Rayleigh, John William Strutt, baron, 1842-1919

John William Strutt, the Third Baron Rayleigh, an English physicist, was born in Terling, Essex, in 1842. He attended Cambridge University and in 1879 became professor of experimental physics there and director of its Cavendish Laboratory until 1884. He later was on the faculty at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, became chancellor of Cambridge University, and was a founder of the National Physics Laboratory in Teddington, England. Strutt, who with Lord William Ramsey, discovered the first rare atmospheric gas, argon, was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1904. He is also credited with explaining why the sky is blue (Rayleigh scattering) and predicting the existence of surface waves (Rayleigh waves). Lord Rayleigh died in Witham, Essex in 1919.

From the description of John William Strutt Rayleigh collection, 1865-1976. (US Air Force Academy). WorldCat record id: 476882074

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