Arnold Wolfendale


Sir Arnold Whittaker Wolfendale FRS is a British astronomer who served as Astronomer Royal from 1991 to 1995. He is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Physics at Durham University and served as president of the European Physical Society.

Education and background

His family moved to Flixton, Lancashire when he was 18 months. He attended Stretford Grammar School in Manchester. Wolfendale was graduated with a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Manchester in 1948, followed by a PhD in 1953 and a Doctor of Science in 1970.

Career

During his career he held academic posts at the universities of University of Manchester, Durham University, the University of Ceylon and the University of Hong Kong, and was head of department at Durham where he remains an emeritus professor. He was Professor of Physics at Durham from 1965–92.

Awards and honours

Wolfendale was elected a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1973, and a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1977. He served as Astronomer Royal from 1991 to 1995. In 1992, Wolfendale retired from teaching, and he was knighted in 1995. In 1996 he became Professor of Experimental Physics with the Royal Institution of Great Britain. A lecture theatre in Durham University's new Calman Learning Centre has been named in his honour. He is an honorary DSc of Bucharest University and foreign member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His nomination for the Royal Society reads

Personal life

He married Audrey Darby in 1951. They had twin sons. His wife Audrey died in 2007. He married anthropologist Dorothy Middleton, at Durham Cathedral, on 5 September 2015.