William Henry Bragg and The University of Adelaide

W.H. Bragg was a British physicist, chemist and mathematician who shared, with his son William Lawrence Bragg, the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-ray.

In 1885 Bragg was appointed Elder Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Physics at the University of Adelaide having only recently graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge. When he commenced his appointment early in 1886, he was only 23 years of age.

In Adelaide Bragg matured as a teacher and a research scientist, married and had three children, and actively participated in many facets of University and community life.

From 1904 to 1908 he conducted a research programme whose fruits remain an enduring feature of science. In 1909 the Braggs left Adelaide to further their careers
in England.

The complete story of Bragg’s time in Adelaide can be found in John Jenkin’s The Bragg Family in Adelaide: A pictorial celebration.

Timeline

1862	Born in Cumberland
1869	Moved to Market Harborough, Leicestershire
1875	King William's School on the Isle of Man
1881-1885	Trinity College, Cambridge – Student
1886-1908	University of Adelaide – Elder Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Physics
1889	Married Gwendoline Todd in Adelaide
1898	Study leave in Europe
1899	Successful experiments in wireless telegraphy
1904	President of section A of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science;researches into alpha particles
1907	Fellow of the Royal Society
1908	President of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science
1909-1915	University of Leeds – Cavendish chair of physics
1915	Nobel Prize for Physics (with son Lawrence)
1915-1923	University College London – Quain Professor of physics
1919	Knighthood
1923	Royal Institution: Fullerian Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Davy Faraday Research Laboratory
1942	Died in London