Cherwell, Lord (1886-1957), a German-born British physicist, was an adviser on science and economic affairs to the British statesman Winston Churchill. In 1940, as Churchill’s personal assistant, he exposed the ineffectiveness of British bombing at the beginning of World War II (1939-1945). This observation stimulated the invention of accurate systems of aerial navigation. He also gave an accurate prediction of the flying bomb, a guided missile used by Germany toward the end of the war.
Lord Cherwell was born in Baden-Baden, Germany, on April 5, 1886, and named Frederick Alexander Lindemann. He was educated in Berlin and Paris. At Oxford University, where he was professor from 1919 to 1957, he created a school of low-temperature physics with refugee physicists from Nazi Germany. He carried out research on the spin of aircraft, on meteors, and on chemical reactions. He died on July 3, 1957.
