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Arthur Gordon Webster
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Arthur Gordon Webster |
|
| Born | 1893 Brookline |
|---|---|
| Died | 1923 Worcester |
| Residence |  USA |
| Nationality | America |
| Field | Physicist |
| Institution | Clark University |
| Alma mater | Harvard College University of Berlin |
| Academic advisor | Hermann von Helmholtz |
| Notable students | Robert Goddard Albert Potter Wills |
| Known for | Acoustics |
Arthur Gordon Webster (1893-1923) was the founder of the American Physical Society.
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. He 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.