William Jackson Humphreys
| William Jackson Humphreys | |
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| Born | February 3, 1862 Gap Mills, West Virginia |
| Died | November 10, 1949 (aged 87) Washington, D.C. |
William Jackson Humphreys (February 3, 1862 – November 10, 1949) was an American physicist and atmospheric researcher.
[edit] Biography
Hymphreys was born on February 3, 1862 in Gap Mills, West Virginia. He studied physics at Washington & Lee University in Virginia and later at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1897, studying under Henry Augustus Rowland.[1]
He worked in the fields of spectroscopy, atmospheric physics and meteorology. In the field of spectroscopy he found the shift of spectral lines under pressure. In atmospheric physics he found a very good model for the stratosphere in 1909. He wrote numerous books, including a textbook titled Physics of the Air, first published in 1920 and considered a standard work of the time,[1] though it was last published in 1940.[citation needed] He also held some teaching positions at universities.
From 1905 to 1935 he worked as a physicist for the U.S. Weather Bureau, predecessor of the National Weather Service.[1]
He died on November 10, 1949 in Washington, D.C.
