Karl Compton
- Born: September 14, 1887 (Wooster, Ohio)
- Died: June 22, 1954 (Washington, DC)
Education
- 1908: PhB, College of Wooster
- 1912: PhD, Princeton University (Physics)
Major Positions
- 1907–1909: College of Wooster, Assistant in Physics
- 1909–1910: College of Wooster, Instructor in Chemistry
- 1913–1915: Reed College, Instructor in Physics
- 1915–1919: Princeton University, Assistant Professor of Physics
- 1919–1930: Princeton University, Professor of Physics
- 1930–1948: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, President
- 1948–1950: United States Department of Defense, Chair, Research and Development Board
Other Positions
- 1917–1919: United States Army, Aeronautical Engineer, Signal Corps
- 1917–1919: United States Embassy, Paris, Associate Scientific Attache
- 1927–1928: American Physical Society, President
- 1929–1930: Princeton University, Chair, Department of Physics
- 1935–1935: American Association for the Advancement of Science, President
- 1944–1945: Office of Scientific Research and Development, Director, Office of Field Services
- 1945–1946: Office of Scientific Research and Development, Director, Pacific Branch
Selected Part-Time Positions
- 1927–1930: Chair, Physics Section, National Academy of Sciences
- 1927–1936: Member, Advisory Board, Franklin Institute
- 1929–1936: Chair, Physics Subcommittee, Chicago 1933 Exposition, National Research Council
- 1930–1930: Member, Council, National Academy of Sciences
- 1931–1936: Chair, Governing Board, American Institute of Physics
- 1932–1947: Member, Board of Trustees, Memorial Foundation for Neuro-Endocrine Research, Boston
- 1933–1935: Chair, United States Science Advisory Board
- 1935–1936: Member, Advisory Committee, Research for Railroads
- 1937–1941: Chair, Advisory Committee on Scientific Research, National Association of Manufacturers
- 1942–1945: Member, Radar Ad Hoc Committee, Joint Committee on New Weapons and Equipment, United States Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 1943–1946: Member, Advisory Board, Army Specialized Training Division, United States Army
- 1945–1946: Chair, Research Board for National Security, National Academy of Sciences
- 1946–1947: Chair, President's Advisory Commission on Universal Training
- 1948–1954: Chair, MIT Corporation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Selected Awards and Honors
Archival Resources
Karl Taylor Compton Papers, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institute
Archives and Special Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Online Finding Aid
Records of Karl Compton and James Killian, Office of the President, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, Institute Archives and Special Collections, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Online Finding Aid
Resources on the Web
Published Resources
Julius A. Stratton, "Karl Taylor Compton: 1887-1954", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences
