Born: 18 December 1856 · Died: 30 August 1940 · Age: 83
English physicist who discovered the electron in 1897 and won the Nobel Prize in Physics
Did you know?His son, George Paget Thomson, also won a Nobel Prize for demonstrating that electrons behave like waves.
Quick facts
Date of birth18 December 1856
Date of death30 August 1940
Age at death83
NationalityBritish
BirthplaceCheetham Hill, United Kingdom
Occupationphysicist, mathematician, university teacher
Editor's Take:
J. J. Thomson discovered the electron. Working at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, he studied cathode rays. In 1897 he showed they were made of tiny charged particles, far smaller than atoms. This was the first subatomic particle ever found. He proposed the "plum pudding" model of the atom. He won the Nobel Prize in 1906. Seven of his students and assistants also won Nobel Prizes.
Key Milestones
1884: Cavendish – professor
1897: Electron – discovered
1904: Plum pudding – atom model
1906: Nobel Prize in Physics
Sir Joseph John Thomson (18 December 1856 – 30 August 1940) was a British physicist.
Joseph John Thomson's birthday is December 18. He was born on December 18, 1856 in Cheetham Hill, United Kingdom.
How old was Joseph John Thomson when he died?
Joseph John Thomson died on August 30, 1940, aged 83.
Who shares a birthday with Joseph John Thomson?
Famous people who share Joseph John Thomson's December 18 birthday include Joseph Stalin, Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, Christina Aguilera and Billie Eilish.
