1852-1931

American Physicist

Albert Michelson was a renowned physicist whose work in optics inspired, among others, Albert Einstein (1879-1955). He made the first accurate determinations of the speed of light and helped to disprove the existence of "ether," previously thought to permeate all space.

Michelson was born in Strzelno, Poland, to Samuel and Rozalia Michelson. The Michelson family left Poland for the United States when Albert was three, his father eventually becoming a successful merchant in San Francisco. Michelson entered the U.S. Naval Academy at age 17, where he performed well in his academic studies but rather poorly in seamanship. He graduated in 1873 and was a science instructor at the Academy until 1879.

In 1878 Michelson began what was to be his life's passion—obtaining accurate measurements of the speed of light. He first used crude homemade equipment to arrive at reasonable values. Knowing he would...