Patrick Blackett

The Lord Blackett
Blackett in 1948
52nd President of the Royal Society
In office
1965–1970
Preceded byHoward Florey
Succeeded byAlan Hodgkin
Personal details
Born
Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett

(1897-11-18)18 November 1897
London, England
Died13 July 1974(1974-07-13) (aged 76)
London, England
Resting placeKensal Green Cemetery, London
Alma mater
Known for
Spouse
Costanza Bayon
(m. 1924)
Children2
Relatives
Awards
Honours
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
Academic advisorsErnest Rutherford
Doctoral students
Other notable studentsJ. Robert Oppenheimer
5th Langworthy Professor
In office
1937–1953
Preceded byLawrence Bragg
Succeeded bySamuel Devons
Signature
Giuseppe (Beppo) P.S. Occhialini (1907–1993) and Patrick Blackett in 1932 or 1933

Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett, Baron Blackett (18 November 1897 – 13 July 1974) was an English physicist who received the 1948 Nobel Prize in Physics.[2] In 1925, he was the first person to prove that radioactivity could cause the nuclear transmutation of one chemical element to another.[3] He also made major contributions to the Allied war effort in World War II, advising on military strategy and developing operational research.

In the war's aftermath, Blackett continued his scientific work, but also became outspoken on political matters. He advocated for restraints on the military use of atomic energy. He was a proponent for Third World development and for reducing the gap between rich and poor.[4][5] In the 1950s and '60s, he was a key advisor to the Labour Party on science and technology policy.[6][7] By the time of his death in 1974, Blackett had become controversial to the point that the Times obituary referred to him as the "Radical Nobel-Prize Winning Physicist".[8]

  1. ^ a b "Patrick Blackett". Mathematics Genealogy Project.
  2. ^ H. S. W., Massey (September 1974). "Lord Blackett". Physics Today. 27 (9): 69–71. Bibcode:1974PhT....27i..69M. doi:10.1063/1.3128879.
  3. ^ Blackett, Patrick Maynard Stuart (2 February 1925). "The ejection of protons from nitrogen nuclei, photographed by the Wilson method". Proceedings of the Royal Society A. 107 (742): 349–360.
  4. ^ Nye, Mary Jo (26 January 2005). "Professor Blackett Lecture: 'Blackett as Scientific Leader: Physics, War and Politics in the Twentieth Century'". Imperial College London.
  5. ^ Anderson, R. S. (1999). "Patrick Blackett in India: Military consultant and scientific intervenor, 1947-72. Part one". Notes and Records of the Royal Society. 53 (2): 253–273. doi:10.1098/rsnr.1999.0079. S2CID 144374364.
  6. ^ Anderson, D. (2007). "Patrick Blackett: Physicist, Radical, and Chief Architect of the Manchester Computing Phenomenon". IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. 29 (3): 82–85. doi:10.1109/mahc.2007.4338448.
  7. ^ Nye, Mary Jo (2004). "Blackett, Patrick Maynard Stuart, Baron Blackett (1897–1974)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/30822. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. ^ "Lord Blackett: Radical Nobel-Prize Winning Physicist". The Times. London. 15 July 1974.

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