Cavendish Professor of Physics became the Cavendish Professor in 1971, the holder was also the head of the Physics Department. There have been nine Cavendish Professors since its inception: Cavendish Professor of Physics The Cavendish Professorship is one of the senior faculty positions in physics at the University of Cambridge. It was founded on 9 February 1871 alongside the famous Cavendish Laboratory, which was completed three years later. William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire endowed both the professorship and laboratory in honor of his relative, chemist and physicist Henry Cavendish. Before the middle of the nineteenth century, science was largely pursued by individuals, either
Cavendish Laboratory of Devonshire had given to Maxwell, as head of the laboratory, the manuscripts of Henry Cavendish's unpublished "Electrical Works". The editing and publishing of these was Maxwell's main scientific work while he was at the laboratory. Cavendish's work aroused Maxwell's intense admiration and he decided to call the Laboratory (formerly known as the Devonshire Laboratory) the Cavendish Laboratory and thus to commemorate both the Duke and Henry Cavendish. Physical Chemistry (originally the department of Colloid Science led by Eric Rideal) had left the old Cavendish site, subsequently locating as the Department of Physical Chemistry (under RG Norrish) in the then