About this ebook
Michelson’s passion was the accurate measurement of the speed of light. In his first experiment, he found it to be 186,320 miles per second, which remained the best value available for a generation, until Michelson himself bettered it. He also invented the interferometer to measure distances using the length of light waves; he measured the meter using the wavelength of cadmium light for the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Paris; and he used light interference to determine the size of stars. With E. W. Morley, he showed that the absolute motion of the earth through the ether is not measurable, contributing to the development of the theory of relativity. The first American to receive a Nobel prize in science, Michelson received the Nobel prize in physics in 1907 for his optical precision instruments and for the spectroscopic and metrological investigations he made with them.
“This work of a devoted daughter who is not herself a scientist catches the humanity of a complex, brilliant man through anecdotes and informed detail.” — The New York Times
“From personal recollection, from much reading, and from interviews, Mrs. Livingston has written a well-organized scientific biography of her father... In this book the author has attempted not only to discuss his scientific achievements, but also to portray Michelson the man — his personality and character, strengths and foibles. He was dedicated but demanding and could be arrogant, strict, and severe... This book portrays Michelson not as a legend, but as a real, believable person.” — John N. Howard, Science
“[A] beautiful family portrait of Albert Abraham Michelson, America’s first Nobel laureate for science. This biography is more than an intellectual exercise, more than merely of academic or scientific or historical interest. It is almost a religious work that begins with a ‘quest for my father’ and ends with a ‘postscript’ on Michelson’s honors and continuing influence... an intelligently organized, emotionally motivated, intellectually controlled search for meaning in the life and works of a great man of science... Michelson’s youngest daughter by his second marriage, has presented a sensitive, artful, honest, and superbly readable portrait of her father... [which] paints the full life, personal relations, and human figure of Michelson in a form that is a worthy monument to his memory... We learn to know much more intimately where Michelson originated, how he matured, who recognized and helped him, what personal influences shaped his life, when and where his own exertions were influential in shaping the life of physics in the United States and the world... the author has been remarkably judicious and meticulous in handling her material.” — Loyd S. Swenson, Jr., Isis
“A non-physicist herself, [the author] has relied heavily on physicists who were familiar with her father’s work and with the field of optics in general, as well as archivists, historians of science, writers and editors. Thus, this thorough biography is the fortunate combination of the efforts of many people, resulting in a valuable reference work as well as a very readable story about one of America’s greatest scientists... Its merit lies in the masterful way the author has melded voluminous information from many sources into a sensitive and realistic portrait of Michelson, showing him as a very real person with strengths and weaknesses, and showing his relation to scientists and the science of his period. It is a book well written and well worth reading by physicists and non-physicists alike.” — Jean M. Bennett, Physics Today
“Mrs Livingston, Michelson’s last child by his second wife, is, as she says, neither a physicist nor a writer. Her book nonetheless has something for both the general reader and the specialist. The former will find an interesting and even adventurous life, the latter some gems from unpublished correspondence.” — J. L. Heilbron, The British Journal for the History of Science
“The biography is a well-researched, accurate, and reliable work enhanced by the author’s invaluable first-hand experience with the subject. Michelson’s achievements are set against his personal life including his family, relationships to other scientists, and the struggles which inevitably develop in establishing a college science department.” — George T. Ladd, The Science Teacher
“This excellent biography by Michelson’s youngest daughter is a judicious mixture of anecdotes and details of the scientific achievements... Dorothy Livingston is to be congratulated on this very readable and informative biography of her talented father.” — W. W. Watson, American Scientist
“[An] admirable biography of Michelson the man... most fascinating.” — David R. Topper, Technology and Culture
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About the author
Born in Chicago a year before her father, Albert A. Michelson, received the Nobel Prize in physics (He was the first American to receive that prize), Dorothy Michelson Livingston (1906-1994) recalls that her father was often not at home, but when he was, it was a treat. He would show her how a single hair caused a sensitive scale to stagger under its weight, or describe how a butterfly’s wings refracted light to create its fantastic colors. Her mother Edna, née Stanton, who had a stronger influence on her with her interest in plants, animals, literature and history, took her and her two teen-aged sisters to Europe to widen their cultural horizons. Dorothy was gifted in picking up spoken French and German, but less successful in the written grammar, failing to obtain her boarding school diploma. This did not dampen her intellectual curiosity and she was able to “skim the cream” off almost any subject, as she herself described her ability, while admitting its superficial quality. Her intelligence and charms were considerable. She was active in New York society, hosting dinner parties with guests connected to Broadway theater, the Guggenheim Museum, upcoming writers and architects as well as diplomats from the United Nations. She married four times and had one daughter with each of her first three husbands.
When she decided to write a biography of her father, she was put off when told she had to cite every source of information. She had never written a term paper in high school! She hired a secretary to help her and this time she did not just “skim the cream”. She persisted for over 15 years to see the project through. She took courses in creative writing and physics. Her academically achieving daughters took an indulgent view of her efforts, not believing it would ever come to fruition — but they were wrong: the biography was completed and published by Scribner’s in 1973.
