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{{Short description|American physicist and psychologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Leonard T. Troland
| name = Leonard T. Troland
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| birth_date = April 26, 1889
| birth_date = April 26, 1889
| birth_place = [[Norwalk, Connecticut]]
| birth_place = [[Norwalk, Connecticut]]
| death_date = May 1932
| death_date = {{Death-date and age|May 1932|April 26, 1889}}
| death_place =
| death_place =
| residence =
| residence =
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}}
}}
'''Leonard Thompson Troland''' (1889–1932) was an American [[physicist]], [[psychologist]] and [[psychical researcher]].<ref>Roback, A. A. (1932). ''Leonard Thompson Troland''. ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' 76: 26-27.</ref><ref>Beebe-Center, J. G. (1932). ''Leonard Thompson Troland: 1889-1932''. ''[[American Journal of Psychology]]'' 44: 817-820</ref>
'''Leonard Thompson Troland''' (1889–1932) was an American [[physicist]], [[psychologist]] and [[psychical researcher]].<ref>Beebe-Center, J. G. (1932). ''Leonard Thompson Troland: 1889-1932''. ''[[American Journal of Psychology]]'' 44: 817-820</ref><ref>Roback, A. A. (1932). ''Leonard Thompson Troland''. ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'' 76: 26-27.</ref>


==Career==
==Career==


He graduated in 1912 from the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] with a degree in biochemistry. He then studied psychology at [[Harvard University]], where he obtained a Ph.D. in 1915. He worked for a year as a Harvard Travelling fellow at the [[General Electric]] Nela research lab. He served as a member of committees of the National Research Council on vision and aviation psychology. At Harvard, he gave advanced courses in psychology, and he followed up his 1926 book ''The Mystery of Mind'' with ''Fundamentals in Human Motivation'' in 1928. At the same time he was chief engineer of the [[Technicolor]] Motion Picture Corporation of California and was appointed Director of research at Technicolor in 1925.<ref>[http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?id=163060&CFID=11980427&CFTOKEN=16107422 Profile of Leonard T. Troland]</ref>
Troland graduated in 1912 from the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] with a degree in biochemistry. He then studied psychology at [[Harvard University]], where he obtained a Ph.D. in 1915. He worked for a year as a Harvard Travelling fellow at the [[General Electric]] Nela research lab. He served as a member of committees of the National Research Council on vision and aviation psychology. At Harvard, he gave advanced courses in psychology, and he followed up his 1926 book ''The Mystery of Mind'' with ''Fundamentals in Human Motivation'' in 1928. At the same time, he was chief engineer of the [[Technicolor]] Motion Picture Corporation of California and was appointed director of research at Technicolor in 1925.<ref>[http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?id=163060&CFID=11980427&CFTOKEN=16107422 Profile of Leonard T. Troland]</ref>


He was elected to serve as president of the [[Optical Society of America]] from 1922 to 1923.<ref>{{cite news | author = | title =Past Presidents of the Optical Society of America | publisher =Optical Society of America | date = | url =http://www.osa.org/aboutosa/leadership/pastpresidents/default.aspx }}</ref>
He was elected to serve as president of the [[Optical Society of America]] from 1922 to 1923.<ref>{{cite news|title=Past Presidents of the Optical Society of America |publisher=Optical Society of America |url=http://www.osa.org/aboutosa/leadership/pastpresidents/default.aspx |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120044158/http://osa.org/aboutosa/leadership/pastpresidents/default.aspx |archivedate=2009-01-20 }}</ref>


He gave his name to the [[troland]] (symbol '''Td'''), the unit of ''conventional retinal illuminance''. It is meant as a method for correcting [[photometry (optics)|photometric]] measurements of [[luminance]] values impinging on the [[human eye]] by scaling them by the effective [[pupil]] size.
He gave his name to the [[troland]] (symbol '''Td'''), the unit of ''conventional retinal illuminance''. It is meant as a method for correcting [[photometry (optics)|photometric]] measurements of [[luminance]] values impinging on the [[human eye]] by scaling them by the effective [[pupil]] size.
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The [[National Academy of Sciences]] gives an [[Troland Research Awards|award]] on his behalf.
The [[National Academy of Sciences]] gives an [[Troland Research Awards|award]] on his behalf.


