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Authorised form of nameHarker; John Allen (1870 - 1923); physicist and engineer
Dates1870 - 1923
NationalityBritish
Place of birthAlston, Cumber land, England
Date of birth23 January 1870
Place of deathHighgate, London, England
Date of death10/10/1923
DatesAndPlacesCremated at Golders Green 13 October 1923. Sir Richard Glazebrook (FRS 1882) and Sir Robert Robertson.(FRS 1917) Dr Thomas Edward Stanton (FRS 1914) attended, representing the Royal Society.
Occupationphysicist and engineer
Research fieldEngineering
Chemistry
Physics
ActivityEducation: Stockport Grammar School; University of Manchester (Owens College); elected Dalton scholar in chemistry (1891); Berkeley MSc (1892); Tubingen PhD
Career: Spent time in France working with Moissan on electric furnaces; and in collaboration with Chappuis carried out a classic comparison of the gas and platinum thermometer scales (1900); worked alongside Sir Richard Glazebook (FRS 1882) in setting up the National Physical Laboratory in its first home at Kew; chief of the thermometry branch of the Physics Department; produced a series of important scientific papers, mostly on high temperature measurement (1900-1910); delegate of the British Government at the International Petroleum Congress at Vienna (1912); worked in collaboration with WF Higgins, on flash-points of oils; worked on thermionics of high temperature furnaces, atopic on which he gave a Faraday evening lecture at the Royal Insitution; temporary superintendent at Eskdalemuir Observatory (1913); lent to the Inventions Department of the Ministry of Munitions, by the National Physical Laboratory, becoming director of the research laboratory, responsible for the organisation of the work of the Nitrogen Products Committee. Visited USA and Canada in this capacity (1914-1918); received the O.B.E. in recognition of his War services; returned to Teddington for a brief period prior to setting up as a consulting engineer with Dr. J. F. Crowley in Westminster (1918-onwards).
Memberships:
VP of the Faraday Society
Member of Council of the Physical Society
Honours: OBE
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election05/05/1910
Age at election40
ProposerWilliam Arthur Bone, William Watson; Dugald Clerk
Rayleigh; George Carey Foster; Arthur Schuster; Arthur William Rucker; Richard Tetley Glazebrook; Charles Chree; Harold Baily Dixon; John Perry; Richard Threlfall; Joseph Wilson Swan
RelationshipsParents: Rev. John Harker, Congregational minister
Spouse: Ada, the daughter of the late Thomas Richardson, of Alston.
Children: Two sons and three daughters.
SourceSources:
Bulloch's Roll; Nature Obituary by G.W.C. Kaye [URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/112629a0; last accessed: 14/02/2024]
Obituaries:
Proc Roy Soc Series A 1924 vol 105 pp xi-xiii signed by R T G
CodeNA1231
Archives associated with this Fellow
RefNoTitleDate
EC/1910/09Harker, John Allen: certificate of election to the Royal Society
NLB/14/298Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, 22 Mount Ararat Road, Richmond, Surrey12 February 1897
NLB/14/830Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society], 22 Mount Ararat Road, Richmond, Surrey26 May 1897
NLB/14/861Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Dr John Allen Harker, the Kew Observatory, Richmond, Surrey28 May 1897
RR/16/189Referee's report by Hugh Longbourne Callendar, on a paper 'The high temperature standards of the National Physical Laboratory. An account of a comparison of Platinum Thermometers and Thermo-junctions with the Gas-thermometer' by Dr John Allen HarkerFebruary 1904
NLB/19/29Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Charles Chree, Fellow of the Royal Society 5 June 1899
NLB/19/283Copy letter from Arthur William Rucker, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society] and Dr P Chappuis26 July 1899
NLB/19/220Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr Charles Chree, Fellow of the Royal Society14 July 1899
NLB/19/252Copy letter from Robert William Harrison, to Professor George Carey Foster, Fellow of the Royal Society, Chairman of the Physics and Chemistry Committee19 July 1899
NLB/19/686Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society]23 November 1899
NLB/19/716Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society]1 December 1899
NLB/19/814Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Messrs Harrison & Sons2 January 1900
NLB/19/635Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society]15 November 1899
NLB/30/78Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society]24 January 1905
NLB/30/582Copy letter from Joseph Larmor, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society]April 1905
MC/19/390Letter from [John Allen] Harker, Cape House, Kingston Road, Teddington, to [Robert William Frederick] Harrison12 February 1904
NLB/46/413Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society27 July 1912
NLB/43/352Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society14 December 1910
NLB/43/439Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society16 January 1911
NLB/43/513Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society1 February 1911
NLB/45/675Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] A [Allen] Harker FRS22 April 1912
NLB/48/62Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [John Allen] Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society5 May 1913
NLB/50/254Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [John Allen] Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society4 June 1914
NLB/48/162Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [John Allen] Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society27 May 1913
NLB/47/793Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to Dr J [John] A [Allen] Harker FRS15 April 1913
NLB/50/275Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [John Allen] Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society9 June 1914
NLB/50/213Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [John Allen] Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society26 May 1914
RR/20/108Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'The origin of thermal ionisation from carbon' by J N PringAugust 1913
RR/22/46Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'The consumption of carbon in the electric arc. I - Variation with current and arc-length. II. - Influence upon the luminous radiation from the arc' by W Geoffrey DuffieldJuly 1915
