John Ambrose Fleming
John Ambrose Fleming | |
|---|---|
Fleming in 1890 | |
| Born | 29 November 1849 Lancaster, Lancashire, England |
| Died | 18 April 1945 (aged 95) |
| Education | |
| Alma mater |
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| Known for | Fleming valve (1904) |
| Spouses | Clara Ripley Pratt
(m. 1887; died 1917)Olive May Franks (m. 1928) |
| Awards |
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| Honours | Knight Bachelor (1929) |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Electrical engineering |
| Institutions | University College London (1884–1927) |
| Employer(s) | |
| 1st Pender Professor of Electrical Engineering | |
| In office 1899–1925 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Wellesley Curram Clinton |
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Sir John Ambrose Fleming (29 November 1849 – 18 April 1945) was an English electrical engineer who invented the vacuum tube, designed the radio transmitter with which the first transatlantic radio transmission was made, and also established the right-hand rule used in physics.
He was born in Lancaster, Lancashire and was baptised on 11 February 1850, the eldest of seven children of James Fleming DD (died 1879), a Congregational minister, and his wife Mary Ann. A devout Christian, he once preached at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London on evidence for the resurrection.
In 1932, he and Douglas Dewar and Bernard Acworth helped establish the Evolution Protest Movement. Fleming bequeathed much of his estate to Christian charities, especially those for the poor. He was a noted photographer, painted watercolours, and enjoyed climbing the Alps.