Person Marsden; Sir; Ernest (1889 - 1970); physicist and scientific administrator Marsden Ernest Sir physicist and scientific administrator 1889 - 1970 British Male Rishton, Blackburn, Lancashire, England 19 February 1889 18890219 Lowry Bay, Wellington, New Zealand 15 December 1970 19701215

New Zealand (1914-1970)

physicist and scientific administrator Physics Atomic physics Administration Education: Scholarship at Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Blackburn; University of Manchester DSc (1914) Career: As a student at the University of Manchester he met and began work under Ernest Rutherford (FRS 1903) and conducted the Geiger-Marsden experiment under the supervision of Rutherford and Hans Geiger (1909); taught physics at Easton London College; returned to Manchester to hold the John Harling fellowship (1911); suceeded Geiger as lecturer and research assistant, following the former's return to Germany (1912); relocated to become Professor of Physics at Victoria University College, Wellington, New Zealand (1915); served New Zealand as assistant director of education (1922-1926); served in the First World War, including in France with the Royal Engineers sound ranging section, where he aided them to accurately pinpoint the location of enemy artillery (1916-1919); awarded the Military Cross (1919); retired from service as major (1928); in the Second Word War, he was appointed scientific adviser to the New Zealand fighting forces with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He worked on radar research and set up a team to develop the rader equipment for use in the Pacific; he also utilised his scientific connections to create a team of New Zealand scientists who would take part in thr Manhattan Project developing the nuclear bomb, and initiated the search for supplying uranium; retired and returned to Wellington where he continued participating on various committees and undertook research into environmental radioactivity (1954); suffered a stroke which confined him to a wheelchair (1966). Honours: MC (1919); CBE (1935); CMG (1946); Kt (1958) Memberships: FRSNZ (1922) Parents: Thomas Marsden (1864–1925), successively a weaver, household draper, and hardware merchant, and Phoebe, the daughter of Fish Holden and Esther Place Holden. Spouse: Margaret (Maggie) Sutcliffe (1888/9–1957), elementary school teacher, the daughter of Hartley Sutcliffe, a retired blacksmith of Colne. Children: Esther Mary (Mrs R. J. Nankervis), and a son Dr Ernest David Lindsay Marsden. Known for the Geiger-Marsden experiment, a landmark series of experiments which found that every atom has a nucleus, where all of its positive charge and most of its mass are concentrated. Lectures: Rutherford 1954 Fellow 21/03/1946 57 Edward Victor Appleton; Charles Galton Darwin; Edward Neville da Costa Andrade; William Lawrence Bragg; Ezer Griffiths; Marcus Laurence Oliphant; James Chadwick; Basil Ferdinand Jamieson Schonland; John Douglas Cockcroft Sources: DSB vol 18 pp 595-597; DNB Obituaries: Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 1971 vol 17 pp 463-496, plate, by C A Fleming References: Robin J H Clark and Michael J Kelly, 'New Zealand, New Zealanders and the Royal Society' in NR 1994 vol 48 pp 263-281 E N da C Andrade, 'Some Reminiscences of Ernest Marsden's Days with Rutherford at Manchester' in NR 1968 vol 23 pp 247-250 Notes: DSB gives death date as 15 December 1970 Marsden E, GA R 5439.jpg International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) - Ottawa 1996 ISBN 0-9696035-3-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbm.1971.0018 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/action/doSearch?ContribAuthorRaw=Marsden%2C+Ernest https://pictures.royalsociety.org/results?mi_search_type=adv&mi_adv_search=yes&adv_person_id=AUTH5574 19 Feb 1889 - 14 or 15 Dec 1970 The past Fellows entries are under continuous revision. If you have queries or additional information to contribute, please contact Library@royalsociety.org. Content in external sources is not controlled by the Royal Society and historical sources may include content that is now unacceptable. Reviewed on 07/02/2024 as part of the Name Authority Project update. NA7200 21/11/2001 Andyg Pmab 06/05/2025 RS_NET\VirginiaM Yes 6e34d9be-b3cf-4290-a7d3-4dcb8bf85c9e