James P. C. Southall (1871-1962) was an American physicist, professor at Columbia University (1914 to 1940), and specialist in optics. He was president of the Optical Society of America (1921) and translator of ''Physiological Optics'' by Helmholtz. James Southall was born in Norfolk, Va., on April 4, 1871. He attended Richmond College from 1886 to 1888 and obtained an A.B. in 1891 and an M.A. in 1893 at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. He was an instructor in physics at the

between 1891 and 1893, and he taught physics and mathematics at the Miller Manual Training School, in Albemarle, Va. He had a fellowship at

Johns Hopkins Johns Hopkins (May 19, 1795 – December 24, 1873) was an American merchant, investor, and philanthropist. Born on a plantation, he left his home to start a career at the age of 17, and settled in Baltimore, Maryland, where he remained for mos ...

from 1898 to 1899 and taught at Hobart College, Geneva, N.Y., from 1899 to 1901. From 1901 to 1914, he taught at

Alabama Polytechnic Institute Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 26,800 undergraduate students, over 6,100 post-graduate students, and a total enrollment of more than 34,000 students ...

, and in 1914 he joined the faculty at

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 ...

, where he served until his retirement in 1940. His two specialties were

geometrical optics Geometrical optics, or ray optics, is a model of optics that describes light Wave propagation, propagation in terms of ''ray (optics), rays''. The ray in geometrical optics is an abstract object, abstraction useful for approximating the paths along ...

and physiological optics. He wrote ''Principles of Geometrical Optics'' in 1910 and ''Mirrors, Prisms and Lenses'' (1918, rev. eds. 1923, 1934). But he is probably best known as editor of the American edition of

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 ...

's ''Physiological Optics'' (1924–25). He also wrote ''Introduction to Physiological Optics'' (1941). He wrote many papers, a number of which appeared in

JOSA The ''Journal of the Optical Society of America'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of optics, published by Optica. It was established in 1917 and in 1984 was split into two parts, A and B. ''Journal of the Optical Society of America A'' ...

, on optical illusions and geometrical optics. He served as president of the

Optical Society of America Optica, founded as the Optical Society of America (later the Optical Society), is a professional society of individuals and companies with an interest in optics and photonics. It publishes journals, organizes conferences and exhibitions, and ca ...

in 1921. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was a consultant to the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet ...

on range finders, periscopes, gunsights and similar optical equipment. Fifteen of his articles were published in JOSA on such topics as ray tracing, conjugate surfaces and the early pioneers in physiological optics. In retirement, he returned to Charlottesville and the

, and donated most of his books and papers to the library there.http://www.osa-opn.org/Content/ViewFile.aspx?id=11137 OSA's First 4 Presidents He was buried at the

University of Virginia cemetery The University of Virginia Cemetery and Columbarium is a cemetery on the grounds of the University of Virginia, located at the intersection of McCormick Road and Alderman Road. In operation since 1828, during the earliest days of the university, ...

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*
Articles Published by early OSA Presidents
Journal of the Optical Society of America Presidents of Optica (society) University of Virginia alumni Johns Hopkins University fellows Auburn University faculty Columbia University faculty 1871 births 1962 deaths Burials at the University of Virginia Cemetery American optical physicists {{US-physicist-stub

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