Nobel Prize in Physics Recipient. Sir William Ramsay received world-wide acclaim with the awarding of the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physics, which was given for his research in chemistry and discovering four gases and classifying other gases. . He was given credit for discovering helium in a laboratory setting in 1895, and by methodically seeking, he proved that helium and radon were an entire family of new elements, the nobles gases. He found argon, neon, kryton, and xenon in 1898. For these discoveries, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904. He received many other honors: He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1888. In 1902 he was created a Knight Commander of the Order of Bath, Knight of the Prussian order “Pour lemeite,” Commander of the Crown of Italy, A. W. Hoffmann Medal in gold in Berlin, Germany in 1903, and the Officer of the Legion d'Honneur of France along with the prize of Fr 12,500. He also received the Davy and Longstaff Medals, Honorary Doctorate of Dublin University in Ireland, the British Barnardo Medal and a $5,000 prize from the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. Being a member of numerous science organizations around the world, he served as president of the Chemical Society from 1907 to 1909, and the in 1911 president of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. He was the son of William Ramsay, C.E, and his wife Catherine Robertson and the nephew of the geologist Sir Andrew Ramsay. In 1881 he married Margaret Buchanan and the couple had a son and a daughter. After attending local schools in Scotland, he relocated to Germany in 1870 to study at Rudolph Fittig's Chemistry Laboratory at Tubingen University for two years. His thesis was on orthotoluic acid earning him a PhD in Philosophy. On his return to Scotland in 1872, he became assistant in chemistry at Anderson College in Glasgow for two years, then held the same position at Glasgow University for six years. In 1880, he was appointed Principal and Professor of University College at Bristol. In 1887, he became the Chairman of Inorganic Chemistry at University College in London, remaining until his retirement in 1913. During his career he published numerous papers on his research. As early as 1885, he published papers on the oxides of nitrogen and followed with the discovery of argon, helium, neon, kryton, and xenon. In 1891 he was the first to write textbooks with the periodic classification of elements, “A System of Inorganic Chemistry” and “Elementary Systematic Chemistry for the Use of Schools and Colleges.” He also wrote magazine articles on science with some being published in his “Essay Biographical and Chemical” in 1908. He was strongly supportive of science education, a concern that grew from a negative experience at the University College at Bristol where he was involved in obtaining government funding for college courses in science. Besides science, he had many other interests, including languages, music, and travel. After retirement, he worked in his laboratory at home, did consulting work, and continue to do research especially after the beginning of World War I. Before he died, his health had declined after being diagnosed with cancer. A school in Hazlemere, England was named in his honor.