Robert Bellamy Clifton FRS (13 March 1836 – 21 February 1921) was a British scientist.

Academic career

Clifton was educated at University College, London and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

where he studied under Sir George Stokes. In 1860 he went to Owens College, Manchester as Professor of

Natural Philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe, while ignoring any supernatural influence. It was dominant before the develop ...

. In 1865 he was appointed Professor of experimental Natural Philosophy at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

. While at Oxford he designed Clarendon Laboratory and gave research space to Charles Vernon Boys. On 4 June 1868 he became a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. He was president of the Physical Society (now

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

) from 1882 until 1884. From 1868 until his retirement in 1915 he was a Fellow of

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

Family

Clifton's father was the clergyman Robert Cox Clifton. His daughter Catharine Edith was married to the surgeon Henry Souttar.

References

1836 births 1921 deaths British physicists British scientists Burials in Oxfordshire Presidents of the Physical Society Alumni of University College London Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Academics of the Victoria University of Manchester Academics of the University of Oxford Fellows of the Royal Society Dr Lee's Professors of Experimental Philosophy Fellows of Merton College, Oxford Burials at Wolvercote Cemetery {{UK-physicist-stub