Faculty Hulman Illinois Institute Research Rose Technology University

Faculty Hulman Illinois Institute Research Rose Technology University

Faculty Hulman Illinois Institute Research Rose Technology University

In his well known Millikan oil drop experiment, Robert Andrews Millikan accurately measured the fundamental electronic charge. What are the details of his life?

Millikan's Early Life and Education

Shortly after the end of the American Civil War, Robert Andrews Millikan was born in Morrison, Illinois on March 22, 1868. His father was a minister and much of Millikan's childhood was spent in rural Iowa. He attended high school in Maquoketa, Iowa.

Millikan attended Oberlin College and graduated in 1891 after primarily studying Greek and mathematics. With no one at Oberlin to teach him physics, Millikan learned basic physics on his own. His interest in physics increased when he taught introductory physics for two years after finishing college.