RR/20/56Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'The capacity for heat of metals at low temperatures' by Ernest Howard GriffithsApril 1913
NLB/53/174Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Allen] Harker, FRS16 May 1916
NLB/54/592Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Allen] Harker, FRS27 June 1917
NLB/56/336Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Allen] Harker, FRS15 January 1919
RR/23/21Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'The consumption of carbon in the electric arc - Part VI - Alternating current' by W S Duffield and Mary D WallerFebruary 1916
NLB/56/85Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Allen] Harker, FRS15 November 1918
RR/26/56Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'On the viscosities of the hydrogen halides' by H Harle[1921]
NLB/56/121Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Allen] Harker, FRS26 November 1918
RR/23/101Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'Ignition of gases at reduced pressure by continuous current break sparks' by W M ThorntonJune 1916
AP/72/6/2Unpublished diagrams, experimental apparatus by John Allen Harker1895
RR/13/36Referee's report by Arthur William Rucker, on a paper 'On the determination of freezing points' by John Allen Harker11 July 1896
RR/14/178Committee report, on a paper 'A comparison of platinum and gas thermometers, including a determination of the boiling-point of sulphur on the nitrogen scale. An account of experiments made in the laboratory of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures Sèvres' by John Allen Harker and Pierre Chappuis19 July 1899
RR/18/150Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'On the absolute measurement of light: A proposal for an ultimate light standard' by R A HoustounApril 1911
RR/18/174Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'Experimental work on a new standard of light' by W A Harwood and Joseph Ernest PetavelJanuary 1911
NLB/55/880Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Allen] Harker, FRS21 October 1918
NLB/62/720Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Dr. [John Allen] Harker, FRS12 April 1922
NLB/65/467Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary and Librarian of the Royal Society; to Messrs J. F. Crowley and Partners; 16 Victoria Street, S.W.1.5 November 1923
NLB/65/355Copy letter from Francis Alexander Towle, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society; to Sir Richard [Tetley] Glazebrook, KCB, FRS19 October 1923
RR/24/22Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'The specific heat of aqueous solutions, with special reference to sodium and potassium chlorides' by William Robert Bousfield and C Elspeth Bousfield[July 1917]
RR/21/83Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'The capacity for heat of metals at low temperatures' by Ernest Howard Griffiths and Ezer Griffiths[June 1914]
NLB/65/387Copy letter from Charles [Scott] Sherrington, President of the Royal Society; to Mrs Harker25 October 1923
NLB/13/183Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, Springfield House, Churchgate, Stockport, [Fellow of the Royal Society]26 June 1896
NLB/14/805Copy letter from the Secretary of the Royal Society, to the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, The Foreign Office, S.W.22 May 1897
RR/16/188Referee's report by Ernest Howard Griffiths, on a paper 'The high temperature standards of the National Physical Laboratory. An account of a comparison of Platinum Thermometers and Thermo-junctions with the Gas-thermometer' by John Allen HarkerFebruary 1904
RR/20/60Referee's report by Ernest Rutherford, on a paper 'On the electrical emissivity and disintegration of hot metals' by John Allen Harker and George William Clarkson KayeMay 1913
NLB/19/692Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker, [Fellow of the Royal Society]24 November 1899
NLB/20/714Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr John Allen Harker22 June 1900
NLB/48/773Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Dr [John Allen] Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society10 October 1913
NLB/56New Letter Book volume 56, copy letters sent from Royal Society administration1 November 1918-27 June 1919
NLB/62/570Copy letter from John [Millar] Thomson, Chairman of the Library Committee; to the Members of the Library Committee14 March 1922
RR/19/134Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'A spectro-photometric comparison of the emissivity of solid and liquid gold at high temperatures with that of a full radiator' by C M Stubbs and E B R Prideaux[August 1912]
RR/13/35Referee's report by Ernest Howard Griffiths, on a paper 'On the determination of freezing points' by John Allen HarkerJuly 1896
AP/72/6/1Unpublished manuscript, 'On the determination of freezing-points'
by J A [John Allen] Harker		1895
AP/72/6Unpublished paper, 'On the determination of freezing-points' by J A [John Allen] Harker1895
RR/14/176Referee's report by Hugh Longbourne Callendar, on a paper 'A comparison of platinum and gas thermometers, including a determination of the boiling-point of sulphur on the nitrogen scale. An account of experiments made in the laboratory of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures Sèvres' by John Allen Harker and Pierre Chappuisnd [July 1899]
RR/14/177Referee's report by Ernest Howard Griffiths, on a paper 'A comparison of platinum and gas thermometers, including a determination of the boiling-point of sulphur on the nitrogen scale. An account of experiments made in the laboratory of the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures Sèvres' by John Allen Harker and Pierre Chappuisnd [July 1899]
RR/21/149Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on a paper 'The electrical ignition of gaseous mixtures' by W M Thornton[February 1914]
RR/25/41Referee's report by John Allen Harker, on the Bakerian Lecture 'Experiments on the artificial production of diamond' by Charles Algernon Parsons[October 1918]
MC/19/391Letter from [John Allen] Harker, The National Physical Laboratory, Bushy House, Teddington, Middlesex, to [Joseph] Larmor11 June 1904
Mc/19/392Letter from [John Allen] Harker, Carlisle, to the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society22 June 1904
MC/19/393Letter from [John Allen] Harker, Cumberland, to the Royal Society24 June 1904
NLB/43/593Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to John Allen Harker, Fellow of the Royal Society20 February 1911
MC/19Volume 19 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society1904
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