John Quincy Stewart (September 10, 1894 – March 19, 1972) was an American astrophysicist. He obtained his Ph.D. in

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

in 1919. He taught astrophysics at Princeton from 1921 until he retired in 1963. Stewart was a civilian aeronautical engineer, an Army 1st Lieutenant, and later served as a chief instructor in the Army Engineering School, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was later a research engineer in the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. He became interested in social physics in 1946, (first investigated in 1693 by

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either ...

Edmond Halley Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720. From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, H ...

), demonstrating the use of physical laws in the area of social sciences, for example,

demographic gravitation Demographic gravitation is a concept of "social physics", introduced by Princeton University astrophysicist John Quincy Stewart in 1947.Stewart, John Q., "Demographic Gravitation: Evidence and Applications," ''Sociometry'', Vol. 11, No. 1/2. (Febru ...

.Stewart, John Q., "Demographic Gravitation: Evidence and Applications", Sociometry, Vol. 11, No. 1/2. (February – May, 1948), pp. 31–5

/ref> He co-wrote an influential two-volume textbook in 1927 with

Raymond Smith Dugan Raymond Smith Dugan (May 30, 1878 – August 31, 1940) was an American astronomer and discoverer of minor planets. His parents were Jeremiah Welby and Mary Evelyn Smith and he was born in Montague in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. His undergr ...

and

Henry Norris Russell Henry Norris Russell ForMemRS HFRSE FRAS (October 25, 1877 – February 18, 1957) was an American astronomer who, along with Ejnar Hertzsprung, developed the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (1910). In 1923, working with Frederick Saunders, he d ...

: ''Astronomy: A Revision of Young’s Manual of Astronomy'' (Ginn & Co., Boston, 1926–27, 1938, 1945). This became the standard astronomy textbook for about two decades. There were two volumes: the first was ''The Solar System'' and the second was ''Astrophysics and Stellar Astronomy''.

References

External links

John Q. Stewart biography, John Q. Stewart Papers (C0571) — Princeton U.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, John Quincy 1894 births 1972 deaths American astronomers People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Princeton University alumni Princeton University faculty Fellows of the American Physical Society