John Ambrose Fleming
Sir John Ambrose Fleming FRS (29 November 1849 – 18 April 1945) was an English electrical engineer and physicist who invented the first thermionic valve or vacuum tube, designed the radio transmitter with which the first transatlantic radio transmission was made, and also established the right-hand rule used in physics.
Sir John Ambrose Fleming | |
|---|---|
Fleming in 1890 | |
| Born | John Ambrose Fleming 29 November 1849 Lancaster, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | 18 April 1945 (aged 95) Sidmouth, Devon, England, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University College London Royal College of Science |
| Known for | Fleming's left hand rule Fleming's right-hand rule Fleming valve |
| Awards | Hughes Medal (1910) Albert Medal (1921) Faraday Medal (1928) Duddell Medal (1930) IRE Medal of Honor (1933) Franklin Medal (1935) Fellow of the Royal Society |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Electrical engineer and physicist |
| Institutions | University College London University of Nottingham Cambridge University Edison Electric Light Co. Victoria Institute |
| Doctoral advisor | Frederick Guthrie |
| Doctoral students | Harold Barlow |
| Other notable students | Hidetsugu Yagi Balthasar van der Pol |
He was the eldest of seven children of James Fleming DD (died 1879), a Congregational minister, and his wife Mary Ann, at Lancaster, Lancashire, and baptised on 11 February 1850. A devout Christian, he once preached at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on evidence for the resurrection.
In 1932, he and Douglas Dewar and Bernard Acworth helped establish the Evolution Protest Movement. Fleming bequeathed much of his estate to Christian charities, especially those for the poor. He was a noted photographer, painted watercolours, and enjoyed climbing the Alps.