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Born John Charlton Polkinghorne
Born John Charlton Polkinghorne on the date of October 16, 1930 in Somerset, England. World renowned english theoretical physicist, theologian, and Anglican priest John Charlton Polkinghorne was the third child of postal worker George Polkinghorne and Dorothy Charlton. His two older siblings Ann and Peter both will pass away relatively early in John's life. -
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Educational Beginnings
John Charlton Polkinghorne education initially started in house by a friend of the family. His educational accomplishment will soon be noted as early the age of 11 when he was transferred from Elmhurst Grammer School to the Pearse School in Cambridge, and continue to span through 1955 in which he earned his PH.D in physics from Cambridge University, until 1974 of where he earned a additional doctorate in theoretical elementary particle physics from Trinity College. -
The Impact of a 1954 Contribute
It's undisputely recognized that it was his first publication of An identity for the S matrix for a finite time interval, Renormalization of the transformation operators of quantum electrodynamics, and Normal products of Heisenberg operators, that first caught the attention of the Royal Society. Polkinghorne JC. Temporally ordered graphs in quantum field theory. Mathematical Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society. 1955;51(1):113-120. doi:10.1017/S0305004100029984 -
1974 Impact For 1997 Knighthood
His research and writings in science were significant enough that
Polkinghorne was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, and knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997 for his significant contribution and services to science, religion, and educational field. -
2002
John Polkinghorne contribution to the scientific community would continue to grow as he delved into the implications of quantum theory, in 1984 he published "The Quantum World," dedicated to his former DAMTP colleagues that gain popularity and was praised by Roger Penrose as approachable without oversimplifying. -
Religion and Science
Even though Danish physicst Niel Bohr has notably been credited with the concept of Complementarity between science and religion, he emphasized the idea that both themes can provide different types of knowledge about the world, both valuable and complementary. In 2002 he will go on to be rewarded the Templeton Prize for his contribution for the affirmation of life's spiritual dimension. -
A Very Short Tribute
In 2002, the book titled "Quantum Theory: A Very Short Introduction" was debuted. John Polkinghorne simple explanation on hard to understand subject matters positivism and realism without using complicated equations would gain global praise amongst the scientific community. -
Philosophy and Method Polkinghorne Approach o Critical Realism
“ Both as a scientist and as a theologian, Polkinghorne looks through the philosophical lens of
critical realism; he believes that our perceptions can constitute a reliable guide to what really is.
In One World, Polkinghorne argues for the inadequacy of non-realist philosophies of science such
..." .[pp. 21-31] Polkinghorne, J., One World: The Interaction of Science and Theology, Templeton Press,
Philadelphia (2007). -
John Charlton Polkinghorne Passing
The late John Charlton Polkinghorne passed away on March 9, 2021 at the age of 90, his cause of death was not publicly released although alot of speculation is purported as to the cause.