author
Henry Augustus Rowland
1848–1901
Best known for transforming the study of light, this American physicist invented the concave diffraction grating and helped make spectrum analysis far more precise. He also taught at Johns Hopkins and became the first president of the American Physical Society.
1 Audiobook
The highest aim of the physicist
by Henry Augustus Rowland
About the author
Born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, in 1848, Henry Augustus Rowland showed an early love of scientific experiment and studied at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After work in engineering, he joined Johns Hopkins University, where he became one of the leading American physicists of his time.
Rowland is especially remembered for the concave diffraction grating, an instrument that greatly improved the way scientists separated and measured light. His work on spectroscopy and on the mechanical equivalent of heat earned wide respect, and his carefully made gratings were prized by researchers around the world.
Beyond his research, Rowland played an important role in building American physics as a profession. He served as the first president of the American Physical Society from 1899 until his death in Baltimore in 1901.