John Patterson

Who was John Patterson?

John Patterson was a Canadian physicist and meteorologist.

Born on a farm in Oxford County, Ontario, he was one of thirteen children of Francis Patterson and Annie. He matriculated to the University of Toronto, graduating in 1900 with a B.A. in engineering, and was awarded a 1851 Exhibition Science Research Scholarship to study physics for his M.A. at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge. There he performed studies of thin metallic films and their electrical properties, ionization of the air, and the variation of electrical resistance of metals when exposed to magnetic fields.

Patterson traveled to India in 1903 where he served as professor of physics at the University of Allahabad, until in January 1905 he was named imperial meteorologist to the Government of India at Simla. On January 1, 1906, he was married to Margaret Norris, a medical practitioner and professor of obstetrics working in India. The couple would have two children, one of whom died in India. With John suffering from ill health, the couple left for Toronto with their son Arthur in 1910.