Robert Andrews Millikan

Robert Andrews Millikan was born on March 22, 1868, in Morrison, Illinois, USA. He was the second son of a Congregational minister and his teacher wife. Millikan grew up in a nurturing environment that valued education highly. Despite a humble background, he exhibited exceptional intelligence and a keen interest in natural phenomena from a young age. After completing his early education, he moved on to further his studies at Oberlin College, where he first encountered rigorous academic challenges that shaped his future career in physics.

In 1909, Robert Millikan conducted his famous oil-drop experiment. The experiment was designed to measure the elementary electric charge, the charge of the electron. Millikan's experiment involved observing tiny charged droplets of oil between two metal electrodes. By adjusting the voltage across the plates, he could suspend the oil drops in midair. Measuring the voltage needed for this balance allowed Millikan to calculate the charge on the drops. His results provided the first accurate measurement of the electron's charge, which was crucial in advancing atomic theory.

In 1916, Millikan published a seminal paper on the photoelectric effect, which provided crucial experimental verification for Albert Einstein's theory of light as a quantized entity known as the photon. Through rigorous and scrupulously precise experiments, Millikan was able to corroborate Einstein's theoretical prediction regarding the photoelectric effect, initially proposed in 1905. This work helped solidify the quantum theory of light and earned Millikan great acclaim in the field of physics.

Robert Andrews Millikan was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect. The Nobel Committee highlighted Millikan's precise determination of the charge carried by an electron, as well as his experimental work that provided strong empirical support for Einstein's theory regarding the photoelectric effect. This award remains one of the most prestigious recognitions in Millikan's career, solidifying his reputation as a physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to understanding electrical phenomena.

In 1945, Robert A. Millikan retired as the Chairman of the Executive Council at the California Institute of Technology, a position he had held since 1921. Millikan was a pivotal figure in transforming Caltech into one of the leading science and engineering institutes in the world. Under his leadership, Caltech attracted a host of brilliant minds and expanded its reputation and capabilities significantly. His efforts included fundraising, recruitment of top-tier faculty, and promoting interdisciplinary research, which set the foundation for Caltech's future successes.