Editing Albert A. Michelson (section)

== Life ==
Michelson was born in [[Strzelno|Strelno]], [[Province of Posen|Posen]], [[Kingdom of Prussia]] (modern-day Strzelno, Poland), to Jewish parents,<ref>National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, 1938, Vol. XIX) quotes (on p. 128) Michelson's sister, the novelist Miriam Michelson, as having written of her parents in a letter to Millikan that "both Albert Michelson's father and mother were born of Jewish parents&nbsp;..."</ref> the son of Samuel Michelson<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aip.org/history/exhibits/gap/Michelson/Michelson.html|title=Albert Abraham Michelson 1852–1931|publisher=American Institute of Physics|access-date=January 27, 2016|archive-date=February 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203232123/https://www.aip.org/history/exhibits/gap/Michelson/Michelson.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and his wife, Rozalia Przyłubska.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aps.org/units/fip/newsletters/200805/michelson.cfm |title=APS Physics &#124; FIP &#124; Albert Abraham Michelson: "A Pole - well up in Arithmetic" |access-date=September 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921165432/https://www.aps.org/units/fip/newsletters/200805/michelson.cfm |archive-date=September 21, 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He moved to the US with his parents in 1855, at the age of two. He grew up in the mining towns of [[Murphys, California|Murphy's Camp]], California, and [[Virginia City, Nevada]], where his father was a merchant. His family was non-religious, and Michelson himself was a lifelong [[agnostic]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Bulletin de la Société des sciences et des lettres de Łódź: Série, Recherches sur les déformations, Volumes 39–42|date=2003|publisher=Société des sciences et des lettres de Łódź|page=162|quote=Michelson's biographers stress, that our hero was not conspicuous by religiousness. His father was a free-thinker and Michelson grew up in non-religious family and have no opportunity to acknowledge the belief of his forebears. He was agnostic through his whole life and only for the short period he was a member of the 21st lodge in Washington.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Book of Nothing: Vacuums, Voids, and the Latest Ideas About the Origins of the Universe|date=2002|publisher=Random House Digital, Inc.|isbn=978-0-375-72609-5|author=[[John D. Barrow]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/indextocriticism00glor/page/136 136]|quote=Morley was deeply religious. His original training had been in theology and he only turned to chemistry, a self-taught hobby, when he was unable to enter the ministry. Michelson, by contrast, was a religious agnostic.|url=https://archive.org/details/indextocriticism00glor/page/136}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Master of Light: A Biography of Albert A. Michelson|publisher=University of Chicago Press|first=Dorothy Michelson |last=Livingston|page=106|quote=On the religious question, Michelson disagreed with both these men. He had renounced any belief that moral issues were at stake in ...}}</ref> He spent his high school years in San Francisco in the home of his aunt, Henriette Levy (née Michelson), who was the mother of author [[Harriet Lane Levy]].<ref name="Levy-47">Levy, ''920 O'Farrell Street'', 47.</ref>
His sister was the novelist [[Miriam Michelson]].

President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] awarded Michelson a special appointment to the [[U.S. Naval Academy]] in 1869.<ref>[http://www.usna.edu/LibExhibits/collections/michelson/ Nimitz Library's Virtual Exhibits – LibExhibits]</ref> During his four years as a [[midshipman]] at the Academy, Michelson excelled in [[optics]], heat, [[climatology]] and [[technical drawing]]. After graduating in 1873 and two years at sea, he returned to the Naval Academy in 1875 to become an instructor in [[physics]] and [[chemistry]] until 1879. In 1879, he was posted to the Nautical Almanac Office, Washington (part of the [[United States Naval Observatory]]),<ref>{{cite journal|title=Nineteenth century astronomy at the U.S. Naval Academy | journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage| volume=5| issue=2| pages=165| bibcode=2002JAHH....5..165S| last1=Shankland| first1=Paul D.| last2=Orchiston| first2=Wayne| year=2002| doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2002.02.07| s2cid=110077408| url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/4957/1/4957_Shankland%26Orchiston_2002.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/about-us/usno-command-history |title=USNO – Our Command History |publisher=[[United States Naval Observatory|U.S. Naval Observatory]] |access-date=June 2, 2011 |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606230351/http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/about-us/usno-command-history/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first1=Paul D. |last1=Shankland |first2=Wayne |last2=Orchiston |title=Nineteenth century astronomy at the U.S. Naval Academy |url=http://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/4957/1/4957_Shankland%26Orchiston_2002.pdf |journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=165–179 |date=2002 |doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2002.02.07 |bibcode=2002JAHH....5..165S |s2cid=110077408 |access-date=November 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808141904/https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/4957/1/4957_Shankland%26Orchiston_2002.pdf |archive-date=August 8, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> to work with [[Simon Newcomb]]. In the following year he obtained leave of absence to continue his studies in Europe. He visited the Universities of [[University of Berlin|Berlin]] and [[University of Heidelberg|Heidelberg]], and the [[Collège de France]] and [[École Polytechnique]] in Paris.

