Sir Joseph John Thomson
(1856-1940), PhysicistSitter in 16 portraits
J.J. Thompson was a physicist who helped revolutionise the knowledge of atomic structure by his discovery of the electron in 1897. He received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1906. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1876, and remained a member of the College for the rest of his life, as a Lecturer, Master and then Professor of Physics. Thomson's early interest in atomic structure was reflected in his Treatise on the Motion of Vortex Rings. His outstanding work was an original study of cathode rays culminating in the discovery of the electron, which he announced in a lecture to the Royal Institution in 1897. He published numerous books and treatises and won many awards and medals for his work.
by William Rothenstein
pencil, 1915
NPG 4796
by Sir Walter Thomas Monnington
chalk, 1932
NPG 3256
by Elliott & Fry
bromide print, circa 1910
NPG x91564
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1921
NPG x185682
by Walter Stoneman
bromide print, 1933
NPG x185683
by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, December 1936
NPG x84902
by Bassano Ltd
bromide print, December 1936
NPG x84903
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate film negative, 8 December 1936
NPG x81301
by Bassano Ltd
whole-plate film negative, 8 December 1936
NPG x81302
by Francis Dodd
etching, 1925
NPG D40441
by Francis Dodd
etching, 1925
NPG D40442
by Walter Benington, for Elliott & Fry
half-plate negative, published 1927
NPG x82635
by Lafayette
half-plate nitrate negative, 12 June 1929
NPG x47756
by Lafayette
half-plate nitrate negative, 12 June 1929
NPG x47757
by Lafayette
half-plate nitrate negative, 12 June 1929
NPG x47758
by Lafayette
half-plate nitrate negative, 12 June 1929
NPG x47759
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