Leon Mestel (5 August 1927 – 15 September 2017) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

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, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...

and astrophysicist and Emeritus Professor at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

. His research interests were in the areas of star formation and structure, especially stellar magnetism and astrophysical

magnetohydrodynamics Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD; also called magneto-fluid dynamics or hydromagnetics) is the study of the magnetic properties and behaviour of electrically conducting fluids. Examples of such magnetofluids include plasmas, liquid metals, ...

. He was awarded both the

Eddington Medal The Eddington Medal is awarded by the Royal Astronomical Society for investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics. It is named after Sir Arthur Eddington. First awarded in 1953, the frequency of the prize has varied over the year ...

(1993) and the

Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society The Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society is the highest award given by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). The RAS Council have "complete freedom as to the grounds on which it is awarded" and it can be awarded for any reason. Past awar ...

(for Astronomy, 2002). Following his retirement, he wrote several obituaries and biographical articles on physicists and astrophysicists.

Early life and family

Leon Mestel was born on 5 August 1927MESTEL, Prof. Leon
Who's Who 2010, A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009; online edn, Nov 2009. Retrieved 7 November 2010 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, AustraliaProf Leon Mestel, FRS
, Debrett's People of Today. Retrieved 7 November 2010 to

Solomon Mestel Solomon Mestel (1886 – 21 September 1966) was an Australian rabbi. Born in Brody, Galicia (now Ukraine), he migrated to England in 1908. He passed London University matriculation in 1911, and was awarded a BA in Hebrew and Aramaic in 1914, and ...

, a rabbi and Rachel (née Brodetsky), a schoolteacher and sister of

Selig Brodetsky Selig Brodetsky, זליג ברודצק (10 February 1888 – 18 May 1954) was a Russian-born English mathematician, a member of the World Zionist Executive, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, and the second president of the ...

. With his family, he migrated to England at the age of three, where he lived in

Forest Gate Forest Gate is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It is located northeast of Charing Cross. The area's name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest. The town ...

, east London. He was educated at West Ham Secondary School, London, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he obtained his BA in 1948 and his PhD in 1952. He married Sylvia Louise Cole (d. 2014) in 1951, and they had two sons, Ben and Jonathan and two daughters Rosie and Leo. One of his sons is

Jonathan Mestel Andrew Jonathan Mestel (born 13 March 1957 in Cambridge, England) is Professor of Applied Mathematics at Imperial College London. He worked on magnetohydrodynamics and biological fluid dynamics. He obtained his PhD with the thesis "Magnetic Le ...

(born 1957), a mathematics professor and

chess grandmaster Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally it h ...

. In 1982, as part of a memorial series of annual lectures at the University of Leeds commemorating his maternal uncle, Leon Mestel gave the 23rd Selig Brodetsky Memorial Lecture, titled ''Astronomy: A Mirror to Physics''.

Research career

Mestel's research interests were in the area of

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

, including:

stellar structure Stellar structure models describe the internal structure of a star in detail and make predictions about the luminosity, the color and the future evolution of the star. Different classes and ages of stars have different internal structures, reflec ...

stellar evolution Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is cons ...

star formation Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecular clouds in The "medium" is present further soon.-->interstellar space

, cosmic magnetism and

pulsar A pulsar (from ''pulsating radio source'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles. This radiation can be observed only when a beam of emission is pointing toward Ea ...

electrodynamics In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions of a ...

. At the time he was completing his PhD, Mestel took a position as an ICI Research Fellow at the Department of Mathematics in the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, carrying out research there in the three-year period from 1951 to 1954. Also during this period, in 1952, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS). Mestel then spent the academic year of 1954–5 as a

Commonwealth Fund The Commonwealth Fund is a private U.S. foundation whose stated purpose is to "promote a high-performing health care system that achieves better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, particularly for society's most vulnerable, includ ...

Fellow at the Observatory at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. Returning to England, he was a lecturer in mathematics 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 ...

for eleven years from 1955 to 1966, first as an assistant lecturer (1955–1958) and then as a full lecturer (1958–1966). While at Cambridge, he was a Fellow of St John's College from 1957 to 1966. This time at Cambridge included a period as a visiting member of the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...

in Princeton, New Jersey, during the academic year of 1961–2. In 1963, he published a paper describing a phenomenon that occurs during galaxy and star formation that came to be known as a 'Mestel disk'. Mestel left Cambridge in 1966 after being appointed to the position of professor at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

, but before taking up his appointment there he spent the academic year of 1966–7 as JFK Fellow at the

Weizmann Institute The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli univ ...

