BY ROBERT A. ALBERTY

FARRINGTON DANIELS'S EARLY study of the kinetics of the decomposition of nitrogen pentoxide was a classic because for some time it was the only known first order gas reaction, and he used it to refute the then popular radiation hypothesis. He was a leader in the development of kinetics and photochemistry, and, at the same time, was involved in three textbooks that had a major impact on undergraduate instruction in physical chemistry. Farrington was director of the Metallurgical Laboratory at the time of the first testing and use of the atomic bomb, but after the war he turned his attention to solar energy and the promise it offered of pollution-free energy. Because of his good sense and enthusiasm, Farrington's statesmanship was much in demand at the University of Wisconsin, where he spent fifty-two years, in Washington, D.C., and in professional societies.

Farrington Daniels was born on March 9, 1889, son of Franc Birchard Daniels and Florence L. Farrington Daniels, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where his father had a position with American Express and later became district superintendent. He was the oldest of three boys. Farrington was