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{{short description|British astronomer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| birth_name = Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge
| birth_name = Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge
| name = Geoffrey Burbidge
| name = Geoffrey Burbidge
| honorific_suffix =
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|FRS|size=100%}}
| native_name =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| native_name_lang =
| image = <!--(filename only, i.e. without "File:" prefix)-->
| image = Geoffrey Burbidge.jpg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| image_upright =
| image_upright =
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| birth_date = {{birth date |df=yes|1925|09|24}}
| birth_date = {{birth date |df=yes|1925|09|24}}
| birth_place = [[Chipping Norton]], [[Oxfordshire]], U.K.
| birth_place = [[Chipping Norton]], [[Oxfordshire]], U.K.
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2010|01|26|1925|09|24}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2010|01|26|1925|09|24}}
| death_place = [[La Jolla, California]], U.S.
| death_place = [[La Jolla, California]], U.S.
| death_cause =
| death_cause =
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| citizenship =
| citizenship =
| nationality =
| nationality =
| fields =
| fields = [[Theoretical astrophysics]]
| workplaces =
| workplaces =
| patrons =
| patrons =
| education =
| education =
| alma_mater = [[University of Bristol]]<br>[[University of London]]
| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|
* [[University of Bristol]]
* [[University College London]] (PhD)
}}
| thesis_title = The interaction between mesons and light atoms
| thesis_title = The interaction between mesons and light atoms
| thesis_url = http://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/record=b2989533
| thesis_url = http://catalogue.libraries.london.ac.uk/record=b2989533
| thesis_year =1951
| thesis_year = 1951
| doctoral_advisor = <!--(or | doctoral_advisors = )-->
| doctoral_advisor = [[Harrie Massey|H.S.W. Massey]]
| academic_advisors =
| academic_advisors =
| doctoral_students =
| doctoral_students =
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| influences =
| influences =
| influenced =
| influenced =
| awards = [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]]<ref name=frs/>
| awards = {{Plainlist|
* [[Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy|Warner Prize]] (1959)
⚫
| spouse = [[Margaret Burbidge]]
* [[Bruce Medal]] (1999)
⚫
* [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] (2007)
* [[NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing]] (2007)
}}
⚫
| spouse = {{Marriage|[[Margaret Burbidge]]|2 April 1948}}
| partner = <!--(or | partners = )-->
| partner = <!--(or | partners = )-->
| children =
| children =
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}}
}}


'''Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge''' [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]]<ref name=frs>{{cite journal|last1=Longair|first1=Malcolm|authorlink1=Malcolm Longair|last2=Rees|first2=Martin|authorlink2=Martin Rees|title=Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge. 24 September 1925 – 26 January 2010|journal=[[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]]|year=2017|issn=0080-4606|doi=10.1098/rsbm.2017.0002|doi-access=free}}</ref> (24 September 1925 – 26 January 2010) was an [[English people|English]] [[astronomy]] [[professor]] and theoretical [[astrophysicist]], most recently at the [[University of California, San Diego]]. He was married to astrophysicist [[Margaret Burbidge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://casswww.ucsd.edu/personal/gburbidge.html|title=Geoffrey Burbidge personal page|website=ucsd.edu}}</ref>
'''Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge''' {{postnominals|country=GBR|FRS}}<ref name=frs>{{cite journal|last1=Longair|first1=Malcolm|authorlink1=Malcolm Longair|last2=Rees|first2=Martin|authorlink2=Martin Rees|title=Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge. 24 September 1925 – 26 January 2010|journal=[[Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society]]|year=2017|volume=63|pages=55–78|issn=0080-4606|doi=10.1098/rsbm.2017.0002|doi-access=free}}</ref> (24 September 1925 – 26 January 2010) was an [[English people|English]] [[astronomy]] [[professor]] and theoretical [[astrophysicist]], most recently at the [[University of California, San Diego]]. He was married to astrophysicist [[Margaret Burbidge]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://casswww.ucsd.edu/personal/gburbidge.html|title=Geoffrey Burbidge personal page|website=ucsd.edu}}</ref> and was the second author of the influential [[B2FH paper|B<sup>2</sup>FH paper]] which she led.


==Early life and education==
==Early life and education==
Burbidge was born in [[Chipping Norton]], Oxfordshire, a small market town in the Cotswolds roughly midway between Oxford and Stratford-on-Avon, where he attended [[grammar school]]. His father, also Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge, was a builder.<ref>{{cite web | title =Geoffrey Burbidge | work =The Telegraph - Obituaries | publisher =[[Telegraph Media Group]] | date =2010-03-05 | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/7521242/Geoffrey-Burbidge.html | accessdate =2012-03-19 }}</ref>
Burbidge was born in [[Chipping Norton]], [[Oxfordshire]], a small market town in the [[Cotswolds]], where he attended [[grammar school]]. His father, also Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge, was a builder.<ref>{{cite web | title =Geoffrey Burbidge | work =The Telegraph - Obituaries | publisher =[[Telegraph Media Group]] | date =2010-03-05 | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/7521242/Geoffrey-Burbidge.html | access-date =2012-03-19 }}</ref>


He first attended the [[University of Bristol]] to study history, but changed to physics, receiving his degree in 1946. In 1947, he went to London and received his PhD from [[University College London]] (UCL) in 1951.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} While at UCL he worked with Professor H. S. W. Massey who was then head of the department of mathematics.<ref name="Burbidge2007">{{cite journal|last1=Burbidge|first1=Geoffrey|title=An Accidental Career|journal=Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics|volume=45|issue=1|year=2007|pages=1–41|issn=0066-4146|doi=10.1146/annurev.astro.45.051806.110552|bibcode=2007ARA&A..45....1B}}</ref>
He first attended the [[University of Bristol]] to study history, but changed to physics, receiving his degree in 1946. In 1947, he went to London and received his PhD from [[University College London]] (UCL) in 1950.<ref name="ODNB">{{Cite ODNB|id=102557|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/102557|title=Burbidge, Geoffrey Ronald [Geoff]}}</ref> While at UCL he worked with Professor [[Harrie Massey|H. S. W. Massey]] who was then head of the department of mathematics.<ref name="Burbidge2007">{{cite journal|last1=Burbidge|first1=Geoffrey|title=An Accidental Career|journal=Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics|volume=45|issue=1|year=2007|pages=1–41|issn=0066-4146|doi=10.1146/annurev.astro.45.051806.110552|bibcode=2007ARA&A..45....1B}}</ref>


==Career and research==
==Career and research==
With his wife Margaret Burbidge he worked at [[Harvard University]], the [[University of Chicago]], and the [[University of Cambridge]], before Margaret obtained work at the [[California Institute of Technology]], while Geoffrey worked at the [[Mount Wilson Observatory]] and [[Palomar Observatory]]. They both obtained positions at the [[University of California, San Diego]], in 1962.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}} He was the Director of [[Kitt Peak National Observatory]] from 1978 to 1984.<ref name="NYT"/>
With his wife Margaret Burbidge he worked at [[Harvard University]], the [[University of Chicago]], and the [[University of Cambridge]], before Margaret obtained work at the [[California Institute of Technology]], while Geoffrey worked at the [[Mount Wilson Observatory]] and [[Palomar Observatory]]. They both obtained positions at the [[University of California, San Diego]], in 1962.<ref name="ODNB" /> He was the Director of [[Kitt Peak National Observatory]] from 1978 to 1984.<ref name="NYT"/> He was the Editor of the ''[[Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics]]'' from 1974 to 2004.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burbidge |first1=Geoffrey |title=Preface by The Editor |journal=Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics |date=September 1974 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=|doi=10.1146/annurev.aa.12.010174.100001 |url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev.aa.12.010174.100001 |access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2005|title=Preface|url=http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.aa.43.080505.100001|journal=Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics|language=en|volume=43|issue=1|pages=|doi=10.1146/annurev.aa.43.080505.100001|issn=0066-4146|last1=Blandford|first1=Roger|last2=Kormendy|first2=John|last3=Van Dishoeck|first3=Ewine}}</ref>


===B<sup>2</sup>FH===
===B<sup>2</sup>FH===
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===Awards and honours===
===Awards and honours===
*[[Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy|Warner Prize]], with his wife (1959)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://aas.org/grants/awards.php | title = Grants, Prizes, and Awards | publisher = [[American Astronomical Society]] | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20101222143439/http://www.aas.org/grants/awards.php | archivedate = 22 December 2010}}</ref>
*[[Helen B. Warner Prize for Astronomy|Warner Prize]], with his wife (1959)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://aas.org/grants/awards.php | title = Grants, Prizes, and Awards | publisher = [[American Astronomical Society]] | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101222143439/http://www.aas.org/grants/awards.php | archive-date = 22 December 2010}}</ref>
*[[Fellow of the American Physical Society]] (1988) <ref> {{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/programs/honors/fellowships/archive-all.cfm?initial=&year=1988&unit_id=&institution=|title=APS Fellow Archive|publisher=APS|access-date=26 September 2020}} </ref>
*[[Bruce Medal]] (1999)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/brucemedalists/BurbidgeG/index.html | title = The Bruce Medallists: Geoffrey Burbidge | accessdate = 2010-01-27}}</ref>
*[[Bruce Medal]] (1999)<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/brucemedalists/BurbidgeG/index.html | title = The Bruce Medallists: Geoffrey Burbidge | access-date = 2010-01-27}}</ref>
⚫
*[[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] (2005)
*[[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]], with his wife (2005)
*[[NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing]] of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] (2007)<ref name=Reviewing>{{cite web |title=NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing |url=http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_scirev |publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences]] |accessdate=27 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318130922/http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_scirev |archivedate=18 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=01172007 | title = Academy honors 18 for major contributions to science | date = 2007-01-17}}</ref>
*[[NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing]] of the [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] (2007)<ref name=Reviewing>{{cite web |title=NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing |url=http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_scirev |publisher=[[National Academy of Sciences]] |access-date=27 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318130922/http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_scirev |archive-date=18 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=01172007 | title = Academy honors 18 for major contributions to science | date = 2007-01-17}}</ref>
*The [[Asteroid]] [[11753 Geoffburbidge]] is named after him
*The [[Asteroid]] [[11753 Geoffburbidge]] is named after him


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He met [[Margaret Burbidge|Margaret Peachey]] and they married in 1948.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news | title=Geoffrey Burbidge, Who Traced Life to Stardust, Is Dead at 84| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/science/space/07burbidge.html?ref=science| author = Dennis Overbye | date = 2010-02-06 | newspaper = [[New York Times]]}}</ref>
He met [[Margaret Burbidge|Margaret Peachey]] and they married in 1948.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news | title=Geoffrey Burbidge, Who Traced Life to Stardust, Is Dead at 84| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/science/space/07burbidge.html?ref=science| author = Dennis Overbye | date = 2010-02-06 | newspaper = [[New York Times]]}}</ref>


Burbidge died on 26 January 2010 in [[La Jolla, California]].<ref>{{cite web | last =Childs | first =Martin | title =Geoffrey Burbidge: Astrophysicist notorious for his rejection of the Big Bang theory | work =The Independent| date =2010-04-24 | url =https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/geoffrey-burbidge-astrophysicist-notorious-for-his-rejection-of-the-big-bang-theory-1953019.html | accessdate =2012-03-19 }}</ref>
Burbidge died on 26 January 2010 in [[La Jolla, California]].<ref>{{cite web | last =Childs | first =Martin | title =Geoffrey Burbidge: Astrophysicist notorious for his rejection of the Big Bang theory | work =The Independent| date =2010-04-24 | url =https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/geoffrey-burbidge-astrophysicist-notorious-for-his-rejection-of-the-big-bang-theory-1953019.html | access-date =2012-03-19 }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/BruceMedalists/BurbidgeG/index.html Bruce Medal page]
* [http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/BruceMedalists/BurbidgeG/index.html Bruce Medal page]
* [https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/4543 Oral History interview transcript with Geoffrey Burbidge on 15 November 1974, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives]
* Editor of the [http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/loi/astro ''Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics''] from 1974 to 2004
* [http://www.aip.org/history/ohilist/4543.html Oral History interview transcript with Geoffrey Burbidge 15 November 1974, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library and Archives]
* [https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/32332 Oral History interview transcript with Geoffrey Burbidge on 4 June 1975, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives]
* [https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33264 Oral History interview transcript with Geoffrey Burbidge on 21 October 1977, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives]
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-geoffrey-burbidge30-2010jan30,0,4002440.story Los Angeles Times obituary]
* [http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-geoffrey-burbidge30-2010jan30,0,4002440.story Los Angeles Times obituary]
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/7522978/Geoffrey-Burbidge.html Geoffrey Burbidge] - Daily Telegraph obituary
* [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/7522978/Geoffrey-Burbidge.html Geoffrey Burbidge] - Daily Telegraph obituary
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[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:2010 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Chipping Norton]]
[[Category:American astrophysicists]]
[[Category:American astrophysicists]]
[[Category:British astrophysicists]]
[[Category:British astrophysicists]]
[[Category:English astronomers]]
[[Category:20th-century British astronomers]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Bristol]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
[[Category:Alumni of University College London]]
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[[Category:University of California, San Diego faculty]]
[[Category:University of California, San Diego faculty]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of awards from the United States National Academy of Sciences]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]]
[[Category:People from Chipping Norton]]
[[Category:British expatriate academics in the United States]]
[[Category:Annual Reviews (publisher) editors]]

Latest revision as of 10:11, 17 July 2023

Geoffrey Burbidge
FRS
Born
Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge

(1925-09-24)24 September 1925
Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, U.K.
Died26 January 2010(2010-01-26) (aged 84)
La Jolla, California, U.S.
Alma mater
Spouse
​
(m. 1948)​
Awards
Scientific career
FieldsTheoretical astrophysics
ThesisThe interaction between mesons and light atoms (1951)
Doctoral advisorH.S.W. Massey
Websitecasswww.ucsd.edu/archive/personal/gburbidge.html

Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge FRS[1] (24 September 1925 – 26 January 2010) was an English astronomy professor and theoretical astrophysicist, most recently at the University of California, San Diego. He was married to astrophysicist Margaret Burbidge[2] and was the second author of the influential B2FH paper which she led.

Early life and education

[edit]

Burbidge was born in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, a small market town in the Cotswolds, where he attended grammar school. His father, also Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge, was a builder.[3]

He first attended the University of Bristol to study history, but changed to physics, receiving his degree in 1946. In 1947, he went to London and received his PhD from University College London (UCL) in 1950.[4] While at UCL he worked with Professor H. S. W. Massey who was then head of the department of mathematics.[5]

Career and research

[edit]

With his wife Margaret Burbidge he worked at Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Cambridge, before Margaret obtained work at the California Institute of Technology, while Geoffrey worked at the Mount Wilson Observatory and Palomar Observatory. They both obtained positions at the University of California, San Diego, in 1962.[4] He was the Director of Kitt Peak National Observatory from 1978 to 1984.[6] He was the Editor of the Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics from 1974 to 2004.[7][8]

B2FH

[edit]

In collaboration with American physicist William Fowler and British astronomer Fred Hoyle, he and his wife were co-authors of Synthesis of the Elements in Stars, a fundamental paper on stellar nucleosynthesis published in 1957. It is commonly referred to as the B2FH paper after the initial letters of the four authors' surnames. The paper describes the process of stars burning lighter elements into successively heavier atoms which then are expelled to form other structures in the universe, including other stars and planets.[6]

Alternative cosmology

[edit]

In his late years, Burbidge was known mostly for his alternative cosmology "quasi-steady state theory", which contradicts the Big Bang theory.[9] According to Burbidge, the universe is oscillatory and as such, expands and contracts periodically over infinite time.

Awards and honours

[edit]

Personal life

[edit]

He met Margaret Peachey and they married in 1948.[6]

Burbidge died on 26 January 2010 in La Jolla, California.[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Longair, Malcolm; Rees, Martin (2017). "Geoffrey Ronald Burbidge. 24 September 1925 – 26 January 2010". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 63: 55–78. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2017.0002. ISSN 0080-4606.
  2. ^ "Geoffrey Burbidge personal page". ucsd.edu.
  3. ^ "Geoffrey Burbidge". The Telegraph - Obituaries. Telegraph Media Group. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Burbidge, Geoffrey Ronald [Geoff]". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/102557. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ Burbidge, Geoffrey (2007). "An Accidental Career". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 45 (1): 1–41. Bibcode:2007ARA&A..45....1B. doi:10.1146/annurev.astro.45.051806.110552. ISSN 0066-4146.
  6. ^ a b c Dennis Overbye (6 February 2010). "Geoffrey Burbidge, Who Traced Life to Stardust, Is Dead at 84". New York Times.
  7. ^ Burbidge, Geoffrey (September 1974). "Preface by The Editor". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 12 (1). doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.12.010174.100001. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  8. ^ Blandford, Roger; Kormendy, John; Van Dishoeck, Ewine (2005). "Preface". Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics. 43 (1). doi:10.1146/annurev.aa.43.080505.100001. ISSN 0066-4146.
  9. ^ Richard Panek (22 November 2005). "Two Against the Big Bang". Discover magazine.
  10. ^ "Grants, Prizes, and Awards". American Astronomical Society. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010.
  11. ^ "APS Fellow Archive". APS. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  12. ^ "The Bruce Medallists: Geoffrey Burbidge". Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  13. ^ "NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing". National Academy of Sciences. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
  14. ^ "Academy honors 18 for major contributions to science". 17 January 2007.
  15. ^ Childs, Martin (24 April 2010). "Geoffrey Burbidge: Astrophysicist notorious for his rejection of the Big Bang theory". The Independent. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
[edit]
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