Michelson was fascinated with the sciences, and the problem of measuring the [[speed of light]] in particular. While at [[Annapolis]], he conducted his first [[Michelson–Morley experiment|experiments]] on the [[speed of light]], as part of a class demonstration in 1877. His Annapolis experiment was refined, and in 1879,<ref>In 1879 a letter from James Clerk Maxwell to the astronomer [[David Peck Todd]] came to the attention of Michelson, possibly giving him considerable motivation. See the book {{cite book|author=Schwinger, J.|author-link=Julian Schwinger|title=Einstein's Legacy|year=1986|publisher=Scientific American Library}} [https://books.google.com/books/about/Einstein_s_Legacy.html?id=7EvCAgAAQBAJ 2012 e-book].</ref> he measured the speed of light in air to be {{val|299,864|51}} kilometres per second, and estimated the speed of light in vacuum as {{val|299,940|u=km/s}}, or {{val|186,380|u=mi/s}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.raman-scattering.eu/raman/texts/009_menu_vitesse.php|title=raman-scattering.eu|access-date=June 2, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324223604/http://www.raman-scattering.eu/raman/texts/009_menu_vitesse.php|archive-date=March 24, 2012|url-status=dead}}{{failed verification|date=January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.opticsinfobase.org/on/abstract.cfm?uri=on-4-4-14|title=Optics at the U.S. Naval Academy|journal=Optics News|year=1978|volume=4|issue=4|page=14|publisher=Optical Society of America|doi=10.1364/ON.4.4.000014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sas.uwaterloo.ca/~rwoldfor/papers/sci-method/paperrev/node6.html|title=Michelson's 1879 determinations of the speed of light|publisher=Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Waterloo (Canada)}}</ref> After two years of studies in Europe, he resigned from the [[United States Navy|Navy]] in 1881. In 1883 he accepted a position as professor of physics at the [[Case Western Reserve University|Case School of Applied Science]] in [[Cleveland]], Ohio, and concentrated on developing an improved [[interferometer]]. In 1887 he and [[Edward Morley]] carried out the famous [[Michelson–Morley experiment]] which failed to detect evidence of the existence of the [[luminiferous ether]]. He later moved on to use [[astronomical interferometer]]s in the measurement of stellar diameters and in measuring the separations of binary stars.

In 1889 Michelson became a professor at [[Clark University]] at [[Worcester, Massachusetts|Worcester]], [[Massachusetts]], and in 1892 was appointed professor and the first head of the department of physics at the newly organized [[University of Chicago]]. In 1902, he was elected as a member of the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?year=1902;smode=advanced;startDoc=1|access-date=2021-05-19|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

In 1907, Michelson had the honor of being the first American to receive a [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] "for his optical precision instruments and the spectroscopic and metrological investigations carried out with their aid".  He also won the [[Copley Medal]] in 1907, the [[Henry Draper Medal]] in 1916 and the [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] in 1923.  A [[Impact crater|crater]] on the [[Moon]] is named after him.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

He returned to military service in the closing months of [[World War I|World War One]] as a [[Lieutenant commander (United States)|Lieutenant Commander]] in the [[United States Navy Reserve|Naval Reserve]], serving in the [[Bureau of Ordnance]]. He was promoted to [[Commander (United States)|Commander]] in the reserve in May 1919 and was recalled briefly to active duty in the [[9th Naval District]] before being released from service on 30 September 1921.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Michelson |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/michelson.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725001445/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/m/michelson.html |archive-date=2021-07-25 |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=www.history.navy.mil |language=en-US}}</ref>

