1839-1903

American Theoretical Physicist and Theoretical Chemist

J. Willard Gibbs is regarded as one of the greatest American scientists of the nineteenth century and one of the founders of modern physical chemistry. His theoretical and mathematical treatments of physical and chemical processes involving heat and work developed the science of thermodynamics into one of the most useful tools available to physicists and chemists.

Gibbs, whose father was a professor of sacred literature at Yale University, grew up in a highly intellectual environment. He developed into a shy, somewhat frail young man, deeply involved in intellectual pursuits. He graduated from Yale, then, in 1863, received the first doctorate of engineering awarded in the United States. In that same year he became a tutor at Yale.

After Gibbs's parents died and he and his two sisters inherited their estate, the three traveled together to Europe in 1866. They...