Origins & Early Life

Francis William Aston FRS (1 September 1877 – 20 November 1945) was a British chemist and physicist who won the 1922 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery, by means of his mass spectrograph, of isotopes in many non-radioactive elements and for his enunciation of the whole number rule. He was a fellow of the Royal Society and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Francis Aston was born in Harborne, now part of Birmingham, on 1 September 1877. He was the third child and second son of William Aston and Fanny Charlotte Hollis.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

He was educated at the Harborne Vicarage School and later Malvern College in Worcestershire where he was a boarder. In 1893 Francis William Aston began his university studies at Mason College (which was then external college of University of London) where he was taught physics by John Henry Poynting and chemistry by Frankland and Tilden. From 1896 on he conducted additional research on organic chemistry in a private laboratory at his father's house. In 1898 he started as a student of Frankland financed by a Forster Scholarship; his work concerned optical properties of tartaric acid compounds. He started to work on fermentation...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

Contemporary Figures & Related Historical Timelines

• Adolphe Thiers — Contemporary (Died in 1877) (1877): Influential French statesman, historian, and President of the Third Republic.
• Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt — Contemporary (Born in 1877) (1877): American sportsman and businessman, known for his involvement in pioneering endeavors.
• Brigham Young — Contemporary (Died in 1877) (1877): Second President of the LDS Church and Governor of Utah Territory.
• Anne Frank — Contemporary (Died in 1945) (1945): German-born diarist whose secret writings documented life in hiding during the Holocaust.
• Anne Murray — Contemporary (Born in 1945) (1945): Pioneering Canadian country and pop vocalist with a 40-year global career.
• Anton Webern — Contemporary (Died in 1945) (1945): Radical modernist composer of the Second Viennese School, known for atonal and twelve-tone techniques.
• A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada — Shared historical date (09-01 · Born) (1896): Pioneering global spread of Krishna consciousness teachings and the Hare Krishna mantra.
• Abraham Isaac Kook — Shared historical date (09-01 · Died) (1935): Pioneering Orthodox Rabbi and Father of Religious Zionism.
• Barbara Hendricks — Shared historical date (11-20 · Born) (1948): Acclaimed American lyric soprano known for opera and jazz performances.
• Benedetto Croce — Shared historical date (11-20 · Died) (1952): Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and political liberal.
• 1877 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1877
• September 1 (09-01) On This Day — Historical birthdays and events on September 1
• 1945 Historical Timeline & Archive — Explore world events and figures from 1945
• November 20 (11-20) On This Day — Historical events and memorials on November 20