F. J. M. Stratton
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Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Frederick John Marrian Stratton
PRAS Prakazrel Samuel Michel (; born October 19, 1972) is a Haitian-American rapper, producer, songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the hip hop group Fugees, alongside Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. After the Fugees, he earned two ...
(16 October 1881 – 2 September 1960) was a British astrophysicist, Professor of Astrophysics (1909) at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
from 1928 to 1947 and a decorated
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
officer.


Early life

The youngest of six sons and two daughters, Stratton was born at
Edgbaston Edgbaston () is an affluent suburban area of central Birmingham, England, historically in Warwickshire, and curved around the southwest of the city centre. In the 19th century, the area was under the control of the Gough-Calthorpe family an ...
in Birmingham, to Stephen Samuel Stratton, a music critic and historian, and Mary Jane Marrian. He remembered Dvorak and
Ebenezer Prout Ebenezer Prout (1 March 1835 – 5 December 1909) was an English musical theorist, writer, music teacher and composer, whose instruction, afterwards embodied in a series of standard works still used today, underpinned the work of many British cl ...
visiting his father. In 1891, he received a scholarship to King Edward's Grammar School in Five Ways, Birmingham, advanced to
Mason College Mason Science College was a university college in Birmingham, England, and a predecessor college of Birmingham University. Founded in 1875 by industrialist and philanthropist Sir Josiah Mason, the college was incorporated into the University o ...
in 1897 (which later became the
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
) and won an entrance scholarship to
Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
, in 1900, entering the university in October 1901. He took a London BA (External) in Greek, Latin and maths in 1903, and graduated in 1904 with the distinction of Third Wrangler in Part I of the Mathematical Tripos (Arthur Eddington, later Sir Arthur, was Senior Wrangler that year). He was placed in Class I, Division II of the second part of the Tripos the following year, also receiving the
Tyson Medal The Tyson Medal is a prize awarded for the best performance in subjects relating to astronomy at the University of Cambridge, England. It is awarded annually for achievement in the examinations for Part III of the Mathematical Tripos when there is ...
in astronomy and an Isaac Newton Studentship. In 1906 he won a
Smith's Prize The Smith's Prize was the name of each of two prizes awarded annually to two research students in mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1769. Following the reorganization in 1998, they are now awarded under the n ...
and was elected a Fellow of his college, which he remained until his death.


Military service

In 1901, Statton had joined the Caius Company of the Cambridge University Rifle Volunteers, which became the Cambridge University Officers Training Corps in 1908. Partly instrumental in forming the Communications (later Signals) Company as a cadet corporal, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Territorial Army on 17 August 1910. A provisional captain in the unit when war erupted in 1914, he was commissioned a temporary captain in the Corps of Royal Engineers on 8 September 1914. As a temporary major, he became Officer Commanding (Signals) of the 20th Divisional Signal Company, Royal Engineers, and took his company to France in the summer of 1915 to join the BEF. He was awarded a DSO in 1917 and promoted to acting lieutenant-colonel on 22 July, becoming Assistant Director Signals (later chief signals officer) of the 19th Corps BEF under Lt-Gen. Watts. He was praised by his fellow officers for his efficiency and perpetual cheerfulness, managing to remain alert even after days without sleep, and was mentioned in despatches five times. On 29 January 1919, Stratton was appointed a knight of the Légion d'honneur of France. Upon returning to Cambridge in 1919 with the rank of major (brevet lieutenant-colonel), he re-formed the signals section of the Officers Training Corps, and commanded it until 1928. For his military service, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Military Division (OBE) in the 1929 King's Birthday Honours list. In 1921, Stratton became the University representative for the Cambridgeshire Territorial Army Association, serving as its president from 1934 to 1940. Although nearly 60 when war erupted again in 1939, Stratton eagerly volunteered to return to active service. After persuading the War Office, he was given command of an Officer Cadet Training Unit. However, he was soon reassigned to the Royal Corps of Signals and given a special-duties role concerned with radio security. As a result, Stratton spent the war travelling extensively across the British Empire and also to the United States. Having exceeded the age limit for retirement, he relinquished his commission in the Territorial Army on 20 October 1945, retaining the rank of brevet lieutenant-colonel.


Scientific career

After a few years as mathematical lecturer at Cambridge he became Assistant Director of the Solar Physics Observatory from 1913 to 1919, then Tutor at Caius College from 1919 to 1928 and finally Professor of Astrophysics and Director of the Solar Physics Observatory (Director of the Combined Observatories after the amalgamation in 1946 with the Cambridge Observatory) from 1928 to 1947. He also wrote the main historical account of the Cambridge Observatories. He was president of the
Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NGO ...
in 1933–35. In 1947 he was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
. In 1952 he was awarded the Prix Jules Janssen by the Société astronomique de France.


Personal life and death

Stratton held interest in
parapsychology Parapsychology is the study of alleged psychic phenomena (extrasensory perception, telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis (also called telekinesis), and psychometry) and other paranormal claims, for example, those related to near ...
. He was the President of the
Society for Psychical Research The Society for Psychical Research (SPR) is a nonprofit organisation in the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is to understand events and abilities commonly described as psychic or paranormal. It describes itself as the "first society to condu ...
in 1953–1955. Haynes, Renee. (1982). ''The Society for Psychical Research 1882–1982: A History''. London: MacDonald & Co. p. 218. Stratton died in Cambridge in 1960, aged 78. He never married.


References


External links

*
Fellows of the Royal Society – S
''Royal Society''. Retrieved 27 September 2008. * Jones, Bryn

. Retrieved 16 February 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratton, Frederick John Marrian 1881 births 1960 deaths People from Birmingham, West Midlands 20th-century British astronomers Fellows of the Royal Society British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II Royal Engineers officers Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Officers of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Alumni of University of London Worldwide Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Birmingham Parapsychologists Presidents of the Royal Astronomical Society Royal Corps of Signals officers Professors of Astrophysics (Cambridge)