In this biography
Quick facts
- Born
- 18 November 1897
- Died
- 13 July 1974
- Birthplace
- London, England
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Nationality
- Not independently established
- Known for
- Counter-controlled cloud chambers
- Research collaborator
- G. P. S. Occhialini
- Manchester appointment
- 1937
- Later public office
- Royal Society president, 1965
Why this life matters
His career connected experimental physics with operational research and public scientific responsibility.
Timeline
Key moments
Triggered photography
Counter-controlled tracks recorded.
Imperial College
Joined as professor.
Scientific leadership
Elected Royal Society president.
Photographs with a selection rule
Blackett and Occhialini developed counter-controlled photography. Their evidence confirmed Anderson’s positron finding and revealed showers containing positive and negative particles.
He moved to Birkbeck in 1933 and Manchester in 1937.
The apparatus did more than produce striking pictures: its triggering and magnetic field helped make different physical interpretations testable.
Sources for this section: [2]
War analysis and the limits of an interpretation
During the Second World War he helped develop operational research, including analysis relevant to naval convoys. Afterwards he opposed British participation in the nuclear arms race.
His lecture also acknowledged an erroneous identification of penetrating rays as electrons. Later experiments and theoretical work changed that interpretation.
Rocks, institutions and later leadership
Blackett’s later research turned to rock magnetism and the history of Earth’s magnetic field. After becoming Imperial’s department head in 1953, he relinquished that headship in 1963 while continuing other roles.
Imperial dates his professorial retirement to 1965, when he became Royal Society president.
The distinction between offices matters: a departmental transition need not be the end of a research career.
Quick answers
Frequently asked questions about Patrick Blackett
- Did he discover the positron alone?
- No. His account recognises Anderson and describes the work with Occhialini.
- Did every early interpretation survive?
- No. He explicitly discussed a mistaken identification of penetrating particles.
Keep exploring
Lives connected to this story
- Cecil Powell
Compare a different method for recording particle events.
- George Paget Thomson
Follow another career combining experimental physics and scientific advice.
- C. T. R. Wilson
Read the earlier condensation and instrumentation research.
- Paul Dirac
Compare Dirac’s theoretical prediction of an anti-electron with the experimental particle evidence associated with cloud chambers.
Sources and further reading
Explore the evidence
These references support the biography and offer further reading. Official records, first-person accounts and independent reporting provide different perspectives; image records document attribution and licensing.
- 1. Nobel Prize Outreach / Nobel Foundation, historical biography with updatesPatrick Blackett: Facts
- 2. Nobel Prize Outreach / Nobel Foundation, historical biography with updatesPatrick Blackett: Biographical
The historical biography is used for career stages, not as evidence of a current office. Linked books and papers were not read in full.
- 3. Imperial College LondonPeople from Imperial’s past: Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett
Departmental retirement in 1963 and professorial retirement in 1965 refer to different roles.
- 4. Blackett / Nobel Foundation, 11 December 1948Cloud Chamber Researches in Nuclear Physics and Cosmic Radiation