Thomas Erle Faber (25 April 1927 – 27 July 2004) was a physicist and publisher, and he was a university lecturer at Cambridge for 35 years. ^[1]

Early life and education

Thomas Faber was born in London in 1927, the son of Sir Geoffrey Faber, a don at All Souls College, Oxford, and also the co-founder of the publishing house that later became Faber and Faber. ^[2] His maternal grandfather, Sir Erle Richards, was the former Chichele Professor of Public International Law, Oxford. ^[1] Tom studied at the Dragon School, Oxford and Oundle. He won a scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1945, where he studied Natural Sciences with a specialty in physics. He moved to Corpus Christi College in 1953, where he became a Fellow, a position he held for the rest of his life. ^[1]

Career

He was a lecturer in physics at the University of Cambridge from 1959 until 1993. ^[3] He was a Life Fellow, Praelector Rhetoricus from 1956 until 1962, and the Treasurer from 1963 until 1975 at Corpus Christi College. ^[4]

Research

Faber's academic research focused on three areas; superconductivity, liquid metals and liquid crystals. He worked together with John Ziman to develop a theory of liquid metals. ^[2]

Personal life

Faber had two sons and two daughters from his first wife, Penelope Morton, who died in 1983; and one son and one daughter with his second wife Elisabeth van Houts, whom he married in 1986. ^[2]

References