Nobel Prize in Physics Recipient. William Henry Bragg received recognition after being awarded the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics, according to the Nobel Prize Committee, "for their services in the analysis of crystal structure by means of X-rays." Jointly, he shared the award with his son, Lawrence Bragg, and within two years, he had received six nominations for candidacy for the Nobel Prize. Due to World War I, the 1915 Nobel Prize was not presented until 1920, and he chose not to attend the ceremony. Born the oldest son, his mother died when he was barely seven and he went to live with an uncle, William Bragg, a druggist. In 1873 he took the Oxford Junior Locals and was the youngest boy in England to get through the examination, placing third. After attending local schools, he attended King William's College on the Isle of Man, winning a scholarship to Trinity College at Cambridge. After graduating with honors from Cambridge with a degree in mathematics, he accepted the position of Elder Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Physics in the University of Adelaide in South Australia late in 1885. He admitted that he knew little about the subject of physics but only had a few students in that class. During the years in Australia, he developed a passion for golf, painting in watercolors, biking, playing chess and walking the beach. He did venture into the new world of X-rays and did other researches. On September 21, 1896 he gave the first demonstration of the wireless telegraphy in Australia, and by December of that year, took a year-sabbatical from the university to tour England, learning about the wireless telegraphy from various other researchers before returning to Adelaide. On May 13, 1899, he and his father-in-law demonstrated a working wireless at a distance of 65 feet. After a series of lectures and published research papers by 1904, he was being recognized for his achievements and had earned a fellowship of the British Royal Society in London in 1907. In 1908 he returned to England and by 1909 held the chair of the physics department at the University of Leeds. He published his first book of many, "Studies in Radioactivity" in 1912 and continuing his research with the X-ray and other interests. In 1914 he and his son, Lawrence, were jointly awarded the Barnard Gold Medal of the U.S. Academy of Sciences. In 1915 he was appointed professor at the University College of London. During World War I, he was given the assignment of doing research on the detection and measurement of underwater sounds in connection with the location of the enemy's submarines. For this achievement along with others, he was made a C.B.E. in 1917, was knighted in 1920 by King George V, and the Order of Merit followed in 1931. While his oldest son Lawrence was with the Royal Engineers, attempting to develop a device for locating the enemy's artillery, his younger son, Robert, had been killed in action in September of 1915 at Gallipoli. This was a heartbreaking event, especially for his wife. This happened weeks before the Nobel Prize announcement. After the war, he returned to his position at University College of London. In 1923 he was appointed Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution and Director of the Day Faraday Research Laboratory, which was rebuilt by 1930 under his directions with many scientific papers being published from this facility. In 1925 he published a collection of six lectures, "Concerning the Nature of Things." After having been a Fellow since 1907, he was elected President of the Royal Society from 1935 through 1940, and for the same achievement that the Nobel Prize was given, he received from that society the Rumford Medal in 1916 and the Copley Medal in 1930. In 1915 he and his son, Lawrence, each received the Matteucci Medal, an Italian award for physics. From the United States, he received in 1930 the Franklin Medal from the Franklin Institute, and in 1932 he received The John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science. His reputation earned Bragg honorary doctorate degrees from over 15 universities as well as being a distinguished member of many leading foreign science societies. Australia awards annually since 1992 the Bragg Gold Medal of Excellence in Physics to the best PhD thesis; the medal has the image of the father on one side and the son on the other. Several buildings on college campuses in England and Australia bear the name of Bragg in their honor. He married Gwendoline Todd, daughter of Sir Charles Todd, F.R.S., Postmaster General and Government Astronomer of South Australia. Besides his two sons, the couple had a daughter, Gwen. According to a collection of his papers at the University of Adelaide, he purchased in 1923 a country cottage for the family in Chiddingfold. After his death from heart failure, a funeral was held at Westminister Abbey on March 19, 1942 and his cremated ashes buried at Parrish Church of St. Mary's in Chiddingfold.