John Ambrose Fleming

Sir John Ambrose Fleming (29 November 1849 – 18 April 1945) was an English <a href="/facts/Electrical_engineer/YYXW1KLW">electrical engineer</a> who invented the <a href="/facts/Vacuum_tube/VHd1BNLq">vacuum tube</a>, designed the <a href="/facts/Transmitter/nFYghtKv">radio transmitter</a> with which the first transatlantic radio transmission was made, and also established the <a href="/facts/Right-hand_rule/LJe0Qqh4">right-hand rule</a> used in <a href="/facts/Physics/a7aH2y08">physics</a>.
He was born in <a href="/facts/Lancaster%2c_England/2roYbFnp">Lancaster</a>, Lancashire and was baptised on 11th February 1850, the eldest of seven children of James Fleming DD (died 1879), a <a href="/facts/Congregational_church/bSVbGWM1">Congregational</a> minister, and his wife Mary Ann. A devout Christian, he once preached at <a href="/facts/St_Martin-in-the-Fields/dF6K2rNQ">St Martin-in-the-Fields</a> in London on evidence for the <a href="/facts/Resurrection/XQCQqA0M">resurrection</a>.
In 1932, he and <a href="/facts/Douglas_Dewar/4HYCL6aQ">Douglas Dewar</a> and <a href="/facts/Bernard_Acworth/AD3QexRz">Bernard Acworth</a> helped establish the <a href="/facts/Evolution_Protest_Movement/p504WdJv">Evolution Protest Movement</a>. Fleming bequeathed much of his estate to Christian charities, especially those for the poor. He was a noted photographer, painted watercolours, and enjoyed climbing the <a href="/facts/Alps/Q3zdQId4">Alps</a>.

John Ambrose Fleming open-in-new

John Ambrose Fleming