William Frederick Meggers (July 13, 1888 – November 19, 1966) was an American physicist specialising in

spectroscopy Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wa ...

. Born in

Clintonville, Wisconsin Clintonville is a city in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,591 at the 2020 census. The area that became Clintonville was first settled in March, 1855. History Clintonville lies within ancestral Menominee territor ...

, he had to combine his early schooling with working on the family farm, but earned a scholarship to Ripon College, receiving a bachelor's degree in physics in 1910 and working as a research assistant. After a few years at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1914 he joined the National Bureau of Standards, and while working there earned his PhD from Johns Hopkins University. MEGGERS, WILLIAM

His work in

spectrochemistry Spectrochemistry is the application of spectroscopy in several fields of chemistry. It includes analysis oin chemical terms, and use of spectra to derive the structure of chemical compounds, and also to qualitatively and quantitively analyze their p ...

is generally credited to have sparked interest in the field in the United States, leading to him being dubbed ''the Dean of American spectroscopists''. In 1947 he received the Frederic Ives Medal. He was awarded the

Elliott Cresson Medal The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848. The ...

in 1953. Since 1970, the Optical Society of America has awarded the William F. Meggers Award for outstanding work in spectroscopy. In 1965, Dr. Meggers and his wife, Edith R. Meggers, donated their coin and stamp collections to the American Institute of Physics, for the express purpose of establishing a biennial award program for the improvement of physics teaching at the high school level. Awards have been presented since 1994. The Meggers crater on the Moon is named in his honor. His daughter and oldest child was

Betty J. Meggers Betty Jane Meggers (December 5, 1921 – July 2, 2012) was an American archaeologist best known for her work in South America. She was considered influential at the Smithsonian Institution, where she was long associated in research,Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, specializing in South American pre-Columbian archeology. He also had two sons, William F. Meggers Jr. (1924-2000) and John C. Meggers (1928-1966). There are two awards named in his honor:

The Optical Society Optica (formerly known as The Optical Society (OSA) and before that as the Optical Society of America) is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals and organizes conference ...

's William F. Meggers Award and the Applied Spectroscopy William F. Meggers Award.Past Recipients of the Applied Spectroscopy William F. Meggers Award
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References

External links

National Academy of Sciences Biographical MemoirArcs and Sparks January, 1967 article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meggers, William Frederick 1888 births 1966 deaths People from Clintonville, Wisconsin Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni 20th-century American physicists