James Jeans

British mathematician and astronomer (1877 - 1946) · United Kingdom · Academics · Died at 69

James Jeans is read about 67 times a day, in 46 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 17 September 2026

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A physicist who moved from pure mathematics into the cosmos and ended up shaping how the public understood the universe - while holding some of the highest chairs in British science between the wars.

Scientists Academic Mathematics Physics Astronomy Literature United Kingdom Europe

A life in dates

1946Died16 September 19461939Order of MeritAward1938“Everything that has been said, and every conclusion that has been tentatively put forward, is quite frankly speculative and uncertain.”In their wordsThe closing sentences of the book, on p. 188 of Pelican Books 1938 reprint of 1931 2nd ed.Read the whole statement

1937“And the substance out of which this bubble is blown, the soap-film, is empty space welded onto empty time.”In their wordsp. 100, 1937 ed.Read the whole statement

“the universe can be best pictured, ... as consisting of pure thought, the thought of what, for want of a wider word, we must describe as a mathematical thinker.”In their wordspp. 169-170, 1937 ed.Read the whole statement

1931Franklin MedalAward1930“From the intrinsic evidence of his creation, the Great Architect of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician.”In their wordsp. 134, 1930 ed.Read the whole statement

“The tendency of modern physics is to resolve the whole material universe into waves, and nothing but waves.”In their wordsThe Mysterious Universe (1930)Read the whole statement

1928“Into such a universe we have stumbled, if not exactly by mistake, at least as the result of what may properly be described as an accident.”In their wordspp. 2-3. It was not Huxley, but Arthur Eddington, in The Nature of the Physical World (1928).Read the whole statement

1923Guthrie LectureAward1922Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical SocietyAward1919Royal MedalAward1917Adams PrizeAwardRoyal Society Bakerian MedalAward1906Fellow of the Royal SocietyAward1877Born11 September 1877

Also in Deutsch

Photos 4

James Hopwood Jeans

1911 Solvay conference

Solvay conference 1913

Philip Alexius de László (1869-1937) - James Jeans (1877-1946) - RS.9543 - Royal Society

In their own words 10

James Jeans

10 statements, newest first

Life exists in the universe only because the carbon atom possesses certain exceptional properties.
1938, p. 19, Pelican Books 1938 reprint of 1931 2nd ed., Own words
Everything that has been said, and every conclusion that has been tentatively put forward, is quite frankly speculative and uncertain.
1938, The closing sentences of the book, on p. 188 of Pelican Books 1938 reprint of 1931 2nd ed., Own words
And the substance out of which this bubble is blown, the soap-film, is empty space welded onto empty time.
1937, p. 100, 1937 ed., Own words

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Awards

Order of Merit1939

Franklin Medal1931

Guthrie Lecture1923

Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society1922

Royal Medal1919

Royal Society Bakerian Medal1917

Adams Prize1917

Fellow of the Royal Society1906

Honorary Doctor of the University of Calcutta

Knight Bachelor

Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi

About this person

James Hopwood Jeans was born in England on 11 September 1877, trained in physics and mathematics, and carved out a career that straddled theory and observation. He served as secretary of the Royal Society for a decade starting in 1919, then took the presidency of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1925 to 1927, a tenure that earned him the society's Gold Medal. His work in astronomy and his ability to translate the technical into the legible made him a bridge figure in early twentieth-century science. He died on 16 September 1946, five days after his sixty-ninth birthday.

Country

United Kingdom

In common with James

Homi Jehangir BhabhaBoth received Adams Prize

Alan BakerBoth received Adams Prize

W. V. D. HodgeBoth received Adams Prize

Academics from the United Kingdom 3

H. L. A. Hart56.5

Alcuin56.4

Rufus Pollock56.5

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