Sir James Lighthill

Fluid dynamicist and applied mathematician, born in Paris, France. Educated at the University of Cambridge, in 1943 he joined the National Physical Laboratory where he worked on supersonic aerodynamics. He later moved to the University of Manchester before becoming director of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough (1959). In 1964 he took up a post at Imperial College, London, then in 1969 succeeded Paul Dirac as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge. In 1979 he was appointed provost of University College London. He made important contributions to the theory of sound produced aerodynamically, to non-linear acoustics, and to fluid flow in biological systems, such as fish swimming and animal breathing. He was knighted in 1971.