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Humble beginnings
John Charlton Polkinghorne was born in Weston-Super-Mare, England to George Polkinghorne, a post master and Dorothy Charlton, a grooms daughter. John was the youngest of three children, his siblings being Peter and Ann both of which he outlived.O’Connor, J.J., Robertson, E.F.. “John Charlton Polkinghorne”. School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, July 2008, Available at: https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Polkinghorne/
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Trinity College, Cambridge
Mr. Polkinghorne received a scholarship to Trinity College due to his excelling at mathematics and physics at Perse School in Cambridge.Taylor, J.C., Wilkinson, D.A. “John Charlton Polkinghorn KBE.” Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc., vol. 72, pp.293-309, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2021.0044
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Many opportunities
After marrying Ruth Martin, and receiving his PHD, Dr. Polkinghorne was elected to a fellowship at Trinity College. By years end, Mr. Polkinghorne took up a postdoctoral Harkness Fellowship at the California Institute of Technology and was offered of a lectureship in theoretical physics in Edinburgh, Scotland, to which he accepted.Taylor, J.C., Wilkinson, D.A. “John Charlton Polkinghorn KBE.” Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc., vol. 72, pp.293-309, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2021.0044
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University of Cambridge
Polkinghorne was professor of mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge. He contributed to mathematical foundations in particle physics which got him elected a fellow of the Royal Society. His work contributed to the discovery of quarks and gluons, the foundational particles to protons and neutrons in Scatter matrix.Taylor, J.C., Wilkinson, D.A. “John Charlton Polkinghorn KBE.” Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc., vol. 72, pp.293-309, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2021.0044
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Priesthood
Mr. Polkinghorne resigned his position in physics to start training in the Anglican ministry at Westcott House in Cambridge. This was not because he had lost interest in the science field but in an indirect effort to educate himself on the principles of theology through immersion.Taylor, J.C., Wilkinson, D.A. “John Charlton Polkinghorn KBE.” Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc., vol. 72, pp.293-309, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2021.0044
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Back to academe
Dr. Polkinghorne leaves the seminary to return to the science world by way of Dean of Chapel at Trinity Hall and most notably President of Queens' College where he is acknowledged for more than 30 books and 40 articles on science and Christian theology and ultimately retires from in 1996.Taylor, J.C., Wilkinson, D.A. “John Charlton Polkinghorn KBE.” Biogr. Mems Fell. R. Soc., vol. 72, pp.293-309, 2022, https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbm.2021.0044
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Wins Templeton Prize
Mr. Polkinghorne wins Templeton Prize, a prize awarded to those "who exemplifies Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision; harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest questions of the universe and humankind's place and purpose within it."(Rolnick)Rolnick, Philip. “In Memoriam: John Polkinghorne—A Life Well Lived.” Logos (Saint Paul, Minn.), vol. 24, no. 4, 2021, pp. 21–26, https://doi.org/10.1353/log.2021.0024
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Autobiography
He looks back on his journeys into both disciplines of physics and theology, from a human angle, including the formative experiences and key relationships he experienced as a child, an undergraduate, graduate and beyond into university teaching, family life, priesthood and writing. -
Death
John Polkinghorne died in Cambridge, England at the age of ninety having lived a fulfilling and prosperous life showing selflessness and a true sense of humbleness, all attributes of a true scientist.