Soddy, Fredrick (1877-1956). An English physicist and chemist, noted for his discovery of isotopes. He was a Noble Prize winner.
Â
In 1914 he was appointed Professor of Chemistry at the University of Aberdeen, but plans for research were hampered by the war. In 1919 he became Dr. Lees Professor of Chemistry at Oxford University, a post he held until 1937 when he retired, on the death of his wife.
Â
His books include Radioactivity (1904), The Interpretation of Radium (1909), The Chemistry of the Radioactive Elements (1912-1914), Matter and Energy (1912), Science and Life (1920), The Interpretation of the Atom (1932), The Story of Atomic Energy (1949), and Atomic Transmutation (1953).
Soddy was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1910 and Oxford awarded him an honorary degree. He was awarded the Albert Medal in 1951.
He was a man of strong principles and obstinate views, friendly with students and prickly with colleagues.