Richard Threlfall

Born in 1861, Richard Threlfall studied at the University of Cambridge and later moved to Australia, where he became professor of physics at the University of Sydney. He worked during a period when physics was becoming more experimental and laboratory-based, and he helped build that culture in Sydney.

His research touched on electricity, heat, and measurement, and he earned a reputation for precise, hands-on science. He was also part of public and academic life beyond the laboratory, and he was knighted in 1917.

Threlfall died in 1932, but he remains a notable figure in the history of science in Australia because of his role in shaping early university physics there.