Profile
J. J. Thomson: Discoverer of the Electron
English physicist, 1856–1940
J. J. Thomson was born in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, on 18 December 1856.
He led the Cavendish Laboratory from 1884.
He discovered the electron in 1897.
He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1906.
Career highlights
- 1884Cavendish: professor
- 1897Electron: discovered
- 1904Plum pudding: atom model
- 1906Nobel Prize: in Physics
- 1918Trinity: Master
Did you know?His son George won the Nobel Prize for showing electrons also behave like waves.