ABSTRACT
Blackett’s scientific interests had been evident in his boyhood and throughout his naval career. Further, the emphasis on mathematics, engineering and science during his four years at Osborne and Dartmouth had suited him well. In the closing months of the First World War, as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy on active service in the Channel and North Sea, he had begun to study mathematics again, to read scientific textbooks; he also wrote to London University and to the instrument firm of Barr & Stroud seeking a post-war career.
