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William Jackson Humphreys
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William Jackson Humphreys

American physicist
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Quick Facts
Born:
Feb. 3, 1862, Gap Mills, Va., U.S.
Died:
Nov. 10, 1949, Washington, D.C. (aged 87)
Notable Works:
“Physics of the Air”
Subjects Of Study:
atmosphere
See all related content

William Jackson Humphreys (born Feb. 3, 1862, Gap Mills, Va., U.S.—died Nov. 10, 1949, Washington, D.C.) was an American atmospheric physicist who applied basic physical laws to explain the optical, electrical, acoustical, and thermal properties and phenomena of the atmosphere.

Humphreys received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University and, in 1905, after holding a number of teaching and research positions, began the affiliation with the U.S. Weather Bureau that lasted until his death. Much of his work, and indeed most of classical physical meteorology, is summarized in his Physics of the Air (1920).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.