In 1932, he fell to his death from Mount Wilson.<ref>{{cite news|title=Harvard Scientist Topples to Death|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19320528&id=o8ggAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qmoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2697,4708276|accessdate=August 28, 2013|newspaper=Lewiston Daily Sun|date=May 28, 1932}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Noted Scientist Killed in Fall Over Precipice|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wKdHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4v4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4983,2060363&dq=leonard+troland&hl=en|accessdate=August 28, 2013|newspaper=Meriden Record|date=May 28, 1932}}</ref><ref>[http://www.osa-opn.org/home/articles/volume_19/issue_7/departments/letters/letters/ Letters Leonard Thompson Troland]</ref>
In 1932, he fell to his death from the observatory near [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena CA]], [[Mount Wilson (California)|Mount Wilson]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Harvard Scientist Topples to Death|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19320528&id=o8ggAAAAIBAJ&pg=2697,4708276|accessdate=August 28, 2013|newspaper=Lewiston Daily Sun|date=May 28, 1932}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Noted Scientist Killed in Fall Over Precipice|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wKdHAAAAIBAJ&pg=4983,2060363&dq=leonard+troland&hl=en|accessdate=August 28, 2013|newspaper=Meriden Record|date=May 28, 1932}}</ref><ref>[http://www.osa-opn.org/home/articles/volume_19/issue_7/departments/letters/letters/ Letters Leonard Thompson Troland]</ref> <ref>{{Cite news |title=TROLAND'S DEATH ACCIDENT; Los Angeles Sheriff Ends Inquiry Into Fall Over Cliff. |language=en |work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.comhttp//timesmachine.content-tagging.us-east-1-01.prd.dvsp.nyt.net/timesmachine/1932/05/29/100749663.html?pageNumber=6 |access-date=2023-12-10}}</ref>


==Psychical research==
==Psychical research==


Troland took interest in [[Parapsychology|psychical research]] and had carried out experiments in [[telepathy]] at [[Harvard University]] which were reported in 1917.<ref>[[Milbourne Christopher|Christopher, Milbourne]]. (1971). ''ESP, Seers & Psychics''. Crowell. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-690-26815-7</ref><ref>Berger, Arthur S. (1988). ''Lives and Letters in American Parapsychology: A Biographical History, 1850-1897''. McFarland. p. 66. ISBN 0-89950-345-4</ref><ref>[[Roger Luckhurst|Luckhurst, Roger]]. (2002). ''The Invention of Telepathy: 1870-1901''. Oxford University Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0199249626</ref><ref>Hannan, Caryn. (2008 edition). ''Connecticut Biographical Dictionary''. State History Publications. p. 526. "On his return to Harvard in 1916, one of his first enterprises was an investigation of telepathy in the psychology laboratory, which gave negative results."</ref> He was one of the first scientists to use a machine in this type of experiment instead of a human experimenter. The machine consisted of a [[lamp]] which when triggered would light either of two square blocks. The agent would attempt to perceive the light in one room while the receiver would use a switch to identify which lamp had been lit in the other room. Troland discovered that the subjects had produced below chance expectations.<ref>Asprem, Egil. (2014). ''The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900-1939''. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 362-364. ISBN 978-9004251922</ref>
Troland took interest in [[Parapsychology|psychical research]] and had carried out experiments in [[telepathy]] at [[Harvard University]] which were reported in 1917.<ref>[[Milbourne Christopher|Christopher, Milbourne]]. (1971). ''ESP, Seers & Psychics''. Crowell. p. 19. {{ISBN|978-0-690-26815-7}}</ref><ref>Berger, Arthur S. (1988). ''Lives and Letters in American Parapsychology: A Biographical History, 1850-1897''. McFarland. p. 66. {{ISBN|0-89950-345-4}}</ref><ref>[[Roger Luckhurst|Luckhurst, Roger]]. (2002). ''The Invention of Telepathy: 1870-1901''. Oxford University Press. p. 269. {{ISBN|978-0199249626}}</ref><ref>Hannan, Caryn. (2008 edition). ''Connecticut Biographical Dictionary''. State History Publications. p. 526. {{ISBN|1-878592-72-6}} "On his return to Harvard in 1916, one of his first enterprises was an investigation of telepathy in the psychology laboratory, which gave negative results."</ref> He was one of the first scientists to use a machine in this type of experiment instead of a human experimenter. The machine consisted of a [[Lamp (electrical component)|lamp]] which when triggered would light either of two square blocks. The agent would attempt to perceive the light in one room while the receiver would use a switch to identify which lamp had been lit in the other room. Troland discovered that the subjects had produced below chance expectations.<ref>Asprem, Egil. (2014). ''The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900-1939''. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 362-364. {{ISBN|978-9004251922}}</ref>


