Leon mestel biography

Leon Mestel (5 August – 15 September ) was an Australian astronomer and astrophysicist and Emeritus Professor at the University of Sussex. His research interests were in the areas of star formation and structure, especially stellar magnetism and astrophysical magnetohydrodynamics.

He was awarded both the Eddington Medal () and the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (for Astronomy, ).

Leon mestel biography wikipedia

Following his retirement, he wrote several obituaries and biographical articles on physicists and astrophysicists.

Early life and family

Leon Mestel was born on 5 August in Melbourne, Australia to Solomon Mestel, a rabbi and Rachel (née Brodetsky), a schoolteacher and sister of Selig Brodetsky.

With his family, he migrated to England at the age of three, where he lived in Forest Gate, east London. He was educated at West Ham Secondary School, London, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he obtained his BA in and his PhD in

He married Sylvia Louise Cole (d.

)