Fredric William Taylor (24 September 1944 – 16 December 2021) was a British

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 ...

and academic. He was Halley Professor of

Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

Emeritus at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, where he lived until his death.

Early life and education

Taylor was born 24 September 1944 in

Amble Amble is a town on the North Sea coast of Northumberland, England, at the mouth of the River Coquet; Coquet Island is visible from its beaches and harbour. In 2021, the parish of Amble by the Sea had a population of 5,860. Etymology There ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

, England. His father, William, was a

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

who had been wounded in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and his mother, Ena, was a teacher. In 1949, the family moved to Howick, Northumberland. He was educated at The Duke's School, then an all-boys school in

Alnwick Alnwick ( ) is a market town in Northumberland, England, of which it is the traditional county town. The population at the 2011 Census was 8,116. The town is south of Berwick-upon-Tweed and the Scottish border, inland from the North Sea ...

. He studied

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

at the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

, graduating with a first class

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

(BSc) degree. He then undertook

postgraduate research Postgraduate research represents a formal area of study that is recognized by a university or institute of higher learning. The notion of "postgraduate" refers to studies following a undergraduate degree. Postgraduate research either occurs within ...

atmospheric physics Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, rad ...

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship ...

under the

supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard ...

of Sir John Houghton, and graduated from the

with a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(DPhil) degree.

Academic career

In 1970, Taylor joined the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

of the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. He was principal investigator for the first experiment into the

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

of the

atmosphere of Venus The atmosphere of Venus is the very dense layer of gases surrounding the planet Venus. Venus's atmosphere is composed of 96.5% carbon dioxide and 3.5% nitrogen, with other chemical compounds present only in trace amounts. It is much denser and ho ...

, building an instrument for the

Pioneer Venus Orbiter The ''Pioneer Venus Orbiter'', also known as ''Pioneer Venus 1'' or ''Pioneer 12'', was a mission to Venus conducted by NASA as part of the Pioneer Venus project. Launched in May 1978 atop an Atlas-Centaur rocket, the spacecraft was inserted into ...

that launched in 1978. Arriving at Venus in December 1978, this included the first British-built hardware to travel to another planet. He was also involved in the mission that sent the unmanned spacecraft ''Galileo'' to study

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

and its moons. In 1980, he returned to Oxford University where he became Professor and Head of Department. Under his leadership, the Group was involved in space missions to study the atmospheres of Earth, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Titan, as well as Mercury, the Moon, and a comet. In 1999, one of the Oxford projects placed the first British-built hardware on the surface of Mars, albeit unwittingly. Taylor was the author of twelve books on atmospheric and planetary physics.See his comment underneath http://www.theambler.co.uk/2012/03/05/mapping-the-world-and-beyond/ In September 2011, he retired from full-time academia and from the Halley Professorship of Physics. He died on 16 December 2021.

Selected works

;Academic * * * * * * * * ;Personal *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Fred Living people British physicists Statutory Professors of the University of Oxford People from Amble Alumni of the University of Liverpool Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford People from Howick, Northumberland 1944 births