==Publications==
==Publications==
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==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
* [http://www.opticsinfobase.org/josa/journal/josa/20prez.cfm Articles Published by early OSA Presidents] – Journal of the Optical Society of America
* [http://www.opticsinfobase.org/josa/journal/josa/20prez.cfm Articles Published by early OSA Presidents] – Journal of the Optical Society of America
*[http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/awards/troland-research-awards.html Trolands Research Awards]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130126003831/http://www.nasonline.org/about-nas/awards/troland-research-awards.html Trolands Research Awards]
*[http://docmadhattan.fieldofscience.com/2014/01/leonard-troland-and-story-of-photons.html Leonard Troland and the Story of the Photon's Name]
*[http://docmadhattan.fieldofscience.com/2014/01/leonard-troland-and-story-of-photons.html Leonard Troland and the Story of the Photon's Name]


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[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:1932 deaths]]
[[Category:Opticians]]
[[Category:20th-century American physicists]]
[[Category:American physicists]]
[[Category:20th-century American psychologists]]
[[Category:American psychologists]]
[[Category:Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:American parapsychologists]]
[[Category:Optical physicists]]
[[Category:Presidents of Optica (society)]]
[[Category:Parapsychologists]]
[[Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Optical Society]]
[[Category:American optical physicists]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni]]

Latest revision as of 10:36, 6 April 2024

Leonard T. Troland
BornApril 26, 1889
Norwalk, Connecticut
DiedMay 1932 (1932-06) (aged 43)
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics, psychology

Leonard Thompson Troland (1889–1932) was an American physicist, psychologist and psychical researcher.[1][2]

Career[edit]

Troland graduated in 1912 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in biochemistry. He then studied psychology at Harvard University, where he obtained a Ph.D. in 1915. He worked for a year as a Harvard Travelling fellow at the General Electric Nela research lab. He served as a member of committees of the National Research Council on vision and aviation psychology. At Harvard, he gave advanced courses in psychology, and he followed up his 1926 book The Mystery of Mind with Fundamentals in Human Motivation in 1928. At the same time, he was chief engineer of the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation of California and was appointed director of research at Technicolor in 1925.[3]

He was elected to serve as president of the Optical Society of America from 1922 to 1923.[4]

He gave his name to the troland (symbol Td), the unit of conventional retinal illuminance. It is meant as a method for correcting photometric measurements of luminance values impinging on the human eye by scaling them by the effective pupil size.

The National Academy of Sciences gives an award on his behalf.

In 1932, he fell to his death from the observatory near Pasadena CA, Mount Wilson.[5][6][7] [8]

Psychical research[edit]

Troland took interest in psychical research and had carried out experiments in telepathy at Harvard University which were reported in 1917.[9][10][11][12] He was one of the first scientists to use a machine in this type of experiment instead of a human experimenter. The machine consisted of a lamp which when triggered would light either of two square blocks. The agent would attempt to perceive the light in one room while the receiver would use a switch to identify which lamp had been lit in the other room. Troland discovered that the subjects had produced below chance expectations.[13]

Publications[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Beebe-Center, J. G. (1932). Leonard Thompson Troland: 1889-1932. American Journal of Psychology 44: 817-820
  2. ^ Roback, A. A. (1932). Leonard Thompson Troland. Science 76: 26-27.
  3. ^ Profile of Leonard T. Troland
  4. ^ "Past Presidents of the Optical Society of America". Optical Society of America. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20.
  5. ^ "Harvard Scientist Topples to Death". Lewiston Daily Sun. May 28, 1932. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  6. ^ "Noted Scientist Killed in Fall Over Precipice". Meriden Record. May 28, 1932. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  7. ^ Letters Leonard Thompson Troland
  8. ^ "TROLAND'S DEATH ACCIDENT; Los Angeles Sheriff Ends Inquiry Into Fall Over Cliff". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
  9. ^ Christopher, Milbourne. (1971). ESP, Seers & Psychics. Crowell. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-690-26815-7
  10. ^ Berger, Arthur S. (1988). Lives and Letters in American Parapsychology: A Biographical History, 1850-1897. McFarland. p. 66. ISBN 0-89950-345-4
  11. ^ Luckhurst, Roger. (2002). The Invention of Telepathy: 1870-1901. Oxford University Press. p. 269. ISBN 978-0199249626
  12. ^ Hannan, Caryn. (2008 edition). Connecticut Biographical Dictionary. State History Publications. p. 526. ISBN 1-878592-72-6 "On his return to Harvard in 1916, one of his first enterprises was an investigation of telepathy in the psychology laboratory, which gave negative results."
  13. ^ Asprem, Egil. (2014). The Problem of Disenchantment: Scientific Naturalism and Esoteric Discourse, 1900-1939. Brill Academic Publishers. pp. 362-364. ISBN 978-9004251922

External links[edit]

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