Homepage

Record

Authorised form of nameGaydon; Alfred Gordon (1911 - 2004); spectroscopist
Other forms of nameDick
Dates1911 - 2004
NationalityBritish
Place of birthLondon, England
Date of birth26/09/1911
Place of deathEngland
Date of death16/04/2004
OccupationSpectroscopist
ActivityEducation:
Kingston Grammar School; Royal College of Science (Imperial College), read Physics (1929)
Career:
Postgraduate research, Imperial College under Alfred Fowler; Cotton Research Association, Manchester, (1934-1936); lost an eye in a near fatal accident at the Shirley Institute of the Cotton Research Association (1936); returned to Imperial College; Royal Society Rumford Medal (1953); Professor of Molecular Spectroscopy, Imperial College (1961); Bernard Lewis Gold Medal of the Combustion Institute; Gaydon Award, British Section of the Combustion Institute - to be presented to a member of the British Section who is the author of the paper published in the Proceedings of the (Biennial) International Symposium on Combustion that is deemed to make the most significant contribution to combustion research (2002)
Membership categoryFellow
Date of election19/03/1953
Age at election41
Royal Society activityMedals and prizes:
Rumford Medal 1960
RelationshipsMarried (1940) Phyllis Gaze (died 1981)
SourcesSources:
Lives Remembered in The Times (24/05/2004); Obituary in Daily Telegraph (21/06/2004)
Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 2005 vol 51 pp 169-184, plate, by F J Weinberg FRS
Royal Society codeNA5173
Archives associated with this Fellow
Reference numberTitleDate
IM/001622Gaydon, Alfred Gordonnd
IM/GA/WS/4433Gaydon, Alfred Gordonnd
IM/GA/JGRS/8359Gaydon, Alfred Gordon1984
RR/71/260Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'Vibration spectra of hydrocarbon molecules I. Frequencies due to deformation vibrations of hydrogen atoms attached to a double bond' by Norman Sheppard and Gordon Brims Black Mcivor Sutherland1948
RR/48/99Referee's report by Owen Willans Richardson, on a paper 'Spectrum of the afterglow of carbon dioxide' by Alfred Fowler and Alfred Gordon Gaydon[July 1933]
RR/53/89Referee's report by Robert John Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh, on a paper 'Spectrum of the afterglow of sulphur dioxide' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon[June 1934]
RR/67/189Letter from David Randall Pye on a paper 'Flame spectra in the photographic infra-red' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon to Alfred Charles Glyn Egerton17 January 1941
RR/67/187Memorandum from J D Griffith Davies, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society on a paper 'Flame spectra in the photographic infra-red' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon to Walter Norman Haworth24 June 1942
RR/71/251Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'Infra-red spectra and state of aggregation. II' by Rex Edward Richards and Harold Warris Thompson1948
RR/67/190Referee's report by William Edward Curtis on a paper 'The flame spectrum of carbon monoxide' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon1940
RR/67/188Referee's report by William Edward Curtis on a paper 'Flame spectra in the photographic infra-red' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon August 1940
RR/68/68Letter from David Randall Pye, to Alfred Charles Glyn Egerton, regarding a paper 'The spectra of chilled hydrocarbon flames' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon3 June 1941
RR/68/353Referee's report by William Edward Curtis, on a paper 'The band spectrum of nitrogen: new singlet systems' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon[1943]
RR/71/116Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'The influence of diffusion on flame propagation' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard[1948]
RR/71/117Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of low-pressure flames; temperature measurements in acetylene flames' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard[1948]
RR/68/352Referee's report by Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, on a paper 'Continuous spectra inflames: the role of atomic oxygen in combustion' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon[1943]
RR/68/382Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'The ultra-violet spectra and electron configuration of HgF and related halide molecules' by H G Howell[1943]
RR/69/119Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'The spectra of flames containing oxides of sulphur' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and G. Whittingham1946
RR/68/351Referee's report by William Edward Curtis, on a paper 'The flame spectrum of carbon monoxide III. The cool flame' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon[1943]
RR/72/234Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'Vibration spectra of hydrocarbon molecules - II. Skeletal frequencies in certain branched paraffins' by Delia M Simpson and Gordon Brims Black Mcivor Sutherland1949
RR/72/126Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of low-pressure flames III. Effective rotational temperatures and excitation mechanism for C2 bands' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard1949
