Sir John Ambrose Fleming | |
---|---|
Born |
John Ambrose Fleming 29 November 1849 Lancaster, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
Died | 18 April 1945 Sidmouth, Devon, England, United Kingdom |
(aged 95)
Residence | England |
Nationality | British |
Alma mater |
University College London Royal College of Science |
Known for |
Fleming's left hand rule Vacuum tube (Fleming valve) |
Awards | Hughes Medal (1910) Albert Medal (1921) Faraday Medal (1928) Duddell Medal (1930) IRE Medal of Honor (1933) Franklin Medal (1935) Fellow of the Royal Society |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Electrical engineer and physicist |
Institutions |
University College London University of Nottingham Cambridge University Edison Electric Light Co. Victoria Institute |
Doctoral advisor | Frederick Guthrie |
Doctoral students | Harold Barlow |
Other notable students | Balthasar van der Pol |
Sir John Ambrose Fleming FRS (29 November 1849 – 18 April 1945) was a British electrical engineer and physicist. He is known for inventing the first thermionic valve or vacuum tube. He is also famous for the left hand rule (for electric motors). He was born the eldest of seven children of James Fleming DD (died 1879), a Congregational minister, and his wife, Mary Ann, at Lancaster, Lancashire and baptised on 11 February 1850.
He was a devout Christian and preached on one occasion at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on the topic of evidence for the resurrection. In 1932, along with Douglas Dewar and Bernard Acworth, he helped establish the Evolution Protest Movement. Having no children, he bequeathed much of his estate to Christian charities, especially those that helped the poor. He was an accomplished photographer and, in addition, he painted watercolours and enjoyed climbing in the Alps.
Ambrose Fleming was born in Lancaster and educated at University College School, London, and University College London. He entered St John's College, Cambridge in 1877, gaining his B.A. in 1881 and becoming a Fellow of St John's in 1883. He went on to Lecture at several universities including the University of Cambridge, the University of Nottingham, and University College London, where he was the first professor of Electrical Engineering. He was also consultant to the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, Swan Company, Ferranti, Edison Telephone, and later the Edison Electric Light Company. In 1892, Fleming presented an important paper on electrical transformer theory to the Institution of Electrical Engineers in London.