American mathematician and physicist who formulated the theoretical foundation of physical chemistry, developed vector analysis, and conducted optical and thermodynamic research. Gibbs Josiah Willard Gibbs William Francis McAdoo William Gibbs
born , Feb. 11, 1839, New Haven, Conn., U.S. died April 28, 1903, New Haven U.S. theoretical physicist and chemist. He became the first person to earn an engineering doctorate from Yale University, where he taught from 1871 until his death. He began his career in engineering but turned to theory, analyzing the equilibrium of James Watt's steam-engine governor. His major works were on fluid thermodynamics and the equilibrium of heterogeneous substances, and he developed statistical mechanics. Gibbs was the first to expound with mathematical rigour the "relation between chemical, electrical, and thermal energy and capacity for work." Though little of his work was appreciated during his lifetime, his application of thermodynamic theory to chemical reactions converted much of physical chemistry from an empirical to a deductive science, and he is regarded as one of the greatest U.S. scientists of the 19th century
born , Feb. 11, 1839, New Haven, Conn., U.S. died April 28, 1903, New Haven U.S. theoretical physicist and chemist. He became the first person to earn an engineering doctorate from Yale University, where he taught from 1871 until his death. He began his career in engineering but turned to theory, analyzing the equilibrium of James Watt's steam-engine governor. His major works were on fluid thermodynamics and the equilibrium of heterogeneous substances, and he developed statistical mechanics. Gibbs was the first to expound with mathematical rigour the "relation between chemical, electrical, and thermal energy and capacity for work." Though little of his work was appreciated during his lifetime, his application of thermodynamic theory to chemical reactions converted much of physical chemistry from an empirical to a deductive science, and he is regarded as one of the greatest U.S. scientists of the 19th century
born Aug. 24, 1886, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S. died Sept. 6, 1967, New York, N.Y. U.S. naval architect. He initially studied law but turned to naval architecture, studying for a year in seclusion, and with his brother Frederick H. Gibbs designed a transatlantic liner. During World War I they designed ships for the U.S. government, and after the war they were commissioned to recondition the Leviathan. Gibbs's design for the Malolo (1927), with its numerous watertight compartments and other safety features, became an industry standard. In 1940 he designed a cargo ship suitable for mass production; using prefabrication techniques, he reduced production time from as long as four years to as little as four days, an innovation of enormous value in World War II. His passenger liner United States (1952) set speed records in transatlantic service
born Oct. 31, 1863, near Marietta, Ga., U.S. died Feb. 1, 1941, Washington, D.C. U.S. public official. In 1892 he moved to New York, where he organized the Hudson and Manhattan Railway companies (later consolidated), which built tunnels under the Hudson River. A prominent supporter of Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential campaign, he was appointed secretary of the treasury by Wilson in 1913; he married Wilson's daughter in 1914. During World War I he directed fund-raising drives that yielded $18 billion for the war effort. He was later director general of U.S. railroads (1917-19) and U.S. senator from California (1933-38)