Patrick Blackett

Patrick Blackett (1897-1974), British physicist and Nobel laureate, noted for his contributions to the understanding of cosmic rays. Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett was born in London and educated at the Royal Naval College and the University of Cambridge. After teaching at various institutions, he served (1953-1965) as Professor of Physics at Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. During World War II he was chief adviser on operational research to the British Navy. For his discoveries in the fields of nuclear physics and cosmic rays, and for his work with the cloud chamber, he was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize for Physics. In 1969 he was created a life peer. He wrote Atomic Weapons and East-West Relations (1956) and Studies of War (1962). (See also Particle Detectors.)