Karl Ferdinand Herzfeld (February 24, 1892–June 3, 1978) was an Austrian-American physicist. He was born in Vienna and earned his PhD in physics in 1914 under Friedrich Hasenöhrl at the University of Vienna. During World War I he was an artillery officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army, then after several years as privatdozent with Arnold Sommerfeld he was appointed to a professorship at the University of Munich. Sommerfeld maintained a correspondence with Herzfeld for the rest of his life. In 1926 Herzfeld came to the United States and accepted a position at Johns Hopkins University. John Archibald Wheeler took his PhD under Herzfeld in 1933. Herzfeld moved to The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C in 1936, where he received emeritus honors in 1969 and stayed active for the rest of his life. February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... June 3 is the 154th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (155th in leap years), with 211 days remaining. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Vienna (German: Wien ; Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian: Beč, Czech: Vídeň, Hungarian: Bécs, Romanian: Viena, Romani: Bech or Vidnya, Russian: Вена, Slovak: Viedeň, Slovenian: Dunaj) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Friedrich Hasenöhrl (November 30, 1874 - October 7, 1915), was an Austrian scientist. ... The University of Vienna (German: Universität Wien) in Austria was founded in 1365 by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria and hence named Alma Mater Rudolphina. ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First... The Austro-Hungarian Army was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. ... Privatdozent (PD or Priv. ... Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld (December 5, 1868 – April 26, 1951) was a German physicist who introduced the fine-structure constant in 1919. ... With approximately 48,000 students, the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (German: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München or LMU) is one of the largest universities in Germany. ... The Johns Hopkins University, founded in 1876, is a private institution of higher learning located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. ... John Archibald Wheeler (born July 9, 1911) is an eminent American theoretical physicist. ... The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (abbreviated CUA), located in Washington, DC, is unique as the national university of the Roman Catholic Church and as the only higher education institution founded by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops. ... ... Emeritus (IPA pronunciation: or ) is an adjective that is used in the title of a retired professor, bishop or other professional. ...

Herzfeld wrote two books, Kinetische Theorie der Wärme (Kinetic Theory of Heat, 1925), and Absorption and Dispersion of Ultrasonic Waves (with coauthor Theodore Litovitz) in 1959, along with more than 140 papers. He guided about 40 PhD candidates from 1936–1962 while he was department chair at Catholic University. Herzfeld was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1958 and the National Academy of Sciences in 1960, and was a member of both the American Physical Society and the Acoustical Society of America. He received a number of honorary degrees and awards. Herzfeld died in Washington in 1978. The House of the Academy, Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... President Harding and the National Academy of Sciences at the White House, Washington, DC, April 1921 The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine. ... The American Physical Society was founded in 1899 and is the worlds second largest organization of physicists. ... The Acoustical Society of America is an international scientific society dedicated to increasing and diffusing the knowledge of acoustics and its practical applications. ...

External links

• Biographical memoir
• Herzfeld archives at Catholic University
• Herzfeld autobiographical genealogy microfilm at the Niels Bohr Library
• Kinetische Theorie der Wärme at the Niels Bohr Library