Arthur Gordon Webster (November 28, 1863 – May 15, 1923) was an American physicist who founded the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...

Biography

Webster was born on November 28, 1863, at

Brookline, Massachusetts Brookline () is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, and part of the Greater Boston, Boston metropolitan area. An exclave of Norfolk County, Brookline borders six of Boston's neighborhoods: Brighton, Boston, Brighton ...

, to William Edward Webster and Mary Shannon Davis. On October 8, 1889, he married Elizabeth Munroe Townsend, daughter of Captain Robert Townsend and Harriett Munro of

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

. Webster had graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1885 at the top of his class and had stayed for a year as instructor in mathematics and physics. At the end of that year he went to the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

where he studied for four years with

Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (; ; 31 August 1821 – 8 September 1894; "von" since 1883) was a German physicist and physician who made significant contributions in several scientific fields, particularly hydrodynamic stability. The ...

, receiving his PhD in 1890. Helmholtz is said to have considered Webster his favorite American student. During this period Webster also studied in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He was unusually proficient in literature and was fluent in Latin, Greek, German, French, and Swedish, with a good knowledge of Italian and Spanish and competency in Russian and Modern Greek.

Clark University Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1887 with a large endowment from its namesake Jonas Gilman Clark, a prominent businessman, Clark was one of the first modern research uni ...

president

G. Stanley Hall Granville Stanley Hall (February 1, 1844 – April 24, 1924) was an American psychologist and educator who earned the first doctorate in psychology awarded in the United States of America at Harvard University in the nineteenth century. His ...

appointed Webster assistant professor and head of the Physical Laboratories in 1892, when physicist Albert A. Michelson left for the newly organized

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. At that time, only

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and Clark University had doctoral programs in physics. Webster was promoted to full professor in 1900. Webster was unusual for his time in that he was both a proficient mathematician as well as a competent experimentalist. Webster's research was in the field of

acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

and

mechanics Mechanics () is the area of physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among Physical object, physical objects. Forces applied to objects may result in Displacement (vector), displacements, which are changes of ...

. He is credited with developing an instrument to measure the absolute intensity of sound (the phonometer) and for research on the

gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining Orientation (geometry), orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in ...

. He also gave graduate lectures in theoretical physics at Clark University, which have been published as three textbooks. Webster was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1895. A group of 20 physicists, invited by Webster, founded the

at a meeting at Fayerweather Hall in

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

on May 20, 1899. In 1903, Webster became president of the American Physical Society and was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

. He was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 1906. Webster committed suicide in 1923, following the closure of the mathematics department at Clark, after it was rumored that the physics department would be the next to be closed by the new president. With a revolver he had bought a few hours before, Webster shot himself twice in the head in his private office while a class waited for him next door. He left a note to his son which read;

Dear Gordon: This is the only way. For years I have been a failure - my research is worth nothing. Everyone else knows it, and S.N. physics has got away from me and I cannot come back. Everything I have started has stalled. Students will not come and they will put me out. Your mother will not see. She will get over this. Take care of her. I am sorry for the trouble I have caused you. Am sorry to make so much trouble. Do your best and tell the truth. With my best love, "Papa"

Books by Webster

*
Theory of Electricity and Magnetism, Being Lectures On Mathematical Physics
' (London, MacMillan, 1897) *
The Dynamics of Particles and of Rigid, Elastic, and Fluid Bodies: Being Lectures On Mathematical Physics
' (Leipzig, B.G. Teubner, 1912) * ''The Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics'' (1927) (posthumous, with a second edition by Samuel J. Plimpton published by Teubner in 1933. This second edition was reprinted by Dover in 1966)

References

External links

Patents by Webster

Observing and Recording the Operation of Ordnance
Patent number: 1489566 (April 8, 1924).

Articles on Webster in scholarly journals

* ** ** Joseph S. Ame
"Biographical memoir of Arthur Gordon Webster"
** **

Articles on Webster in the popular press

* ''The Boston Globe'

** ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', Monday May 28, 1923 ttps://web.archive.org/web/20081222140301/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,715619,00.html Death Notice of A. G. Webster** ''Time'', Monday June 11, 192
Editorial on the situation at Clark University in 1923
** ''New York Times'

an

** ''The Nation'
June 13, 1923 issue
** ''The Boston Globe'

Webster on the Web

* A Web page on Arthur Gordon Webster at ttp://www.clarku.edu/departments/physics/history/history4.cfm Clark University ** A picture of Arthur Gordon Webster'
gyroscope
*

Archival collections

Arthur Gordon Webster papers, 1893-1913, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster 1863 births 1923 deaths Scientists from Brookline, Massachusetts Harvard College alumni Clark University faculty 20th-century American physicists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Naval Consulting Board 1923 suicides Suicides by firearm in Massachusetts Multiple gunshot suicides Presidents of the American Physical Society Members of the American Philosophical Society