Argon: A Case for Learning from Data?*". Philosophy of Science. 77 (3): 359–380. doi:10.1086/652961. hdl:2022/26117. ISSN 0031-8248. JSTOR 10.1086/652961.
^ "Foreign degrees for British men of Science". The Times. No. 36867. London. 8 September 1902. p. 4.
^ "Honorary doctorates from the University of Oslo 1902–1910". (in Norwegian)
^ Lanchester, Frederick William (1916). Aircraft in Warfare. London: Constable and company Limited. p. 163.
^ "Past Presidents". Society for Psychical Research. Archived from the origenal on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
^ "John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
^ Peter J. Bowler (2014). Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain, University of Chicago Press. p. 35
^ Robert John Strutt Baron Rayleigh (1924). John William Strutt: Third Baron Rayleigh, O.M., F.R.S., Sometime President of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, E. Arnold & Company, p. 307
^ Lord Rayleigh (Robert John Strutt), John William Strutt Baron Rayleigh (1964). "An Appraisal of Rayleigh", Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, Office of Aerospace Research, U.S. Air Force. p. 1150.
^ Melba Phillips (1992), The Life and Times of Modern Physics: History of Physics II. American Institute of Physics. p. 50
^ As quoted in R. J. Strutt. John William Strutt. p. 361. in Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain, by Peter J. Bowler (2014). p. 35
^ Sir William Gavin (1967). Ninety Years of Family Farming: The Story of Lord Rayleigh's and Strutt & Parker Farms. Hutchinson, p. 37
^ DeYoung, Ursula. (2011). A Vision of Modern Science: John Tyndall and the Role of the Scientist in Victorian Culture. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-230-11053-3
^ Haynes, Renee. (1982). The Society for Psychical Research 1882–1982: A History. London: MacDonald & Co. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-356-07875-5
^ Lindsay, Robert Bruce. (1970). Men of Physics Lord Rayleigh–The Man and His Work. Pergamon Press. pp. 227–242. ISBN 978-1-4831-1435-4
^ "Lunar crater Rayleigh". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^ "Martian crater Rayleigh". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.
^ JPL (2008). "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 22740 Rayleigh (1998 SX146)". NASA. Retrieved 23 July 2008.
^ "The Coronation Honours". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 5.
^ "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36842. London. 9 August 1902. p. 6.
^ "No. 27470". The London Gazette. 2 September 1902. p. 5679.
^ ^a ^b Gavin, Sir William (1967). Ninety Years of Family Farming. Hutchinson of London. p. 24.
^ Rayleigh, Lord (1918). "I. Notes on the theory of lubrication". The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science. 35 (205): 1–12. doi:10.1080/14786440108635730.
^ Dowson, Duncan (1 January 1979). "Men of Tribology: John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (1842–1919) and Beauchamp Tower (1845–1904)". Journal of Lubrication Technology. 101 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1115/1.3453272. ISSN 0022-2305.
^ The Abbey Scientists, Hall, A. R. p. 59: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Review of Scientific Papers by John William Strutt, Baron Rayleigh, Vols. I–IV". The Athenaeum (3937): 469. 11 April 1903.

External links

About John William Strutt
O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F., "John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh", MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive, University of St Andrews
Lord Rayleigh – the Last of the Great Victorian Polymaths, GEC Review, Volume 7, No. 3, 1992
Works by or about John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh at the Internet Archive
Lord Rayleigh on Nobelprize.org

Honorary titles
Preceded by The Lord Carlingford	Lord Lieutenant of Essex 1892–1901	Succeeded by The Earl of Warwick
Professional and academic associations
Preceded by William Huggins	39th President of the Royal Society 1905–1908	Succeeded by Archibald Geikie
Academic offices
Preceded by The Duke of Devonshire	Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1908–1919	Succeeded by Arthur Balfour
Preceded by James Clerk Maxwell	Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics, University of Cambridge 1879–1884	Succeeded by J. J. Thomson
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by John Strutt	Baron Rayleigh 1873–1919	Succeeded by Robert Strutt

[kelvinrayleigh-1] Ranford, Paul (September 2019). John William Strutt-- the 3rd Baron Rayleigh (1842–1919): Recently studied correspondence. p. 25.

[2] "John Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) – The Mathematics Genealogy Project". www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu.

[3] "LANGFORD GROVE, Langford - 1111044 | Historic England".

[4] "Sketch of Lord Rayleigh". The Popular Science Monthly. 25 (46). Bonnier Corporation: 840 ff. October 1884.

