COMPTON, ARTHUR HOLLY ), American physicist, was born in Wooster, O., on Sept. io, 1892. Graduating in 1913 at the College of Wooster, he pursued further studies at Princeton university, from which in 1916 he received the degree of doctor of philosophy. He was instructor in physics at the Uni versity of Minnesota in 1916-17, and research physicist for the Westinghouse Light company of East Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1917-19. After a year (1919-2o) of research at Cambridge university, Eng land, he became professor and head of the department of physics in Washington university at St. Louis, Mo. In 1923 he was made professor of physics in the University of Chicago. He made note worthy investigations on the earth's rotation, on the specific heat of solids and especially on X-rays. He measured the wave-length of the hard gamma rays and discovered the change in the wave length of X-rays when scattered and also the total reflection of X-rays. With C. H. Hagenow, he effected the complete polariza tion of X-rays and, with R. L. Doan, obtained X-ray spectra from ruled gratings. In recognition of his achievements in research he was awarded in 1927, jointly with C. T. R. Wilson, of England, the Nobel prize for physics. In addition to numerous scientific articles he published Secondary Radiations Produced by X-rays (1922) and X-rays and Electrons (1926).