William Watson CMG, FRS (4 August 1868 – 3 March 1919) was a British physicist and Lieutenant-Colonel in World War I. After education at

King's College School King's College School, also known as Wimbledon, KCS, King's and KCS Wimbledon, is a public school in Wimbledon, southwest London, England. The school was founded in 1829 by King George IV, as the junior department of King's College London and ...

, Watson studied under

Arthur William Rucker Sir Arthur William Rucker (or Rücker) (23 October 1848, Clapham Park, London, England – 1 November 1915, Yattendon, Berkshire) was a British physicist. Education and career Rucker gained his BA at Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1871, and wa ...

and

C. V. Boys Sir Charles Vernon Boys, FRS (15 March 1855 – 30 March 1944) was a British physicist, known for his careful and innovative experimental work in the fields of thermodynamics and high-speed photography, and as a popular science communicator th ...

at the

Royal College of Science The Royal College of Science was a higher education institution located in South Kensington; it was a constituent college of Imperial College London from 1907 until it was wholly absorbed by Imperial in 2002. Still to this day, graduates from th ...

and received his bachelor's degree in 1890. At the Royal College of Science, Watson was appointed demonstrator in physics in 1890, assistant professor in 1897, and professor in 1915. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1901. At the beginning of his career, Watson was an assistant to Professors A. W. Rucker and

Thomas Edward Thorpe Sir Thomas Edward Thorpe CB, FRS HFRSE LLD (8 December 1845 – 23 February 1925) was a British chemist. From 1894 to 1909 he was Chief Chemist to the British Government, as Director of the Government Laboratory. Early life and education Tho ...

in the great magnetic survey of the British Isles from 1890 to 1895. He assisted C. V. Boys in radio-micrometer experiments, in timing the periodicity of spark generators' electrical discharges, and in photographing the flight of bullets. He worked with J. W. Rodger in investigating the magnetic rotation of the plane of polarisation in liquids. He designed and built self-recording magnetographs which were used at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is a ...

Eskdalemuir Eskdalemuir is a civil parish and small village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, with a population of 265.

, and other observatories. His textbooks of physics, ''Textbook of Physics'', ''Intermediate Physics'', and ''Practical Physics'', became popular and were widely used. As a member of the Expert and Technical Committee of the

Royal Automobile Club The Royal Automobile Club is a British private social and athletic club. It has two clubhouses: one in London at 89 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, near Epsom in Surrey. Both provide accommodation and a range o ...

, Watson created specially designed instruments to investigate and develop the petrol motor. He assisted W. de W. Abney in experiments on colour vision. Upon the poison gas attacks in April 1915, Watson was sent to France to experiment with defensive countermeasures and in May 1915 made the first Allied experiments on a gas-cloud in the field. In June 1915, the British Army established the Central Laboratory with Watson as director. He was personally involved in the systematic collection and examination of the German shells and fuses used for the gas attacks. During these field investigations he was frequently gassed with a variety of poisons. In the last great gas attack of the war, Watson was a victim and eventually succumbed in hospital. He is commemorated on the war memorial at

Golders Green Crematorium Golders Green Crematorium and Mausoleum was the first crematorium to be opened in London, and one of the oldest crematoria in Britain. The land for the crematorium was purchased in 1900, costing £6,000 (the equivalent of £135,987 in 2021), ...

. In addition to the Royal Automobile Club, Watson was a member of the

Savile Club The Savile Club is a traditional London gentlemen's club founded in 1868. Located in fashionable and historically significant Mayfair, its membership, past and present, include many prominent names. Changing premises Initially calling itself th ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, William British physicists Fellows of the Royal Society British Army personnel of World War I Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 1868 births 1919 deaths British military personnel killed in World War I British Army officers