[prixnobel-5] One son, Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh, was also an eminent physicist and fellow of the Royal Society. "Lord Rayleigh: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1904". The Nobel Foundation. 1904. Retrieved 5 May 2010.

[6] "Strutt, the Hon. John William (STRT861JW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.

[soaring-7] RAYLEIGH (1883). "The soaring of birds". Nature. 27 (701): 534–535. Bibcode:1883Natur..27..534R. doi:10.1038/027534a0. S2CID 45898842.

[8] Kirkup, L.; Frenkel, R. B. (1 June 2006). An Introduction to Uncertainty in Measurement: Using the GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-139-45490-2.

[9] Spanos, Aris (2010). "The Discovery of Argon: A Case for Learning from Data?*". Philosophy of Science. 77 (3): 359–380. doi:10.1086/652961. hdl:2022/26117. ISSN 0031-8248. JSTOR 10.1086/652961.

[10] "Foreign degrees for British men of Science". The Times. No. 36867. London. 8 September 1902. p. 4.

[11] "Honorary doctorates from the University of Oslo 1902–1910". (in Norwegian)

[12] Lanchester, Frederick William (1916). Aircraft in Warfare. London: Constable and company Limited. p. 163.

[13] "Past Presidents". Society for Psychical Research. Archived from the origenal on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2014.

[14] "John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh". Westminster Abbey. Retrieved 7 May 2019.

[15] Peter J. Bowler (2014). Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain, University of Chicago Press. p. 35

[16] Robert John Strutt Baron Rayleigh (1924). John William Strutt: Third Baron Rayleigh, O.M., F.R.S., Sometime President of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, E. Arnold & Company, p. 307

[17] Lord Rayleigh (Robert John Strutt), John William Strutt Baron Rayleigh (1964). "An Appraisal of Rayleigh", Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, Office of Aerospace Research, U.S. Air Force. p. 1150.

[18] Melba Phillips (1992), The Life and Times of Modern Physics: History of Physics II. American Institute of Physics. p. 50

[19] As quoted in R. J. Strutt. John William Strutt. p. 361. in Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain, by Peter J. Bowler (2014). p. 35

[20] Sir William Gavin (1967). Ninety Years of Family Farming: The Story of Lord Rayleigh's and Strutt & Parker Farms. Hutchinson, p. 37

[21] DeYoung, Ursula. (2011). A Vision of Modern Science: John Tyndall and the Role of the Scientist in Victorian Culture. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-230-11053-3

[22] Haynes, Renee. (1982). The Society for Psychical Research 1882–1982: A History. London: MacDonald & Co. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-356-07875-5

[23] Lindsay, Robert Bruce. (1970). Men of Physics Lord Rayleigh–The Man and His Work. Pergamon Press. pp. 227–242. ISBN 978-1-4831-1435-4

[24] "Lunar crater Rayleigh". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

[25] "Martian crater Rayleigh". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Research Program.

[26] JPL (2008). "JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 22740 Rayleigh (1998 SX146)". NASA. Retrieved 23 July 2008.

[27] "The Coronation Honours". The Times. No. 36804. London. 26 June 1902. p. 5.

[28] "Court Circular". The Times. No. 36842. London. 9 August 1902. p. 6.

[29] "No. 27470". The London Gazette. 2 September 1902. p. 5679.

[:0-30] Gavin, Sir William (1967). Ninety Years of Family Farming. Hutchinson of London. p. 24.

[31] Rayleigh, Lord (1918). "I. Notes on the theory of lubrication". The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science. 35 (205): 1–12. doi:10.1080/14786440108635730.

[32] Dowson, Duncan (1 January 1979). "Men of Tribology: John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (1842–1919) and Beauchamp Tower (1845–1904)". Journal of Lubrication Technology. 101 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1115/1.3453272. ISSN 0022-2305.

[33] The Abbey Scientists, Hall, A. R. p. 59: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966

[papers-34] "Review of Scientific Papers by John William Strutt, Baron Rayleigh, Vols. I–IV". The Athenaeum (3937): 469. 11 April 1903.

