Thomas Cowling

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Thomas Cowling
Born(1906-06-17)17 June 1906
Hackney, London, England
Died16 June 1990(1990-06-16) (aged 83)
Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
Alma materBrasenose College, Oxford
AwardsHughes Medal (1990)
Scientific career
Thesis The radiative equilibrium of a spherical mass of gas  (1931)
Doctoral advisorEdward Arthur Milne
Doctoral studentsEric Priest

Thomas George Cowling FRS[1] (17 June 1906 – 16 June 1990) was an English astronomer.[2]

Early life and education

Cowling was born in

Sydney Chapman, who proposed that they work on an article on which he was working that dealt with the Sun's magnetic field
. Cowling found an error in the paper that invalidated Chapman's results. After Cowling's doctorate, Chapman proposed that they work together.

Academic career

In 1933 Cowling wrote an article, The magnetic field of sunspots.

dynamo effect. Cowling showed that Larmor's proposed explanation was incorrect. His article assured him of a good reputation in the field of astrophysics
.

During the 1930s, Cowling also worked on stellar structure involving radiation and convection, at the same time as Ludwig Biermann but independently of him. He constructed a model of star with a convective core and radiative envelope, named the Cowling model by Chandrasekhar. He also studied magnetic fields within stars and classified the modes of non-radial oscillation of the body of a star, the basis of the field of helioseismology.

Cowling became an Assistant

Applied Mathematics at the University of Leeds in succession to Professor Selig Brodetsky. Cowling retired from his chair at Leeds in 1970 with the title Emeritus Professor.[3]

Honours

Cowling was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in March 1947.[1][4] He won the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1956 and the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific in 1985. He was elected president of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1965 to 1967. He was also awarded the Hughes Medal two days before his death.

Marriage and children

Cowling married Doris Marjorie Moffatt in 1935. They had a son and two daughters.

Death

Cowling died in Leeds on 16 June 1990, one day before his 84th birthday. He was survived by his wife and children.[5] [6]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.1098/rsbm.1991.0006
    .
  2. doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.23.090185.000245
    .
  3. ^ Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 32, No. 2, pp. 201–205
  4. ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 24 December 2010.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Vol. 32, No. 2, p. 201 - 205
  6. ^ St Andrews University, biography

External links

Obituary

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