Robert Jack (4 November 1877 – 1 May 1957) was a Scottish-born physicist, professor and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science,

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, and pioneer of radio broadcasting, New Zealand.

Early life and education

Robert Jack was born in the village of Quarter, near

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, Lanarkshire, Scotland, on 4 November 1877 and was educated at

Hamilton Academy Hamilton Academy was a Boarding school, boarding and day school in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It was founded in 1588 as a boy's school and was open for nearly four centuries. In the late 19th century, ...

and the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

, graduating MA with Honours in mathematics and natural philosophy. Thereafter he attended the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

and the

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for postgraduate study and as a result of this research, including that into the effect of magnetic fields on atoms (the

Zeeman effect The Zeeman effect () is the splitting of a spectral line into several components in the presence of a static magnetic field. It is caused by the interaction of the magnetic field with the magnetic moment of the atomic electron associated with ...

), Jack was awarded a

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

from Glasgow.Government of New Zealand – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume Four (1921–1940), 1998. Sullivan, Jim. 'Jack, Robert 1877 – 1957'
Retrieved 1 December 2010New Zealand History On-line – Robert Jack
Retrieved 1 December 2010

University career

Following fours years as a lecturer in physics at Queen's University, Belfast, in 1914 Robert Jack took up the post of professor of physics at the

, Dunedin, New Zealand. During his subsequent 33 years there he was to become Chairman of the university's professorial board, a member of the university Council and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science. In 1920 Robert Jack was joined on the university's faculty by another former pupil of

, Scotland, and near contemporary, Robert Bell who had also graduated M.A. with Honours in mathematics and natural philosophy from Glasgow and who had arrived at Otago to take up the appointment as Professor of Pure and Applied Mathematics. Robert Jack and Robert Bell were to serve out the rest of their careers at the University of Otago which had been built by ''another'' former pupil of Hamilton Academy, Robert Forrest of McGill and Forrest, contractors, Dunedin.

Pioneer of radio broadcasting, New Zealand

From his arrival at Otago University, and assisted by his technician, Jack Sutherland, and other staff from the university's physics department, Robert Jack undertook research and experiments in wireless radio transmission. 1920–21 saw Jack back in the United Kingdom where he researched developments in naval radio communications and equipment with his brother, Hugh Jack, a respected electrical engineer. He returned to New Zealand with equipment that was to form the basis of his radio broadcasting apparatus and on 21 May 1921 was able to transmit voice and music across the university laboratory. This led to the broadcasting on Saturday 17 November 1921 (from the university's physics department) of New Zealand's first radio programme. The transmission included a rendition of the song "Hello my dearie". Further transmissions were made two nights a week, programmes consisting announcements and live and pre-recorded music; Isabella Finlay Manson (the Scottish-born matron of Knox College, University of Otago who was to become Robert Jack's wife on 22 May 1922) contributing musical content. Each programme began with five minutes of a buzzer, to allow listeners to tune their receivers. In December 1921 Jack received a telegram from Wellington reporting that his broadcast of the tune "Bells of St. Mary" had been heard in Wellington. In April 1922, an attempt was made to transmit a special broadcast specifically directed to the Philosophical Institute of

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, Christchurch. Atmospheric conditions rendered this broadcast only partially successful, but in August of that year, a concert was successfully transmitted from the Allen Hall at the University of Otago. On 11 November 1921, the Otago Radio Association had been formed by a group of enthusiasts, with Robert Jack elected Association patron. From 15 November 1922 the Association began making regular broadcasts and through the changes in 'call signs' and ownership over the succeeding decades the station, now known as Radio Dunedin, is the oldest outside North America and the fifth oldest in the world. From 1924 Robert Jack had experimented with television transmission and in 1928, using equipment similar to that developed by

John Logie Baird John Logie Baird (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first mechanical Mechanical television, television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the fi ...

, he successfully transmitted a picture across his laboratory. It was, though, to be another 30 years before the first non-experimental television broadcasts in New Zealand. Following research for the government into infra-red radiation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Robert Jack retired in 1947. His wife having predeceased him in 1941, he died at Dunedin on 1 May 1957.Otago Daily Times. Obituary, Robert Jack. 2 May 1957

References

External links

*
Aotearoa on the Air: 100 years of radio.
' Recording of Professor Jack, 17 November 1921, on RNZ. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, Robert 1877 births 1957 deaths People educated at Hamilton Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish physicists Scottish scholars and academics Academic staff of the University of Otago Radio pioneers Burials at Andersons Bay Cemetery British emigrants to New Zealand