Term: Snow, Benjamin Warner 1860 - 1928

Definition: professor, physicist, b. Henry, Ill. He graduated from Cornell Univ. (B.S., 1885) and the Univ. of Berlin, Germany (Ph.D., 1892). In 1893 he came to the Univ. of Wisconsin as professor of physics, serving in that capacity and as chairman of the department of physics from 1893 until his retirement in 1925. A forceful lecturer and stimulating teacher, Snow made physics one of the most popular undergraduate courses on the campus. He also contributed greatly to building a small but strong graduate department of physics emphasizing sustained research. The graduate physics department produced several of the most prominent physicists of the day. After retiring to emeritus status in 1925, Snow continued to make his home in Madison until his death. M. Curti and V. Carstensen, Univ. of Wis. (2 vols., Madison, 1949); R. G. Thwaites, ed., Univ. of Wis. (Madison, 1900); Madison Wis. State journal, Sept. 21, 1928.