Michelson died in [[Pasadena, California]], at the age of 78.<ref>In November 1929, at the French Academy of Sciences, Michelson's death was erroneously announced, see http://cnum.cnam.fr/CGI/fpage.cgi?4KY28.118/97/100/598/5/588 and http://cnum.cnam.fr/CGI/fpage.cgi?4KY28.118/183/100/598/5/588</ref> The University of Chicago Residence Halls remembered Michelson and his achievements by dedicating 'Michelson House' in his honor. Case Western Reserve has dedicated a Michelson House to him, and Michelson Hall (an academic building of science classrooms, laboratories and offices) at the [[United States Naval Academy]] also bears his name. Michelson Laboratory at [[Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake]] in Ridgecrest, California, is named for him. There is a display in the publicly accessible area of the Lab which includes facsimiles of Michelson's Nobel Prize medal, the prize document, and examples of his diffraction gratings. In 2017, a newly renovated physics research center at the University of Chicago was renamed in honor of Michelson as well.<ref>{{cite web |title=UChicago names building after pioneering physicist Albert Michelson |url=https://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-names-building-after-pioneering-physicist-albert-michelsonhttps://news.uchicago.edu/story/uchicago-names-building-after-pioneering-physicist-albert-michelson |website=UChicago News |publisher=University of Chicago |access-date=22 January 2021 }}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Numerous awards, lectures, and honors have been created in Albert A. Michelson's name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/ve-collections/michelson/remembered.php|title=Michelson Remembered|publisher=Nimitz Library, US Naval Academy|access-date=October 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022085706/https://www.usna.edu/Library/sca/ve-collections/michelson/remembered.php|archive-date=October 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some of the current awards and lectures named for Michelson include the following: the Bomem-Michelson Award and Lecture annually presented until 2017 by the Coblentz Society;<ref>{{cite web |title=The ABB Sponsored Bomem-Michelson Award |url=http://www.coblentz.org/awards/the-bomem-michelson-award |publisher=[[Coblentz Society]] |date=2017 |access-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023010420/http://www.coblentz.org/awards/the-bomem-michelson-award |archive-date=October 23, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[Michelson–Morley Award]] and Lecture, along with the Michelson Lecture Series,<ref>{{cite web |title=Michelson Lectures |url=http://www.phys.cwru.edu/events/michelson.php |publisher=[[Case Western Reserve University]] |date=2017 |access-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513172116/http://www.phys.cwru.edu/events/michelson.php |archive-date=May 13, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Michelson Postdoctoral Prize Lectureship,<ref>{{cite web |title=Michelson Postdoctoral Prize Lectureship |url=http://www.phys.cwru.edu/events/mppl.php |publisher=Case Western Reserve University |date=2017 |access-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170513172115/http://www.phys.cwru.edu/events/mppl.php |archive-date=May 13, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> all of which are given annually by [[Case Western Reserve University]]; the A.A. Michelson Award presented every year by the [[Computer Measurement Group]];<ref>{{cite web |title=Awards & Scholarships: AA Michelson Award Winners |url=https://www.cmg.org/about-cmg/awards-scholarships/ |publisher=[[Computer Measurement Group]] |date=2017 |access-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022141509/https://www.cmg.org/about-cmg/awards-scholarships/ |archive-date=October 22, 2017 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> the Albert A. Michelson Award given by the [[Navy League of the United States]];<ref>{{cite web |title=Albert A. Michelson Award |url=https://navyleague.org/programs/michelson-award.html |publisher=[[Navy League of the United States]] |date=2016 |access-date=December 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019001541/https://navyleague.org/programs/michelson-award.html |archive-date=October 19, 2018 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> and the Michelson Memorial Lecture Series<ref>{{cite web |title=Michelson Memorial Lecture Series |url=https://www.usna.edu/MathSci/michelson-lecture.php |publisher=[[United States Naval Academy|U.S. Naval Academy]] |date=2017 |access-date=October 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022141933/https://www.usna.edu/MathSci/michelson-lecture.php |archive-date=October 22, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> presented annually by the Division of Mathematics and Science at the [[United States Naval Academy|U.S. Naval Academy]].