Joseph John Thomson

Physicist, Academic

1856 – 1940

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Who was Joseph John Thomson?

Sir Joseph John "J. J." Thomson, OM, FRS was an English physicist.

In 1897 Thomson showed that cathode rays were composed of a previously unknown negatively charged particle, and thus he is credited with the discovery and identification of the electron; and, in a broader sense, with the discovery of the first subatomic particle. Thomson is also credited with finding the first evidence for isotopes of a stable element in 1913, as part of his exploration into the composition of canal rays. He invented the mass spectrometer.

Thomson was awarded the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the electron and for his work on the conduction of electricity in gases.

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Born
Dec 18, 1856
Manchester
Also known as
  • J.J. Thomson
  • J. J. Thomson
  • J. J. Thompson
Parents
Siblings
Spouses
Children
Religion
  • Anglicanism
Ethnicity
  • Scottish people
Nationality
  • United Kingdom
Profession
Education
  • University of Cambridge
  • Trinity College, Cambridge
  • University of Manchester
  • Victoria University of Manchester
Employment
  • Yale University
  • Princeton University
  • University of Cambridge
Lived in
  • United Kingdom
  • Cheetham Hill
Died
Aug 30, 1940
Cambridge
Resting place
Westminster Abbey

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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