Harold Jeffreys

Harold Jeffreys was a British mathematician, astronomer, statistician, and seismologist born in England in 1891. He worked at the University of Cambridge, the Cavendish Laboratory, and the Met Office, holding the position of Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy. He was educated at Durham University, St John's College, Newcastle University, and the University of Cambridge. His doctoral advisor was H. F. Baker, and his notable work includes the Jeffreys prior.

Jeffreys was a member of the Royal Society, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Sciences. He received the Copley Medal, the Royal Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Vetlesen Prize. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics. He married Bertha Swirles and had doctoral students including Hermann Bondi, Sydney Goldstein, and Michael S. Longuet-Higgins. He died in Cambridge in 1989.