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Edward Morley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.

org/wiki/Edward_Morley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Edward Williams Morley (January 29, 1838 - February 24, Edward Williams Morley
1923) was an American scientist famous for the Michelson-
Morley experiment.

1 Early life
2 Career
3 Honors
4 External links

Morley was born in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in West


Hartford, Connecticut. He graduated from Williams College in
1860. Edward Morley in 1887

Born January 29, 1838


Newark, New Jersey
Died February 24, 1923 (aged 85)
From 1869 to 1906 he was professor of chemistry at Western
West Hartford, Connecticut
Reserve College (which was federated into today's Case
Institutions Western Reserve College
Western Reserve University).
Alma mater Williams College
His best remembered work, which he did together with Albert Known for Michelson-Morley experiment
Abraham Michelson in 1887, was the Michelson–Morley
experiment. Neither he nor Michelson ever considered that it Notable awards Elliott Cresson Medal (1912)
Davy Medal (1907)
disproved the aether hypothesis. However, others did, and it
Willard Gibbs Medal (1899)
ultimately led to Einstein's theory of relativity. Morley also
worked with Dayton Miller on positive aether experiments
after his work with Michelson.

Morley also worked on the oxygen composition of the atmosphere, thermal expansion, and the velocity of light
in a magnetic field.

Morley was president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1895) and president of the
American Chemical Society (1899). Morley won the Davy Medal of the Royal Society of London (1907) and
the Elliott Cresson Medal (1912) awarded by the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for important

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Edward Morley - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Morley

contributions to Chemical Science. Willard Gibbs Medal of the Chicago Section of the American Chemical
Society (1899).

The lunar crater Morley was named for him. The Morley Elementary School in West Hartford was also named
for him. His home in West Hartford was made a National Historic Landmark in 1975.

Edward Williams Morley (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9053766/Edward-Williams-Morley) from


the Encyclopædia Britannica
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Morley"
Categories: 1838 births | 1923 deaths | People from West Hartford, Connecticut | American physicists |
Experimental physicists | Williams College alumni | Case Western Reserve University alumni | Physical chemists
| United States physicist stubs

This page was last modified on 1 December 2009 at 13:57.


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