Richards, Horace Clark, 1868-1945.

Physicist Horace Clark Richards became a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1907.

Horace Clark Richards was a physicist, and was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1907.

Horace Clark Richards was born in 1868 to Thomas Webb and Henriette Adele (Hadry) Richards. He entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1884 and earned the A.B. degree in 1888. That same year, he enrolled in graduate school at Penn and received a Ph. D. in Physics in 1891. He also studied at Johns Hopkins University from 1890-1892. As a student at Penn, Richards won the Matriculate Greek prize of first rank, the Freshman Greek prize and the Junior Greek prize. He also won the first place Junior Mathematical prize. He was Editor and Business Manager of the student newspaper, The Pennsylvanian, and moderator of the Philomathean Society, a student literary organization. Additionally, he acted the part of Megrian in "The Acharnians," an ancient Greek tragedy, produced by the University in 1886. With the exception of a one-year appointment at Byrn Mawr in 1892-93, Richards spent his career at Penn. He was a Tyndale Fellow in Physics 1890-1892; Instructor in Physics, 1890-1903; Assistant Professor of Physics, 1903-1909; Professor of Mathematical Physics, 1909-1938; Director of the Randal Morgan Laboratory of Physics; 1931-1938 and Professor Emeritus, 1938-1945. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the Franklin Institute and the American Physical Society, among others. He died at age 78 on May 20, 1945. He was married to Annie Gardiner of Philadelphia. They had two children: Horace Gardiner Richards and Marie Ann Richards.