Lyman Spitzer, Jr., 1914-1997

Lyman Spitzer, Jr. was born on June 26, 1914 in Toledo, Ohio. He attended Yale University where he earned his Bachelor's degree in physics in 1935 and then spent a year at Cambridge University. In 1936, Spitzer entered Princeton University where he earned his Master's degree in 1937 and a Doctorate in astrophysics in 1938 while working under the famous astronomer Henry Norris Russell. After receiving his doctorate, he spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University and then joined the faculty of Yale University in 1939.

In 1947, at the age of 33, Lyman Spitzer, Jr. was appointed chairman of Princeton's astrophysical sciences department, succeeding Henry Norris Russell. He also became the director of Princeton's Observatory, and during his tenure he built the department into a major research facility.

While at Princeton, Spitzer made major contributions to the field of astrophysics, including the study of the interstellar medium, the motions of star clusters and their evolution. He also accurately predicted the existence of a hot galactic halo surrounding our Milky Way galaxy. In 1951, Spitzer founded the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory a pioneering program in controlled thermonuclear research and remained the Laboratory's director until 1967. In 1952, Spitzer was named the Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy at Princeton, a title that he would keep for the rest of his life.

He was a prolific author, including "Physics of Fully Ionized Gases" (1956) a continuing reference in the field of plasma and fusion research, and "Diffuse Matter in Space" (1968) which describes the fields of interstellar matter.

Lyman Spitzer, Jr. passed away suddenly on March 31, 1997 at the age of 82. He had just completed a normal working day at Princeton University, discussing astronomy with his colleagues and analyzing results from the Hubble Space Telescope, the instrument he dreamed of in 1946. He left behind his wife, Doreen Canaday Spitzer, four children, and ten grandchildren.