, Israel. Returning to England, he spent six years as professor of applied mathematics in Manchester (1967–1973). The fourth and final stage of his career was as professor of astronomy at the

, a position he took up in 1973 and held for nineteen years. Mestel was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

(FRS) in 1977. He retired in 1992, becoming

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at Sussex.

Awards and honours

*1993 –

for "his fundamental work on cosmic magnetism" *2002 –

(for Astronomy, 2002).

Later years

After retiring, Mestel wrote several obituaries and biographical articles on physicists and astrophysicists for publications such as ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', the

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, and

Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society The ''Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society'' is an academic journal on the history of science published annually by the Royal Society. It publishes obituaries of Fellows of the Royal Society. It was established in 1932 as ''Obitu ...

. Those for whom Mestel wrote obituaries and articles include

Martin Schwarzschild Martin Schwarzschild (May 31, 1912 – April 10, 1997) was a German-American astrophysicist. Biography Schwarzschild was born in Potsdam into a distinguished German Jewish academic family. His father was the physicist Karl Schwarzschild and ...

Roger John Tayler Professor Roger John Tayler Order of the British Empire, OBE Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (25 October 1929 – 23 January 1997) was a British astronomer. Tayler made important contributions to stellar structure and evolution, plasma stabi ...

, William McCrea,

Hermann Bondi Sir Hermann Bondi (1 November 1919 – 10 September 2005) was an Austrian-British mathematician and cosmologist. He is best known for developing the steady state model of the universe with Fred Hoyle and Thomas Gold as an alternative to the Big ...

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; ) (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who spent his professional life in the United States. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for "... ...

, and

Thomas George Cowling Thomas George Cowling FRS (17 June 1906 – 16 June 1990) was an English astronomer. Early life and education Cowling was born in Hackney, London, the second of four sons of George Cowling and Edith Eliza Cowling (nee Nicholls). He was e ...

. Mestel also contributed the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry for Selig Brodetsky. In 2002, Mestel was an invited speaker at a conference held in Cardiff, Wales, in memory of

Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other sci ...

. In 2004, together with

John D. Barrow John David Barrow (29 November 1952 – 26 September 2020) was an English cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and mathematician. He served as Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College from 2008 to 2011. Barrow was also a writer of pop ...

, Mestel organised a Commemoration Meeting at the Royal Astronomical Society to mark 60 years since the death of

Arthur Eddington Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington (28 December 1882 – 22 November 1944) was an English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. He was also a philosopher of science and a populariser of science. The Eddington limit, the natural limit to the lumin ...

, publishing a paper on Eddington later the same year. In 2009, Mestel featured in ''Portraits of Astronomers'', a book by Lucinda Douglas-Menzies with portraits of thirty-eight leading UK astronomers.This 2008 photograph of Mestel is also available from the AIP Emilio Segrè Visual Archives: se
Mestel Leon A1
(4 April 2008). In 2008, he moved back to his family in Cambridge, where he died in September 2017.

Bibliography

Why Does the Sun Shine?
, essay in ''The Emerging Universe'' (1972) *
Stellar Magnetism
' (1999), leading monograph on the subject *

' (2003), later edition of the earlier work *'Stellar Rotation: A Historical Survey', chapter in
Stellar Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
' (2003) *'Astrophysical MHD – The Early Years', chapter in
Magnetohydrodynamics
' (2007)

References

External links

Leon Mestel
(International Astronomical Union)
Leon Mestel
(University of Sussex)
Leon Mestel in 1973
(Emilio Segrè Visual Archives of the American Institute of Physics)
Leon Mestel in 1976
(Emilio Segrè Visual Archives of the American Institute of Physics) {{DEFAULTSORT:Mestel, Leon 1927 births 2017 deaths Australian Jews Australian people of Russian-Jewish descent Australian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent People from Forest Gate 20th-century British astronomers Fellows of the Royal Society Jewish scientists Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom