PHYSICIST

William Penney, Baron Penney

1909 - 1991

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William George Penney, Baron Penney, (24 June 1909 – 3 March 1991) was an English mathematician and professor of mathematical physics at the Imperial College London and later the rector of Imperial College London. He had a leading role in the development of High Explosive Research, Britain's clandestine nuclear programme that started in 1942 during the Second World War which produced the first British atomic bomb in 1952. As the head of the British delegation working on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Laboratory, Penney initially carried out calculations to predict the damage effects generated by the blast wave of an atomic bomb. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of William Penney, Baron Penney has received more than 137,084 page views. His biography is available in 18 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 16 in 2019). William Penney, Baron Penney is the 808th most popular physicist (down from 761st in 2019), the 5th most popular biography from Gibraltar and the most popular Physicist.

Memorability Metrics

  • 140k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 48.50

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 18

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.47

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.32

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, William Penney, Baron Penney ranks 808 out of 851. Before him are David J. Griffiths, Mazlan Othman, Edwin Thompson Jaynes, Stephen L. Adler, Karl Taylor Compton, and Ernest Moniz. After him are Edward Andrade, Frederick Lindemann, 1st Viscount Cherwell, Herbert Goldstein, Carlos Frenk, J. Richard Gott, and Richard A. Muller.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1909, William Penney, Baron Penney ranks 409. Before him are Harold Smith, Roger Revelle, Wim Lagendaal, Willi Horn, Ruby Keeler, and John Wright. After him are Louis Hayward, Montgomery Wilson, Obafemi Awolowo, Marion Martin, Madge Evans, and Miguel White. Among people deceased in 1991, William Penney, Baron Penney ranks 276. Before him are Natalie Schafer, Charles Manring, Joan Caulfield, Angus Wilson, Mudashiru Lawal, and Lino Brocka. After him are John Kerr, Lilian Bond, Abel Kiviat, Carl Shy, Durga Khote, and Natalie Kingston.

Others Born in 1909

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Others Deceased in 1991

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In Gibraltar

Among people born in Gibraltar, William Penney, Baron Penney ranks 5 out of 7. Before him are John Galliano (1960), Stanley Maude (1864), Fabian Picardo (1972), and Peter Caruana (1956). After him are Lee Casciaro (1981), and Kaiane Aldorino (1986).

Others born in Gibraltar

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Among PHYSICISTS In Gibraltar

Among physicists born in Gibraltar, William Penney, Baron Penney ranks 1. 

born Physicists

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