RR/68/468Referee's report by Owen Willans Richardson, on a paper 'The dissociation energies of CO, N2, NO and CN' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and William George Penney[1944]
RR/72/125Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of low-pressure flames IV. Measurements of light yield for C2 bands' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard1949
RR/71/29Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'The emission of the negative system of nitrogen from the upper atmosphere and the significance of the twilight flash in the theory of the ionosphere' by David Robert Bates[1948]
RR/72/127Referee's report by William Edward Curtis, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of low-pressure flames III. Effective rotational temperatures and excitation mechanism for C2 bands' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard1949
RR/71/27Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'The intensity distribution in the nitrogen band systems emitted from the earth’s upper atmosphere' by David Robert Bates[1948]
RR/72/123Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of low-pressure flames. II. Effective translational and rotational temperatures from CH bands' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard1949
RR/72/124Referee's report by William Edward Curtis, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of low-pressure flames IV. Measurements of light yield for C2 bands' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard1949
RR/66/94Referee's report by William Edward Curtis, on two papers 'The spectrum of rubidium hydride, RbH I. Analysis' and 'The spectrum, of rubidium hydride, RbH - II. Potential curves, wave functions, and intensity distribution' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and R W B Pearse[July 1939]
EC/1953/11Gaydon, Alfred Gordon: certificate of election to the Royal Society
RR/68/69Memoranda, on a paper 'The spectra of chilled hydrocarbon flames' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon19 June 1941
RR/73/308Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'Predissociation in the spectrum of OH: the vibrational and rotational intensity distribution in flames' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard20 February 1951
RR/71/187Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'The heats of formation of free CN and free CH2, and the relationship between D(CO), D(CN) and D(N2)' by L H Long[1948]
RR/77/13Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'Spectra of flames supported by free atoms' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard16 February 1952
RR/79/44Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'The mechanism of formation of OH, CH and HCO in flame spectra, using deuterium as tracer' by H P Broida and Alfred Gordon Gaydon2 March 1953
RR/79/193Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'The Herzberg bands of O2 in an oxygen afterglow and in the night sky spectrum' by H P Broida and Alfred Gordon Gaydon5 October 1953
RR/73/199Referee's report by Harold Warris Thompson, on a paper 'Spectroscopic studies of low pressure flames. V. Evidence for abnormally high electronic excitations' by Alfred Gordon Gaydon and H G Wolfhard20 August 1950
RR/79/321Referee's report by Alfred Gordon Gaydon, on a paper 'The interpretation of the infra-red and Raman spectra of the n-paraffins' by J K Brown, Norman Sheppard and Delia M Simpson16 February 1954
Add to My Items
    Botanical paintings by Jacob van Huysum and William Sartorius

    Botanical paintings by Jacob van Huysum and William Sartorius

    Useful Links

    Collection highlights

    Browse the records of some of our collections, which cover all branches of science and date from the 12th century onwards. These include the published works of Fellows of the Royal Society, personal papers of eminent scientists, letters and manuscripts sent to the Society or presented at meetings, and administrative records documenting the Society's activities since our foundation in 1660.

    Early Letters
    Early Letters
    Classified Papers
    Classified Papers
    Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance
    Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance
    Botanical paintings by Jacob van Huysum and William Sartorius
    Botanical paintings by Jacob van Huysum and William Sartorius
    Browse Collections

    The Royal Society

    The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of
    the world's most eminent scientists and is the
    oldest scientific academy in continuous existence.
    Registered charity number 207043

    Website design ©CalmView



    CONTACT US

    + 44 207 451 2500
    (Lines open Mon-Fri, 9:00-17:00. Excludes bank holidays)

    6-9 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5AG

    Email Us →

    SUBSCRIBE

    Subscribe to our newsletters to be updated with the
    latest news on innovation, events, articles and reports.

    Subscribe →

    © CalmView