William Edward Curtis, 1889-1969

Abstract

William Edward Curtis was a Londoner by birth, but he spent much of his life in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he took a leading part in the educational life of the university and the city. He was born in Islington, North London, on 23 October 1889, and was the son of a gilder, of Horsham in Sussex. His mother, Emily Sarah ( née Haward) came from Ipswich. There is little evidence of interest in science on either side of the family, and indeed it seems that Curtis came to physics via astronomy. The drive and energy which in later life were among his most striking features seem to have been manifested to a marked degree in his mother, and in several uncles on his mother’s side, who were successful master founders. Curtis had one sister, Edith, five years older than himself. He had few young friends and read avidly and widely. At school he was outstanding, and made his way by scholarships from his primary school, Ecclesbourne Road, Islington, to Owen’s School, Islington, and thence to the Imperial College. At Owen’s he held a Drapers’ Scholarship and then an L.C.C. Intermediate Scholarship. He was a fine all-rounder, taking prizes in a wide range of subjects, and he excelled at several games, especially cricket. He was head boy in his last year at school and studied, mainly privately, for a National Scholarship in Science. A Royal Exhibition followed from the results of the Common Examination, and he entered Imperial College as a physics student in 1907, the year in which the old name, The Royal College of Science, was changed to the now more familiar one.