Owen Willans Richardson album of Nobel Prize in Physics awardee correspondence and autographs
Scope and Contents
Album of collected correspondence and autographs between Owen Willans Richardson and other recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Dates
- Creation: 1904-1938 (inclusive)
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research. Access requires advance notice. Contact Public Services for further information.
Conditions Governing Use
The Harvard Medical Library does not hold copyright on all materials in the collection. Researchers are responsible for identifying and contacting any third-party copyright holders for permission to reproduce or publish. For more information on the Center's use, publication, and reproduction policies, view our Reproductions and Use Policy.
Extent
0.55 cubic feet (1 flat file box)Biographical Note
Owen Willans Richardson (1879-1959) was born in Dewsbury, United Kingdom on 26 April 1879. Richardson became known as a physicist for his work on thermionic emission. Thermionic emission is a process in which heated metal, under certain conditions, emits electrons that can be used as electrical current or electrical energy. Richardson's work on thermionic emission resulted in Richardson's Law, which describes the behavior of electrons in metal and can be expressed in a mathematical equation. He received a Nobel Prize in Physics in 1929 for this research. He studied at Trinity College, Cambridge before going on to teach at Princeton University and King's College at the University of London. He was knighted in 1939. In 1906 he married Lilian Maud Wilson, having two sons and one daughter. After Maud Wilson's death in 1945, he married physicist Henriette Rupp in 1948.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Immediate source of acquisition of the collection is unknown. Accession information can be found below.
- Accession Number 2023-011.
Processing Information
Processed by Marco Lanier in October 2022. Collection was processed according to Level 1 protocol.
Genre / Form
Topical
Creator
Subject
- Title
- Richardson, O. W. (Owen Willans), 1879-1959. Album of Nobel Prize in Physics awardee correspondence and autographs, 1904-1938 (inclusive): Finding Aid.
- Status
- completed
- Author
- Marco Lanier
- Date
- 2022-10-28
- Description rules
- dacs
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- med00951
Repository Details
Part of the Center for the History of Medicine (Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine) Repository
The Center for the History of Medicine in the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine is one of the world's leading resources for the study of the history of health and medicine. Our mission is to enable the history of medicine and public health to inform healthcare, the health sciences, and the societies in which they are embedded.