Richard Glazebrook
Encyclopedia
Sir Richard Tetley Glazebrook KCB
KCVO
FRS (18 September 1854–15 December 1935) was an English
physicist
.
, Liverpool
, the son of a surgeon
. He was educated at Dulwich College
until 1870, Liverpool College from 1870 to 1872, and Trinity College, Cambridge
, from which he graduated in Mathematics
in 1876 and of which he was elected a fellow
in 1877. He studied physics
under James Clerk Maxwell
and Lord Rayleigh
at the new Cavendish Laboratory
and in 1880 was appointed a demonstrator at the laboratory. The following year he was also appointed a college lecturer in mathematics and physics and a university lecturer in mathematics. His research focused on electrical standards and aviation.
in 1884, but was surprisingly (given that he was also Rayleigh's choice) passed over in favour of Sir J. J. Thomson
, which was a great disappointment to him. He was, however, appointed Assistant Director of the Cavendish in 1891 and Bursar
of Trinity College in 1895. In 1898 he was appointed Principal of University College, Liverpool.
In June 1899, however, he left to become first Director of the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington
. He held the post until his retirement (largely due to friction with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
) in 1919, successfully establishing the NPL as a world leader in physics research.
and edited the Dictionary of Applied Physics. From 1920 to 1923 he was Zaharoff Professor of Aviation and Director of the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College, London. He remained on the General Board of the NPL and chaired the Executive Committee from 1925 to 1932.
in 1909 and the Royal Medal
in 1931. He was also awarded the Albert Medal
of the Royal Society of Arts
in 1918 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society
in 1933. He was President of the Physical Society, later the Institute of Physics
, from 1903 to 1905 and president of the Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1906.
Glazebrook was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1910, was knighted
in 1917, and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1920 New Year War Honours and Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1934.
in 1883; they had a son and three daughters. He died at Limpsfield
, Surrey
.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
KCVO
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
FRS (18 September 1854–15 December 1935) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
.
Education and early career
Glazebrook was born in West DerbyWest Derby
West Derby is a suburb in the north of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2001 Census, the population of the ward was 14,801 .-History:...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, the son of a surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
. He was educated at Dulwich College
Dulwich College
Dulwich College is an independent school for boys in Dulwich, southeast London, England. The college was founded in 1619 by Edward Alleyn, a successful Elizabethan actor, with the original purpose of educating 12 poor scholars as the foundation of "God's Gift". It currently has about 1,600 boys,...
until 1870, Liverpool College from 1870 to 1872, and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, from which he graduated in Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
in 1876 and of which he was elected a fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
in 1877. He studied physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
under James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory...
and Lord Rayleigh
John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh
John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, OM was an English physicist who, with William Ramsay, discovered the element argon, an achievement for which he earned the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904...
at the new Cavendish Laboratory
Cavendish Laboratory
The Cavendish Laboratory is the Department of Physics at the University of Cambridge, and is part of the university's School of Physical Sciences. It was opened in 1874 as a teaching laboratory....
and in 1880 was appointed a demonstrator at the laboratory. The following year he was also appointed a college lecturer in mathematics and physics and a university lecturer in mathematics. His research focused on electrical standards and aviation.
Later career
He hoped to succeed Rayleigh as Cavendish Professor of PhysicsCavendish Professor of Physics
The Cavendish Professorship is one of the senior Professorships in Physics at Cambridge University. It was founded by grace of 9 February 1871 alongside the famous Cavendish Laboratory which was completed three years later...
in 1884, but was surprisingly (given that he was also Rayleigh's choice) passed over in favour of Sir J. J. Thomson
J. J. Thomson
Sir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson, OM, FRS was a British physicist and Nobel laureate. He is credited for the discovery of the electron and of isotopes, and the invention of the mass spectrometer...
, which was a great disappointment to him. He was, however, appointed Assistant Director of the Cavendish in 1891 and Bursar
Bursar
A bursar is a senior professional financial administrator in a school or university.Billing of student tuition accounts are the responsibility of the Office of the Bursar. This involves sending bills and making payment plans with the ultimate goal of getting the student accounts paid off...
of Trinity College in 1895. In 1898 he was appointed Principal of University College, Liverpool.
In June 1899, however, he left to become first Director of the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
. He held the post until his retirement (largely due to friction with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
Department of Scientific and Industrial Research
Several countries have organizations called the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, abbreviated DSIR.-United Kingdom:...
) in 1919, successfully establishing the NPL as a world leader in physics research.
Retirement
Following his retirement, he moved back to CambridgeCambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and edited the Dictionary of Applied Physics. From 1920 to 1923 he was Zaharoff Professor of Aviation and Director of the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial College, London. He remained on the General Board of the NPL and chaired the Executive Committee from 1925 to 1932.
Honours and awards
In 1882 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the very young age of 28. He served as Vice-President of the Royal Society in 1919–1920 and 1924–1928 and as its Foreign Secretary from 1926 to 1929. He was awarded the Hughes MedalHughes Medal
The Hughes Medal is awarded by the Royal Society of London "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications". Named after David E. Hughes, the medal is awarded with a gift of £1000. The medal was first awarded in 1902 to...
in 1909 and the Royal Medal
Royal Medal
The Royal Medal, also known as The Queen's Medal, is a silver-gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society, two for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences" made within the Commonwealth of...
in 1931. He was also awarded the Albert Medal
Albert Medal (RSA)
The Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts was instituted in 1864 as a memorial to Prince Albert, who had been President of the Society for 18 years. It was first awarded in 1864 for "distinguished merit in promoting Arts, Manufactures and Commerce"...
of the Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
in 1918 and the Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
in 1933. He was President of the Physical Society, later the Institute of Physics
Institute of Physics
The Institute of Physics is a scientific charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of around 40,000....
, from 1903 to 1905 and president of the Institute of Electrical Engineers in 1906.
Glazebrook was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 1910, was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1917, and appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1920 New Year War Honours and Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) in 1934.
Personal life
He married Frances Gertrude Atkinson of LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
in 1883; they had a son and three daughters. He died at Limpsfield
Limpsfield
Limpsfield is a village and parish in the east of the county of Surrey, England near Oxted at the foot of the North Downs. It lies between the A25 to the south and the M25 motorway to the north, near the Clackett Lane service station...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
.
Works
- A dictionary of applied physics (5 vols.) edited by Richard Glazebrook I. Mechanics, engineering, heat; II. Electricity; III. Meteorology, metrology; IV. Light, sound, radiology, aeronautics, metallurgy. General Index (London : Macmillan, 1922-1923)
- Mechanics Dynamics (Cambridge University Press, 1911)
- Mechanics Hydrostatics (Cambridge University Press, 1916)
- Physical optics (London, New York: Longmans, Green, 1886)
- Laws and properties of matter (London, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & co., ltd., 1893)
- Heat: an elementary text-book, theoretical and practical, for colleges and schools (Cambridge University Press, 1894)
- Light, an elementary text-book, theoretical and practical (Cambridge University Press, 1912)
- Electricity and magnetism. An elementary text-book, theoretical and practical (Cambridge University Press, 1903)
- Practical physics (London, Longmans, 1889)
- James Clerk Maxwell and modern physics (New York: Macmillan, 1896)
- Science And Industry The Rede Lecture 1917 (Cambridge University Press)
External links
- Science and Society Picture Library at www.nmsi.ac.uk
- Glazebrook's descendants (genealogy).