Lyman Spitzer

Lyman Spitzer
Born	Lyman Spitzer Jr. (1914-06-26)June 26, 1914 Toledo, Ohio, United States
Died	March 31, 1997(1997-03-31) (aged 82)[1] Princeton, New Jersey, US
Resting place	Princeton Cemetery
Alma mater	Princeton University (Ph.D.) Yale University (B.A.) Phillips Academy
Known for	Research in star formation and plasma physics Promotion of space telescopes
Spouse	Doreen Canaday (1940)
Awards	Henry Draper Medal (1974) James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics (1975) National Medal of Science (1979) Crafoord Prize (1985)
Scientific career
Fields	Theoretical physics
Doctoral advisor	Henry Norris Russell
Doctoral students	John Richard Gott Bruce Elmegreen George B. Field J. Beverley Oke Trinh Xuan Thuan

Lyman Spitzer Jr. (June 26, 1914 – March 31, 1997)^[2] was an American theoretical physicist, astronomer and mountaineer. As a scientist, he carried out research into star formation and plasma physics and in 1946 conceived the idea of telescopes operating in outer space.^[3] Spitzer invented the stellarator plasma device^[4] and is the namesake of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. As a mountaineer, he made the first ascent of Mount Thor, with Donald C. Morton.^[5]