Robert Andrews Millikan was an eminent American experimental physicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1923 for his work on photoelectric effect. Born in Illinois, he spent his childhood in a rural setting and attended the Maquoketa High School, Iowa. Thereafter, he did his bachelor’s in the Classics from Oberlin College. It was after he enrolled in college, that he grew interested in experimentation and problem solving. In the forthcoming years, he graduated with a master’s degree and doctorate in Physics and went on to pursue a career in science. Throughout his career, Robert Millikan was deeply involved in research, writing and academics. His most significant works in the field of physics include measurement of the elementary electronic charge, determination of the accurate value of Planck’s constant, research on the cosmic rays and understanding the photoelectric effect. As a teacher, he was involved with the University of Chicago and the California Institute of Technology. He authored and co-authored approximately a dozen books and several of his works were later converted to text books and guidebooks.
