War tragedy highlights ignored scientists

A law of physics named after him, correct predictions of several unknown elements, and the first experimental test of quantum theory – these achievements read like the career of one of today’s physics giants – but in fact they are the legacy of a gifted young scientist who was cut down in his prime 92 years ago.

Henry Moseley at work

However, few have heard of the brilliant British physicist Henry GJ Moseley, who died at 27 as part of a generation of young men lost in World War I.

A plaque celebrating Moseley’s life and achievements has been unveiled at Oxford University’s Department of Physics and has prompted the question: why is it that the loss of great writers, artists and musicians in wartime is recognised but the loss of great scientists, such as Moseley, is so rarely commemorated?

“It is a sad fact that the contribution of even the most talented scientists to society is often ignored,” said Professor Andrew Boothroyd, head of Condensed Matter Physics at Oxford University. “The loss of a scientist of the calibre of Henry Moseley in his prime can only make us wonder what further discoveries he might have made. It is fitting that, through this award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, we celebrate what Moseley achieved in his short but illustrious career. He helped to revolutionise how people thought about the physical world and his ideas underpin almost all areas of physics and chemistry as we know them today.”

Moseley, a graduate of Trinity College Oxford, was killed fighting in Gallipoli in 1915 aged just 27. Despite his youth he had already made many important contributions to science, including demonstrating that atomic numbers were not arbitrary but had a physical basis that could be measured. This discovery (Moseley’s Law) would provide a natural explanation for the way the elements are organised in the periodic table and led Moseley to predict the existence of several then-unknown elements. Moseley’s work also provided one of the first experimental tests of quantum theory, supporting new ideas about the structure of the atom. Many believe that, had he lived, Moseley would have been awarded the Nobel Prize.