George Cunliffe McVittie
Quick Info
Smyrna, Turkey (now Izmir)
Canterbury, Kent, England
Biography
George McVittie's parents were Frank S McVittie and Emily Caroline Weber. George entered the University of Edinburgh in 1923. There he studied mathematics and natural philosophy (physics), strongly influenced by his lecturers E T Whittaker and C G Darwin. He graduated in 1928 with an M.A., and then studied for a doctorate, beginning work in Edinburgh with Whittaker as advisor, and continuing at Christ's College Cambridge with Eddington as his advisor. In 1934 McVittie married Mildred Bond Strong.McVittie held appointments as follows: Assistant Lecturer at Leeds University 1930-34; Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh 1933-34; Reader at King's College, University of London 1936-48; Professor at Queen Mary's College, University of London 1948-52; Professor at Illinois University Observatory 1952-1972; and Honorary Professor at the University of Kent at Canterbury 1972-1988.
McVittie was elected to the Royal Society of Edinburgh on 1 March 1943, having been proposed by David Gibb, Ivor M H Etherington, Robert Schlapp, and Alexander C Aitken. He was a member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society, being elected in December 1927. He was also a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, being elected in 1933.
An obituary, written by M A H MacCallum, appeared in: George Cunliffe McVittie (1904-1988) (obituary), Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 30 (3) (1989), 119-122.
We present a version at THIS LINK.
Another obituary of George Cunliffe McVittie, this time written by William McCrea, appeared in The Independent on Friday 11 March 1988.
We give a version at THIS LINK.
Notes on some of McVittie's papers are given at THIS LINK.
References (show)
- R Chisholm, George McVittie: Honorary Professor, University of Kent, Vistas Astronom. 33 (1) (1990), 79-81.
- W Davidson, George McVittie's work in relativity, Vistas Astronom. 33 (1) (1990), 65-69.
- R Hide, Brief comments on George McVittie's meteorological papers, Vistas Astronom. 33 (1) (1990), 63-64.
- E Knighting, War work, 1940-1945, Vistas Astronom. 33 (1) (1990), 59-62.
- M A H MacCallum, George Cunliffe McVittie (1904-1988), Quarterly Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society 30 (3) (1989), 119-122.
- W McCrea, George Cunliffe McVittie (1904-88) O.B.E., F.R.S.E., Pupil of Whittaker and Eddington: pioneer of modern cosmology, Vistas Astronom. 33 (1) (1990), 43-58.
- W McCrea, Obituary: George Cunliffe McVittie, The Independent (11march 1988).
- D E Osterbrock, L W Fredrick, F K Edmondson and M Schwarzchild, McVittie and the American Astronomical Society, Vistas Astronom. 33 (1) (1990), 75-77.
- S K Runcorn, George McVittie: his breadth of scientific interest, Vistas Astronom. 33 (1) (1990), 39-42.
- J M Sánchez-Ron, George McVittie, the uncompromising empiricist, in The universe of general relativity (Einstein Stud., 11, Birkhäuser Boston, Boston, MA, 2005), 189-221.
Additional Resources (show)
Other pages about George McVittie:
Other websites about George McVittie:
Honours (show)
Honours awarded to George McVittie
Cross-references (show)
Written by J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
Last Update November 2007
Last Update November 2007