(1824–1907) British physicist
Born at Ardrossan in Scotland, Kerr studied at Glasgow University and carried out research work under Lord Kelvin. He taught mathematics at a training college in Glasgow. He is remembered for his work on polarized light, in which he discovered that certain substances placed in a strong electric field exhibit birefringence (the Kerr effect). Kerr also described the behavior of polarized light when reflected from the polished pole of an electromagnet (the Faraday effect).
Scientists. Academic. 2011.