Threlfall, Richard

Threlfall was born near Preston, Lancashire England in 1861. He completed high school studies at Clifton College near Bristol; in 1880, he took up a scholarship at Caius College Cambridge. In 1884, he became assistant demonstrator in the Cavendish Laboratory; in 1885 he commenced work with J J Thompson - director of the Laboratory from 1884 to 1919 - carrying out research on "the changes produced in gases by the passage of measured amounts of electricity through them" (ref 1).

In 1886, Sydney University appointed Threlfall Professor of Physics (ref 2). He succeeded John Smith who, from 1882, was described in minutes of meetings of Senate as Professor of Experimental Physics. Previously, Smith had been Professor of Chemistry and Experimental Physics (ref 3). Following the death of Smith in 1885, the University Senate decided that the Professor to be appointed Smith's place would be responsible for teaching physics including those parts previously the responsibility of the Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. The Senate decided that the new Professor's title would be Professor of Physics rather than Professor of Natural Philosophy as proposed by Mr Macleay (ref 4).

Threlfall resigned from the Chair in 1898 to return to England where he became an electrochemist in the company of Albright and Wilson Limited near Birmingham.

While Professor of Physics at the University of Sydney, Threlfall acted as consultant for Redfern, Burwood, Moss Vale, Penrith and other local government authorities to advise on the installation of electricity; his appointment as consulting engineer with the Borough of Redfern entailed on-site supervision of the project.

Titles of research publications during Threlfall's time at Sydney University include "On the Scattering of Light by Metallic Particles" (1894), in collaboration with J A Pollock (1896) "On some Experiments with Rontgen's Radiation", in collaboration with J D H Brearley, Deas-Thompson Scholar at Sydney University "The Electrical Properties of Pure Sulphur" (1896).

Awards for Threlfall's contributions to science included a fellowship of the Royal Society of London in 1899, the Gold Medal of the Society of Chemical Industry (1929), the KBE and GBE.

Threlfall married in 1890. His son, R E Threlfall, authored the memoirs of his father published by the Royal Society of London; he describes his father as "captain of the Cambridge Rugby XV" and "trout-fishing in the wilder parts of Tasmania".