Richardson, Sir Owen Willans
Richardson, Sir Owen Willans (1879-1959), a British physicist. He was awarded the 1928 Nobel Prize in physics for his explanation of the movement of electrons in heated bodies. His theory, developed in 1916, explains thermionic emission, a basic principle of electronics.
Richardson graduated from Cambridge University in 1900 and received a doctorate from the University of London in 1904. He taught physics in the United States, at Princeton University, 1906-14, and at the University of London, 1914-24. Richardson was a research professor at the Royal Society and director of research for physics at King's College, University of London, 1924-44. He was knighted in 1939.