Helen Megaw
Irish X-ray crystallographer (1907–2002)
Helen Dick Megaw (1 June 1907 – 26 February 2002) was an Irish crystallographer who was a pioneer in X-ray crystallography. She made measurements of the cell dimensions of ice and established the Perovskite crystal structure.
Education and career
Megaw was born in Dublin to mathematics teacher Annie McElderry (1874-1968) and judge Robert Megaw, two graduates of Queen's University Belfast who were both originally from Ballymoney, Antrim. She was educated at first at Alexandra College in Dublin, and then briefly at Methodist College in Belfast after the family (including younger brother John, later a leading judge) moved back there in 1921, and finally at the Roedean School in England. While still at school, Megaw read Bragg's X-rays and Crystal Structure. She spent a year at Queen's University, Belfast before moving to Girton College, Cambridge to study Natural Sciences in 1926. She graduated in 1930 and was a research student in crystallography under J. D. Bernal. Megaw's first speciality was the structure of ice, and she was awarded her PhD in 1934, and Girton awarded her a Hertha Ayrton research scholarship which she used to study in Vienna in 1934-1935 under Hermann Francis Mark. In 1935 Megaw co-published with Bernal an influential method for fixing the position of hydrogen atoms known as the Bernal-Megaw model. She spent the year 1935–1936 in Oxford with Francis Simon and then spent several years as a schoolteacher before becoming an industrial crystallographer with Philips Lamps in London in 1943.
The public source identifies “Helen Megaw” as irish X-ray crystallographer (1907–2002). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Helen, Megaw and Irish.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Helen Megaw”, the useful work is to connect “irish X-ray crystallographer (1907–2002)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5702829. VIAF identifies the subject as 57609940. The Library of Congress control number is no2013021323. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1907, 2002, 1874 and 1968.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Helen Megaw”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Helen Megaw primary sources, Helen Megaw archive and Helen research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Helen Megaw”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Helen Megaw” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.