William Francis Magie (1858–1943) was an American

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, a founder of the American Physical Society (president from 1910–12) and the first professor of

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 ...

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 ...

, where he had graduated (class

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

, 1879) and where he served for two decades as dean of the faculty. His papers on the

contact angle The contact angle is the angle, conventionally measured through the liquid, where a liquid–vapor interface meets a solid surface. It quantifies the wettability of a solid surface by a liquid via the Young equation. A given system of solid, liq ...

of liquids and solids and on the

specific heat In thermodynamics, the specific heat capacity (symbol ) of a substance is the heat capacity of a sample of the substance divided by the mass of the sample, also sometimes referred to as massic heat capacity. Informally, it is the amount of heat t ...

of solutions were notable, as was his text ''Principles of Physics''.

Personal views

Magie served as the president of the Men's Anti-Suffrage League of New Jersey. In this capacity, he argued that

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

would ruin the family structure, destroy

gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...

, and "undermine civilization."

Selected works

*Magie, William Francis, editor, translator. (1899). : Memoirs by Carnot,

Clausius Rudolf Julius Emanuel Clausius (; 2 January 1822 – 24 August 1888) was a German physicist and mathematician and is considered one of the central founding fathers of the science of thermodynamics. By his restatement of Sadi Carnot's principle ...

and

Thomson Thomson may refer to: Names * Thomson (surname), a list of people with this name and a description of its origin * Thomson baronets, four baronetcies created for persons with the surname Thomson Businesses and organizations * SGS-Thomson Mic ...

. *Magie, William Francis. (1911)
''Principles of physics, designed for use as a textbook of general physics''
New York: Century. *Magie, William Francis. (1935). ''A Source Book in Physics''. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Includes selections and translations of classic works in physics.

Notes

External links

Finding aid for William Francis Magie papers at Princeton
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magie, William Francis American physicists 1858 births 1943 deaths Princeton University alumni Princeton University faculty Anti-suffragists Presidents of the American Physical Society