Louis Vessot King, 1886-1956

Abstract

Gifted inventor and foremost mathematical physicist in Canadian history, Louis Vessot King possessed an unusual range of abilities. His exceptional powers as a mathematician with a flair for elegance were accompanied by a profound knowledge of the physical problems invariably under consideration and even by an ability in detailed design expected only of engineers. In many fields of physics his natural gifts and knowledge were demonstrated, particularly in inventions and in suitable and elegant approximations. Son of Alonzo King, M.A., and Louisa King ( née Vessot), Louis was born in Toronto on 18 April 1886. His father was a schoolmaster who spent some intervening years at Stanstead Academy and at Hamilton, Ontario; so that Louis was eight years old by the time the family settled in Montreal. Alonzo King died at a relatively early age, leaving a very capable widow with her two children, Louis and Mabel. The family lived for many years in the stone house on Ste. Famille Street—where Mabel still lives—only a short distance from the house occupied for a time by Professor Ernest Rutherford and his family.