12 Facts About Fred Allison

Fred Allison developed a magneto-optic spectroscopy method that became known as the Allison magneto-optic method.

Fred Allison claimed to have discovered two new elements using this method.

Fred Allison taught at the Auburn University Physics Department for more than thirty years.

Fred Allison erroneously claimed that he had discovered the two missing elements with his magneto-optic spectroscopy.

Fred Allison claimed to have found element 87, now called francium, in pollucite and lepidolite.

Fred Allison claimed to have found element 85, now called astatine, in monazite sand, a mineral which is rich in rare earth elements and thorium.

Fred Allison named the two elements after the American states Virginia and Alabama, virginium and alabamine.

Fred Allison was born in Glade Spring, Virginia July 4,1882 and earned a degree from Emory and Henry College in Emory, Virginia in 1904.

In 1922, Fred Allison was invited to create the physics department of Alabama Polytechnic Institute, which later became Auburn University.

Fred Allison stayed at the Polytechnic Institute for 31 years, until mandatory retirement.

Fred Allison then returned to Emory and Henry College as chair of the science division for three years.

The Fred Allison Laboratory Building was fully demolished by early 2021, while, for currently unknown reasons, construction plans were amended to allow Parker Hall to remain standing.