BornJerseyville, Illinois, USA, 18 January 1876
DiedPasadena, California, USA, 25 April 1957
American spectroscopist Arthur Scott King built the first electrical furnace to ionize and excite elements in the laboratory and produce spectra that could, among other uses, be compared with astronomical spectra to determine stellar compositions. He was born the son of Robert Andrew and Miriam Munson King; he received his training in California and Europe, and he spent most of his working life in California, on the leading edge of astrophysical spectroscopy.
The family moved from Illinois to California in the hope (fulfilled) of improving Arthur’s health. He entered the University of California at Berkeley and received his bachelor’s degree in physics in 1899 and the first Ph.D. degree in physics given by the University of California in 1903.
King was awarded a Whiting Fellowship to study in Europe. He spent 2 years doing research in spectroscopy at the Universities of Berlin and Bonn – the...
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Selected References
Babcock, H. D., “Arthur Scott King, 1876–1957.” Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, (1957), Vol. 69, No. 409, pp. 333–335.
Kayser, Heinrich Gustav Johannes, Handbuch der Spectroscopie. S. Hirzel, Leipzig, 1905.
King, Arthur S., “Uber Emissionsspektra von Metallen im Electrichen Ofen,” Annalen der Physik, 16:360. Leipzig, 1905. Published in English as “An Electric Furnace for Spectroscopic Investigations.”
King, Arthur S., “Ten Years’ Work on a Mountain Observatory.” Carnegie Institute, Washington Pub. No. 235, 1915, pp. 34–37.
King, Robert B., “Biographical Memoirs: Arthur S. King, January 18, 1876 – April 17, 1957.” The National Academies, 1957.
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Wilds, R.P. (2014). King, Arthur Scott. In: Hockey, T., et al. Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_9202
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