Patrick Maynard Stuart Blackett (1897–1974) was born in Kensington, London, on November 18, and became a Nobel Prize–winning physicist who at once promoted scientific research to defeat Nazism and criticized the World War II Allied bombing of cities. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War I and establishing a successful career in physics, he became a science advisor on military matters during World War II and later to both the Indian and British governments on science and technology policy. He died in London on July 13, as a leading figure in the British scientific community and a defender of science in the service of socialist political ideals and of "small science" practiced independent of large government grants.

Physics

After earning a Ph.D. in physics in 1921 from Cambridge University, Blackett did postdoctoral work in the Cavendish Laboratory and was appointed professor at the University of Manchester...