Remembering John Rigden

John Rigden was a great friend to many in the history of physics community. I first met him in the summer of 1972. We hit it off immediately, talking for hours about physics education in the breaks and evenings of the meeting where we met. He had that ability to reach out to people who might have been strangers but quickly became confidants.

When he was in the Chair line for the FHP (1993-97), John called and asked me to help organize some history of physics sessions for the March and April APS meetings in 1996 — the centennial of the discovery of radioactivity — and in 1997 — the bicentennial of Joseph Henry’s birth. While I had been a member of FHP for many years, this call from my friend and colleague brought me into direct involvement and service with the Forum. To an unusual extent, John had the kind of personality that would draw one in, and his creativity and willingness to do the work necessary to bring his ideas to fruition made it a satisfying part of our friendship to jump in and go to work with him.

In addition to his earlier service as FHP Chair, John again joined the Executive Committee from 2004 to 2007. He played a leading role in establishing and implementing the APS Historic Sites Initiative, to commemorate important sites in the history of physics around the country.

While he was Director of Physics Programs for AIP (1997-1998), John worked closely with the Center for History of Physics and the Niels Bohr Library at AIP. In his work as editor of the American Journal of Physics (1975-85), he encouraged high quality and thoughtful reports on history of physics, especially relating to physics education. I recently sorted some files from that period and came across some of his letters to authors relating to papers I had refereed. They were clear, encouraging where possible, and strong in their expression of standards of quality.

He and Roger Stuewer founded the journal Physics in Perspective in 1999 and worked as co-Editors-in-Chief there until 2013.

John also contributed much to history of physics through his books – which all give evidence of his prodigious and vigorous work practices. His book on Rabi: Scientist and Citizen (1987) was the first of several major writing projects in history of physics. This was followed by “Most of the Good Stuff:” Memories of Richard Feynman (1993), co-edited with Laurie Brown. His book Hydrogen: The Essential Element (2002), was a creative look at the development of physics in the 20th century through a focus on physicists’ understanding of hydrogen. Then, at the centennial of Einstein’s “miraculous” year, he published Einstein 1905: The Standard of Greatness (2005). Along the way he was also Editor-in-Chief of the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Physics (1996) and the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Elementary Particle Physics: Building Blocks of Matter (2003), volumes that were obviously of much broader scope than history of physics but which contained considerable history.

I remember John’s great sense of humor. I don’t think I ever had a conversation with John that did not include some laughter. I can hear his chuckle in my head as I write this and visualize his ready smile. The last time I talked with him on the telephone, about a month before he died, he was upbeat and still ready to laugh, to enjoy life. I am one of many with memories of inspiring times and pleasurable experiences with John Rigden. I am grateful for his leadership, his friendship, and his lasting contributions to FHP and history of physics.

Bill Evenson
Corvallis, Oregon

The articles in this issue represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the Forum or APS.