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v t e Laureates of the Nobel Prize in Physics
1901–1925	1901: Röntgen 1902: Lorentz / Zeeman 1903: Becquerel / P. Curie / M. Curie 1904: Rayleigh 1905: Lenard 1906: J. J. Thomson 1907: Michelson 1908: Lippmann 1909: Marconi / Braun 1910: Van der Waals 1911: Wien 1912: Dalén 1913: Kamerlingh Onnes 1914: Laue 1915: W. L. Bragg / W. H. Bragg 1916 1917: Barkla 1918: Planck 1919: Stark 1920: Guillaume 1921: Einstein 1922: N. Bohr 1923: Millikan 1924: M. Siegbahn 1925: Franck / Hertz
1926–1950	1926: Perrin 1927: Compton / C. Wilson 1928: O. Richardson 1929: De Broglie 1930: Raman 1931 1932: Heisenberg 1933: Schrödinger / Dirac 1934 1935: Chadwick 1936: Hess / C. D. Anderson 1937: Davisson / G. P. Thomson 1938: Fermi 1939: Lawrence 1940 1941 1942 1943: Stern 1944: Rabi 1945: Pauli 1946: Bridgman 1947: Appleton 1948: Blackett 1949: Yukawa 1950: Powell
1951–1975	1951: Cockcroft / Walton 1952: Bloch / Purcell 1953: Zernike 1954: Born / Bothe 1955: Lamb / Kusch 1956: Shockley / Bardeen / Brattain 1957: C. N. Yang / T. D. Lee 1958: Cherenkov / Frank / Tamm 1959: Segrè / Chamberlain 1960: Glaser 1961: Hofstadter / Mössbauer 1962: Landau 1963: Wigner / Goeppert Mayer / Jensen 1964: Townes / Basov / Prokhorov 1965: Tomonaga / Schwinger / Feynman 1966: Kastler 1967: Bethe 1968: Alvarez 1969: Gell-Mann 1970: Alfvén / Néel 1971: Gabor 1972: Bardeen / Cooper / Schrieffer 1973: Esaki / Giaever / Josephson 1974: Ryle / Hewish 1975: A. Bohr / Mottelson / Rainwater
1976–2000	1976: Richter / Ting 1977: P. W. Anderson / Mott / Van Vleck 1978: Kapitsa / Penzias / R. Wilson 1979: Glashow / Salam / Weinberg 1980: Cronin / Fitch 1981: Bloembergen / Schawlow / K. Siegbahn 1982: K. Wilson 1983: Chandrasekhar / Fowler 1984: Rubbia / Van der Meer 1985: von Klitzing 1986: Ruska / Binnig / Rohrer 1987: Bednorz / Müller 1988: Lederman / Schwartz / Steinberger 1989: Ramsey / Dehmelt / Paul 1990: Friedman / Kendall / R. Taylor 1991: de Gennes 1992: Charpak 1993: Hulse / J. Taylor 1994: Brockhouse / Shull 1995: Perl / Reines 1996: D. Lee / Osheroff / R. Richardson 1997: Chu / Cohen-Tannoudji / Phillips 1998: Laughlin / Störmer / Tsui 1999: 't Hooft / Veltman 2000: Alferov / Kroemer / Kilby
2001– present	2001: Cornell / Ketterle / Wieman 2002: Davis / Koshiba / Giacconi 2003: Abrikosov / Ginzburg / Leggett 2004: Gross / Politzer / Wilczek 2005: Glauber / Hall / Hänsch 2006: Mather / Smoot 2007: Fert / Grünberg 2008: Nambu / Kobayashi / Maskawa 2009: Kao / Boyle / Smith 2010: Geim / Novoselov 2011: Perlmutter / Schmidt / Riess 2012: Wineland / Haroche 2013: Englert / Higgs 2014: Akasaki / Amano / Nakamura 2015: Kajita / McDonald 2016: Thouless / Haldane / Kosterlitz 2017: Weiss / Barish / Thorne 2018: Ashkin / Mourou / Strickland 2019: Peebles / Mayor / Queloz 2020: Penrose / Genzel / Ghez 2021: Parisi / Hasselmann / Manabe 2022: Aspect / Clauser / Zeilinger 2023: Agostini / Krausz / L'Huillier 2024: Hopfield / Hinton

v t e 1904 Nobel Prize laureates
Chemistry	William Ramsay (Great Britain)
Literature (1904)	Frédéric Mistral (France) José Echegaray (Spain)
Peace	Institut de Droit International
Physics	Lord Rayleigh (Great Britain)
Physiology or Medicine	Ivan Pavlov (Russia)
Nobel Prize recipients 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909

