The triumph of hope over experience

Derek Jackson was one of the most distinguished scientists of the previous century, whose work in atomic spectroscopy contributed significantly to British success in aerial warfare. Throughout his life Jackson remained absorbed in his highly specialised subject, regarded with profound respect by colleagues throughout the world, and yet there was almost nothing about him that conformed to the usual image of the boffin. Rich and rebellious, he was arrogant, provocative, wildly funny, often offensive; incontestably patriotic, he loved German culture and language and was strongly opposed to the war in which he participated with outstanding courage; frequently in love with both men and women, he married six times; his passion for horses remained with him for life and he rode in three Grand Nationals, continuing as an amateur jockey into his 60th year.

Born in 1906 Jackson was one of a pair of identical twins, sons of the wealthy Sir Charles Jackson who for 20 years was chairman of the News of the World. Derek and Vivian looked the same, thought the same, and were always happiest in each other’s company. At Rugby they both won prizes for chemistry, and it was here that Derek first became interested in spectroscopy, the field in which he was to conduct many of his most significant experiments. He was only 22 when he produced a paper for the Royal Society (on ‘hyperfine structure in the arc spectrum of caesium and nuclear rotation’) that, as Simon Courtauld tells us, was recognised as a scientific tour de force, earning him a place in the history of atomic physics. At Cambridge Derek worked under Rutherford, but after graduating was scooped up by Professor Lindemann and installed in Oxford’s Clarendon laboratory. Here in what was then a poorly equipped workplace Derek purchased his own spectrograph and interferometer, which he later donated to the university.