Philip
Lenard was born in Pozsony on 7th July, 1862. He studied at Heidelberg
and Berlin and in 1898 he became professor of experimental physics
at Kiel.
He
investigated the photoelectric effect and cathode rays (the stream
of electrons emitted from the cathode in a vacuum tube) and in 1905
he was awarded the Nobel Prize and two years later became professor
of of experimental physics at Heidelberg University.
In
1924 Lenard joined the Nazi Party and
spent the next few years making personal attacks on Jewish scientists
in Germany such as Albert Einstein
and Max Born.
With
another German physicist, Johannes Stark,
Lenard attempted to integrate physics with fascism.
Philip
Lenard
died on 20th May, 1947.
