Lord Rayleigh

@Discoverer of Argon, Birthday and Family ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Lord Rayleigh was an English physicist who discovered the Argon gas and won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904 British Trinity College, Cambridge Scientists Physicists Scorpio Celebrities John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, was an English physicist noted for his discovery of the Argon gas, one of the rare gases of the atmosphere. Rayleigh was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1904 for this achievement. He shared the prize with chemist William Ramsay. He is also the famous for his discovery of ‘Rayleigh scattering’ which explains why the sky is blue. He also predicted about the surface waves, a phenomenon which is now named after him: ‘Rayleigh waves’. With hi patient experiments, he established the standards of resistance, current and electromotive force. Later in his life, he focused on electric and magnetic problems. Lord Rayleigh was a brilliant instructor. He supervised a practical instruction class in experimental physics and increased its roll-strength of five or six students to an advanced school of seventy physicists. He had a great sense of literary style and every paper he wrote was precise and simple in diction. He was a member of the House of Lords, but never allowed politics to interfere with science. He enjoyed tennis, music, travelling, and photography.

Personal Details

Birthday: November 12, 1842 Died on: June 30, 1919 Nationality: British Famous: Discoverer of Argon, Trinity College, Cambridge, Scientists, Physicists Spouses: Evelyn Balfour Known as: John William Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh Childrens: 4th Baron Rayleigh, Robert John Strutt Information Detail Birthday November 12, 1842 Died on June 30, 1919 Nationality British Famous Discoverer of Argon, Trinity College, Cambridge, Scientists, Physicists Spouses Evelyn Balfour Known as John William Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh Childrens 4th Baron Rayleigh, Robert John Strutt Universities Trinity College, Cambridge Harrow School University of Cambridge Trinity College Cambridge Notable Alumnis Trinity College Cambridge Discoveries / Inventions Argon Birth Place Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex, England Religion Christian Gender Male Father John Strutt, 2nd Baron Rayleigh Sun Sign Scorpio Born in Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex, England Famous as Discoverer of Argon Died at Age 76

Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex, England

Lord Rayleigh born at Unsplash Birth Place

He married Evelyn Balfour, the sister of the future prime minister, the Earl of Balfour, and daughter of James Maitland Balfour, in 1871. Unsplash Personal Life

He suffered from rheumatic fever right after his marriage. So, he and his wife went for a recuperative trip to Egypt. It was during this trip that he started writing ‘The Theory of Sound’. Unsplash Personal Life

Lord Rayligh worked on his scientific papers even five days before his death. He died on 30 June 1919, in Witham, Essex. Unsplash Personal Life

John William Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh, was born on November 12, 1842 at Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex to John James Srutt and Clara Elizabeth Latouche Vicars. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

His father was the second Baron Rayleigh of Terling Place, Witham, Essex. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

John was the eldest of all his siblings— Clara, Richard, Charles and Edward. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

He belonged from a family of landowners with no interest in science; the only exception was his distant relative, Robert Boyle. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

During childhood, he suffered from a frail health and his schooling was interrupted due to frequent bouts of illness. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

In 1871, Rayleigh published his theory of scattering which was the first right explanation of the blue color of the sky. Unsplash Career

From 1876 to 1878, he served as President of the London Mathematical Society. Unsplash Career

In 1877 he published the first volume of his major text ‘The Theory of Sound’. The second volume came out in the next year. Unsplash Career

From 1879 to 1884, Lord Rayleigh served as the second Cavendish Professor of Physics. During this time, he carried out experiments on standardisation ohm. He explained the results of this experiment in his presidential address to the British Association in Montreal. Unsplash Career

In 1884 he returned to Terling to carry out practical experiments at his own estate. Unsplash Career

Lord Rayleigh made the interesting discovery that the density of nitrogen available in the atmosphere is greater than the density obtained from chemical compounds. This anomaly, along with some observations made by the 18th century scientist Henry Cavendish inspired him to launch a long experimental program. In 1895, he isolated the gas and named it ‘argon’, derived from the Greek word that means ‘inactive’. This discovery won him Nobel Prize. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	November 12, 1842
Died on	June 30, 1919
Nationality	British
Famous	Discoverer of Argon, Trinity College, Cambridge, Scientists, Physicists
Spouses	Evelyn Balfour
Known as	John William Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh
Childrens	4th Baron Rayleigh, Robert John Strutt
Universities	Trinity College, Cambridge Harrow School University of Cambridge Trinity College Cambridge
Notable Alumnis	Trinity College Cambridge
Discoveries / Inventions	Argon
Birth Place	Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex, England
Religion	Christian
Gender	Male
Father	John Strutt, 2nd Baron Rayleigh
Sun Sign	Scorpio
Born in	Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex, England
Famous as	Discoverer of Argon
Died at Age	76

Lord Rayleigh

British

Nov 12, 1842

Biography

Personal Details

Langford Grove, Maldon, Essex, England