J. J. (Joseph John) Thomson

Born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, in 1856, J. J. Thomson became one of the most influential physicists of his time. He studied at Owens College and Trinity College, Cambridge, and spent most of his career at the Cavendish Laboratory, where he later served as director.

Thomson is most famous for his 1897 work on cathode rays, which led him to identify the electron as a particle smaller than the atom. He received the 1906 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on the conduction of electricity through gases, and his later work also contributed to the study of isotopes and the development of mass spectrometry.

He was also an important teacher and mentor. A remarkable number of scientists who worked with him went on to make major discoveries of their own, helping extend his influence far beyond his own experiments. Thomson died in 1940 and was buried in Westminster Abbey, near Isaac Newton.