Thomas Young (1773-1829)

• English physician, physicist and child prodigy.

• Translated Rosetta Stone

• Did a crucial experiment proving light is a wave.

Previous slide

Next slide

Back to first slide

View graphic version

This is a painting of the man who discovered light is a wave. He did it in the same year Ohio became a state. His famous experiment, illustrated at lower right, showed that light exhibits both diffraction and interference.

Young is also famous for his contribution to translating the famous Rosetta Stone, which was the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics.