Albert A. Michelson

Albert A. Michelson FRS
Michelson in 1907
Born	Albert Abraham Michelson (1852-12-19)December 19, 1852 Strelno, Province of Posen, Kingdom of Prussia
Died	May 9, 1931(1931-05-09) (aged 78) Pasadena, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Education	United States Naval Academy
Known for	Measuring the fine structure (1887) Michelson–Morley experiment (1887)
Spouses	Margaret Hemingway ​ ​ (m. 1877; div. 1898)​ Edna Stanton ​ (m. 1899)​
Children	6
Relatives	Miriam Michelson (sister) Harriet Lane Levy (cousin)
Awards	Rumford Prize (1888) FRS (1902) Matteucci Medal (1903) Copley Medal (1907) Nobel Prize in Physics (1907) Elliott Cresson Medal (1912) Henry Draper Medal (1916) Prix Jules Janssen (1922) Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1923) Franklin Medal (1923) Albert Medal (1920) Duddell Medal and Prize (1929)
Scientific career
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Case School of Applied Science (1883–1889) Clark University (1889–1892) University of Chicago (from 1892)
Doctoral advisor	Hermann von Helmholtz[1]
Doctoral students	Henry Gale (1902)[1]
Other notable students	Robert Andrews Millikan[1]
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Navy United States Navy Reserve[2]
Service years	1873–1881; 1918–1921[2]
Rank	Commander
Signature

Albert Abraham Michelson (/ˈmaɪkəlsən/ MAHY-kuhl-suhn;^[3] December 19, 1852 – May 9, 1931) was an American physicist known for his work on measuring the speed of light and especially for the Michelson–Morley experiment. In 1907, he received the Nobel Prize in Physics, becoming the first American to win the Nobel Prize in a science. He was the founder and the first head of the physics departments of Case School of Applied Science (now Case Western Reserve University) and the University of Chicago.^[4][5][6]