Physicists of Ireland

Mark McCartney, University of Ulster and Andrew Whitaker, Queen’s University Belfast.

• Preface William Petty 1623–1687, Robert Boyle 1627–1691, William Molyneux 1656–1698,Nicholas Callan 1799–1864, William Parsons, Earl of Rosse 1800–1867, Thomas Grubb 1800–1878 and Howard Grubb 1844–1931, William Rowan Hamilton 1805–1865, James MacCullagh 1809–1847, Thomas Andrews 1813–1885, George Gabriel Stokes 1819–1903, John Tyndall 1820–1893, Samuel Haughton 1821–1897, William Thomson, Lord Kelvin 1824–1907, George Johnstone Stoney 1826–1911, George Francis FitzGerald 1851–1901, Joseph Larmor 1857–1942, Frederick Thomas Trouton 1863–1922, John Sealy Edward Townsend 1868–1957, John A McClelland 1870–1920, Erwin Schro¨dinger 1887–1961, Cornelius Lanczos 1893–1974, John Synge 1897–1995, John Desmond Bernal 1901–1971, Ernest Walton 1903–1995, Walter Heitler 1904–1981, Sir William McCrea 1904–1999, Cormac O´ Ceallaigh 1912–1996, David Bates 1916–1994, John Stewart Bell 1928–1990, Lochlainn O´ Raifeartaigh 1933–2000

"… a biographical approach to the history of science in Ireland. Essays on thirty-two men of science who were born or worked in Ireland are included …The authors use the biographical format well and most contributions admirably situate their subjects within their social and political contexts. … the accounts here are eminently lucid and a worthy addition to existing biographical material. … This is an excellent addition to a growing corpus of works and a fine point of departure for further studies."-Edna Leaney, British Journal for the History of Science"The editors of Physicists of Ireland show that there is also distinction in Ireland on the scientific side. They have produced short biographies of 33 scientists, with fascinating family background … It is clear from this book they have an excellent tradition to build on."-W. Hayes, Clarendon Laboratory, Oxford, UK"This is a truly fascinating book, incorporating as it does the archival value of the topic, the eclectic nature of the selected biographies, and the enigmatic philosophy behind the collection. I recommend it without reservation to all who would learn, ponder, or wonder about the lives and times of those searchers for truth that have gone before and held the torch for Irish physics the world over."-J.S.C. McKee, Physics in Canada, Vol. 59, No. 6 Nov/Dec 2003