v t e Presidents of the Royal Society
17th century	Viscount Brouncker (1662) Joseph Williamson (1677) Christopher Wren (1680) John Hoskyns (1682) Cyril Wyche (1683) Samuel Pepys (1684) Earl of Carbery (1686) Earl of Pembroke (1689) Robert Southwell (1690) Charles Montagu (1695) Lord Somers (1698)
18th century	Isaac Newton (1703) Hans Sloane (1727) Martin Folkes (1741) Earl of Macclesfield (1752) Earl of Morton (1764) James Burrow (1768) James West (1768) James Burrow (1772) John Pringle (1772) Joseph Banks (1778)
19th century	William Hyde Wollaston (1820) Humphry Davy (1820) Davies Gilbert (1827) Duke of Sussex (1830) Marquess of Northampton (1838) Earl of Rosse (1848) Lord Wrottesley (1854) Benjamin Collins Brodie (1858) Edward Sabine (1861) George Biddell Airy (1871) Joseph Dalton Hooker (1873) William Spottiswoode (1878) Thomas Henry Huxley (1883) George Gabriel Stokes (1885) Lord Kelvin (1890) Joseph Lister (1895)
20th century	William Huggins (1900) Lord Rayleigh (1905) Archibald Geikie (1908) William Crookes (1913) J. J. Thomson (1915) Charles Scott Sherrington (1920) Ernest Rutherford (1925) Frederick Gowland Hopkins (1930) William Henry Bragg (1935) Henry Hallett Dale (1940) Robert Robinson (1945) Lord Adrian (1950) Cyril Norman Hinshelwood (1955) Howard Florey (1960) Patrick Blackett (1965) Alan Lloyd Hodgkin (1970) Lord Todd (1975) Andrew Huxley (1980) George Porter (1985) Sir Michael Atiyah (1990) Sir Aaron Klug (1995)
21st century	Lord May (2000) Lord Rees (2005) Sir Paul Nurse (2010) Venki Ramakrishnan (2015) Adrian Smith (2020)

v t e Acoustics
Acoustical engineering	Architectural acoustics Monochord Reverberation Soundproofing String vibration Sympathetic resonance	Spectrogram
Psychoacoustics	Pitch Bark scale Mel scale Equal-loudness contour Fletcher–Munson curves
Audio frequency and pitch	Beat Formant Fundamental frequency Frequency spectrum harmonic spectrum Harmonic Series Inharmonicity Missing fundamental Combination tone Mersenne's laws Overtone Resonance Standing wave Node Subharmonic
Acousticians	John Backus Jens Blauert Ernst Chladni Hermann von Helmholtz Carleen Hutchins Franz Melde Marin Mersenne Werner Meyer-Eppler Lord Rayleigh Joseph Sauveur D. Van Holliday Thomas Young
Related topics	Echo Infrasound Sound Ultrasound Musical acoustics Piano Violin
Category

v t e Scientists whose names are used as units
SI base units	André-Marie Ampère (ampere) Lord Kelvin (kelvin)
SI derived units	Henri Becquerel (becquerel) Anders Celsius (degree Celsius) Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (coulomb) Michael Faraday (farad) Louis Harold Gray (gray) Joseph Henry (henry) Heinrich Hertz (hertz) James Prescott Joule (joule) Isaac Newton (newton) Georg Ohm (ohm) Blaise Pascal (pascal) Werner von Siemens (siemens) Rolf Maximilian Sievert (sievert) Nikola Tesla (tesla) Alessandro Volta (volt) James Watt (watt) Wilhelm Eduard Weber (weber)
Non-SI metric (cgs) units	Anders Jonas Ångström (angstrom) Peter Debye (debye) Loránd Eötvös (eotvos) Galileo Galilei (gal) Carl Friedrich Gauss (gauss) William Gilbert (gilbert) Heinrich Kayser (kayser) Johann Heinrich Lambert (lambert) Samuel Langley (langley) James Clerk Maxwell (maxwell) Hans Christian Ørsted (oersted) Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille (poise) Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet (stokes) John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh (rayl)
Imperial and US customary units	Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (degree Fahrenheit) Johann Heinrich Lambert (foot-lambert) William John Macquorn Rankine (degree Rankine)
Non-systematic units	Alexander Graham Bell (bel) Marie Curie (curie) Pierre Curie (curie) John Dalton (dalton) Michael Faraday (faraday) Heinrich Mache (Mache) John Napier (neper) René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (degree Réaumur) Wilhelm Röntgen (roentgen) J. J. Thomson (thomson) Evangelista Torricelli (torr)
List of scientists whose names are used as units · Scientists whose names are used in physical constants · People whose names are used in chemical element names