See also: John Cockroft (politician) John Cockroft, British Conservative politician, was Member of Parliament for Nantwich in Cheshire until 1979. ...

Sir John Douglas Cockcroft (May 27, 1897 - September 18, 1967) was a British physicist. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting the atomic nucleus, and was instrumental in the development of nuclear power. May 27 is the 147th day (148th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 218 days remaining. ... 1897 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Since antiquity, people have tried to understand the behavior of matter: why unsupported objects drop to the ground, why different materials have different properties, and so forth. ... Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ... A stylized representation of a lithium atom. ... Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear reactions to do useful work (another term in use is Atomic Energy). ...

Cockcroft was born in Todmorden, England. He was educated at Todmorden Secondary School and studied mathematics at the University of Manchester. Incidentally, while there, he was taught physics by the same tutor who would go on to teach Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson (Nobel prize for chemistry 1973) Cockroft received a mathematics degree from St. John's College, Cambridge in 1924, and began research work under Ernest Rutherford. In 1929 he was elected a Fellow of St. John's College. Todmorden is a town in the county of West Yorkshire, England. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: England Travel guide to England from Wikitravel English language English law English (people) List of monarchs of England – Kings of England family tree List of English people Angeln (region in northern Germany, presumably the origin of the Angles for whom England is named) UK... Mathematics is often defined as the study of topics such as quantity, structure, space, and change. ... The University of Manchester in Manchester, England is a university that was formed from the merger of the Victoria University of Manchester (commonly known as the University of Manchester before the merger) and UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology) on 1 October 2004. ... Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson was an English chemist He was born 14 July 1921 in the village of Springside, near Todmorden in Yorkshire. ... Full name The College of Saint John the Evangelist of the University of Cambridge Motto - Named after The Hospital of Saint John the Evangelist, Cambridge, named after John the Evangelist Previous names - Established 1511 Sister College Balliol College Master Prof. ... Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, OM, FRS (August 30, 1871 - October 19, 1937), called father of nuclear physics, pioneered the orbital theory of the atom notably in his discovery of rutherford scattering off the nucleus with his gold foil experiment. ...

In 1928 he began to work on the acceleration of protons with Ernest Walton. In 1932 they bombarded lithium with high energy protons, and succeeded in transmuting it into helium and other chemical elements. This was the first occasion on which an atomic nucleus of one element had been successfully changed to a different nucleus by artificial means. This feat was popularly — if not somewhat inaccurately — known as splitting the atom. Properties In physics, the proton (Greek proton = first) is a subatomic particle with an electric charge of one positive fundamental unit (1. ... Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (October 6, 1903 – June 25, 1995) was an Irish physicist, the winner of the 1951 Nobel Prize for Physics along with Sir John Douglas Cockcroft. ... General Name, Symbol, Number lithium, Li, 3 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 2, s Appearance silvery white/gray Atomic mass 6. ... General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... A chemical element, often called simply element, is a chemical substance that cannot be divided or changed into other chemical substances by any ordinary chemical technique. ... A stylized representation of a lithium atom. ...

At the outbreak of the Second World War he took up the post of Assistant Director of Scientific Research in the Ministry of Supply, working on radar. In 1944 he took charge of the Canadian Atomic Energy project and became Director of the Montreal and Chalk River Laboratories. In 1946 he returned to Britain to set up the Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, charged with developing Britain's atomic power programme. He became the first director of AERE. Even when leaving the post he continued to be involved with Harwell. He was knighted in 1948, and was created Knight Commander of the Bath in 1953. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... This long range radar antenna (approximately 40m (130ft) in diameter) rotates on a track to observe activities near the horizon. ... The Chalk River Laboratories also Chalk River Labs and formerly the Chalk River Nuclear Laboratories is a Canadian nuclear research facility located in Deep River, Ontario. ... The Atomic Energy Research Establishment near Harwell, Oxfordshire was the main centre for atomic energy research and development in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1990s. ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ...

In 1951 Cockcroft, along with Walton, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in the use of accelerated particles to study the atomic nucleus. In 1959 he became the first Master of Churchill College, Cambridge. He was president of the Institute of Physics, the Physics Society and the British Association for the Advancement of Science. Cockroft served as chancellor of the Australian National University from 1961-65. Hannes Alfvén, 1970 winner for work on astrophysical plasmas List of Nobel Prize laureates in Physics from 1901 to the present day. ... Full name Churchill College Motto Forward Named after Sir Winston Churchill Previous names - Established 1966 Sister College Trinity College Master Sir John Boyd Location Storeys Way Undergraduates 440 Graduates 210 Homepage Boatclub Churchill College Main Entrance Churchill College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge... The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the United Kingdoms professional body for physicists. ... The British Association or the British Association for the Advancement of Science or the BA is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating intercourse between scientific workers. ... The Australian National University (ANU), is a university located in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. ...

Cockcroft married Eunice Elizabeth Crabtree in 1925 and had four daughters and a son.

Today, a building named after him exists in the New Museums Site of the University of Cambridge, comprising a lecture theatre and several hardware laboratories. The oldest building at the Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, Australian National University, the Cockcroft building, is named after him. The Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering (RSPhysSE) was established with the creation of the Australian National University (ANU) in 1947. ...

External links

• Biography from the Nobel Museum
• Another Nobel biography
• Speech to the Empire Club of Canada