Arthur Gordon Webster
Encyclopedia
Arthur Gordon Webster was the founder of the American Physical Society
.
Arthur Gordon Webster was born on 28 November, 1863 at Brookline, Massachusetts
to William Edward Webster and Mary Shannon Davis. On 8 October, 1889 he married Elizabeth Munroe Townsend, daughter of Captain Robert Townsend
and Harriett Munro of Albany, New York
.
Webster had graduated from Harvard College
in 1885 at the top of his class and had stayed for a year as instructor in mathematics and physics. At the end of that year he went to the University of Berlin where he studied for four years with Hermann von Helmholtz
, receiving his PhD in 1890. Helmholtz is said to have considered Webster his favorite American student. During this period Webster also studied in Paris
and Stockholm
. He was unusually proficient in literature and was fluent in Latin, Greek, German, French, and Swedish, with a good knowledge of Italian and Spanish and competency in Russian and modern Greek.
In 1892, when Michelson left Clark for Chicago, President Hall appointed Webster assistant professor and head of the Physical Laboratories. At that time, only Johns Hopkins University
and Clark University
had doctoral programs in physics. Webster was promoted to full professor in 1900.
Webster was unusual for his time in that he was both a proficient mathematician as well as a competent experimentalist.
Webster's research was in the field of acoustics
and mechanics
. He is credited with developing an instrument to measure the absolute intensity of sound, the phonometer and for research on the gyroscope
. He also gave graduate lectures in theoretical physics at Clark University, which have
been published as three textbooks.
A group of twenty physicists, invited by Webster, founded the American Physical Society
at a meeting at Fayerweather Hall in Columbia University
on 20 May 1899. In 1903, Webster became president of the American Physical Society and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
.
Webster committed suicide in 1923, following the closure of the mathematics department at Clark, after it was rumored that the physics department would be the next to be closed by the new president. With a revolver he had bought a few hours before, Webster shot himself twice in the head in his private office while a class waited for him next door. He left a note to his son which read;
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
.
Arthur Gordon Webster was born on 28 November, 1863 at Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
to William Edward Webster and Mary Shannon Davis. On 8 October, 1889 he married Elizabeth Munroe Townsend, daughter of Captain Robert Townsend
Robert Townsend (Captain)
Captain Robert Townsend was a Civil War era ship Captain in the United States Navy. He served twice, once before the war then again during the war. He saw active combat while serving aboard three ships, most notably as commander of the USS Essex from 1863–1864, an ironclad gunship on the...
and Harriett Munro of Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
.
Webster had graduated from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1885 at the top of his class and had stayed for a year as instructor in mathematics and physics. At the end of that year he went to the University of Berlin where he studied for four years with Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...
, receiving his PhD in 1890. Helmholtz is said to have considered Webster his favorite American student. During this period Webster also studied in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. He was unusually proficient in literature and was fluent in Latin, Greek, German, French, and Swedish, with a good knowledge of Italian and Spanish and competency in Russian and modern Greek.
In 1892, when Michelson left Clark for Chicago, President Hall appointed Webster assistant professor and head of the Physical Laboratories. At that time, only Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
had doctoral programs in physics. Webster was promoted to full professor in 1900.
Webster was unusual for his time in that he was both a proficient mathematician as well as a competent experimentalist.
Webster's research was in the field of acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
and mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
. He is credited with developing an instrument to measure the absolute intensity of sound, the phonometer and for research on the gyroscope
Gyroscope
A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
. He also gave graduate lectures in theoretical physics at Clark University, which have
been published as three textbooks.
A group of twenty physicists, invited by Webster, founded the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
at a meeting at Fayerweather Hall in Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
on 20 May 1899. In 1903, Webster became president of the American Physical Society and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
.
Webster committed suicide in 1923, following the closure of the mathematics department at Clark, after it was rumored that the physics department would be the next to be closed by the new president. With a revolver he had bought a few hours before, Webster shot himself twice in the head in his private office while a class waited for him next door. He left a note to his son which read;
Dear Gordon: This is the only way. For years I have been a failure - my research is worth nothing. Everyone else knows it, and S.N. physics has got away from me and I cannot come back. Everything I have started has stalled. Students will not come and they will put me out. Your mother will not see. She will get over this. Take care of her. I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you. Am sorry to make so much trouble. Do your best and tell the truth. With my best love, "Papa"
Books by Arthur Gordon Webster
- Theory of electricity and magnetism, being lectures on mathematical physics (London, MacMillan, 1897)
- The dynamics of particles and of rigid, elastic, and fluid bodies : being lectures on mathematical physics (Leipzig, B.G. Teubner, 1912)
- The Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics (1927) (posthumous, with a second edition by Samuel J. Plimpton published by Teubner in 1933. This second edition was reprinted by Dover in 1966)
External links
- Patents by A. G. Webster
- Observing and Recording the Operation of Ordnance Patent number: 1489566 (8 April 1924).
- Articles on A. G. Webster in scholarly journals
- A. Wilmer Duff Arthur Gordon Webster Physical Review 21, 585 (1923).
- E. H. Hall Arthur Gordon Webster Science 58, 37 - 39 (1923).
- Joseph S. Ames Biographical memoir of Arthur Gordon Webster
- A. Wilmer Duff Arthur Gordon Webster—Physicist, Mathematician, Linguist, and Orator American Journal of Physics 6, pp. 181-194 (1938).
- Melba Phillips Arthur Gordon Webster, Founder of the APS Physics Today, 40, 48 (1987).
- Articles on A. G. Webster in the press
- The Boston Globe May 16, 1923
- TIME Magazine, Monday May 28, 1923 Death Notice of A. G. Webster
- TIME Magazine, Monday June 11, 1923 Editorial on the situation at Clark University in 1923.
- New York Times Wednesday 16 May, 1923 and Sunday 20 May, 1923.
- The Nation June 13, 1923 issue.
- The Boston Globe June 17, 1923
- A. G. Webster on the Web
- A Web page on Arthur Gordon Webster at Clark University
- A picture of Arthur Gordon Webster's gyroscope