Fred White (physicist)

Sir Frederick William George White KBE FAA FRS (26 May 1905 – 17 August 1994) was a New Zealand-born Australian physicist and ornithologist who was Chairman of CSIRO from 1959 to 1970.^[2][3][4][5]

Sir Fred White KBE FAA FRS
Chairman of the CSIRO
In office 1 July 1959 – 22 May 1970
Preceded by	Ian Clunies Ross
Succeeded by	Jerry Price
Chief Executive of the CSIRO
In office 19 May 1949 – 13 December 1956
Preceded by	A E V Richardson
Succeeded by	Stewart Bastow
Personal details
Born	Frederick William George White (1905-05-26)May 26, 1905[1]
Died	August 7, 1994(1994-08-07) (aged 89)
Spouse	Elizabeth White

White (centre) at the Regional Meeting of National Scientific Research Organisations in 1964 with Senator John Gorton (minister-in-charge of the CSIRO) and UNESCO Director-General René Maheu

Education and early life

White was born in 1905 in Johnsonville. He received his education at Wellington College and Victoria University College. Due to his academic performance, he won a scholarship from the University of New Zealand, and this award enabled him to attend St John's College, Cambridge, where he studied under Ernest Rutherford.^{[citation needed]}

Career and research

He taught at King's College London from 1932, and was lecturer at Canterbury College in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 1937. During World War II, White worked on secret projects developing radar in New Zealand and Australia.^[2]

Awards and honours

In the 1954 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).^[6] In the 1962 Birthday Honours, this was elevated to the class of Knight Commander of the same order (KBE).^[7][8]

Personal life

White died in Melbourne on 17 August 1994. His wife Elizabeth had died two years prior.^[2]