Edwin F. Taylor

Edwin F. Taylor

1931 - 2025

"Writing textbooks thrilled me… I found breathtaking the power of a well-edited phrase to bring understanding and the way a small handful of fundamentally simple equations embody the mighty physical structure of the universe… I truly felt that to express a beautiful theory with accurate and comprehensive clarity is to 'bring it into being,' at least for the reader."

Our family is sad to announce the passing of Edwin F. Taylor,
who died on April 22, 2025, at the age of 93.

You can find his obituary online here.

Biography

QUICK LINKS: Spacetime Physics, Exploring Black Holes

Edwin F. Taylor (1931-2025) received his A.B. degree from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. degree in physics from Harvard University. He spent most of his professional life in the Department of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He authored influential texts in introductory mechanics, quantum mechanics (with A. P. French), and special and general relativity (with John Archibald Wheeler). These works have educated countless students and continue to be valued resources in the physics community.

Taylor served as Editor of the American Journal of Physics, contributing significantly to physics education literature. Working with MIT students, Paul Horwitz, and Slavomir Tuleja, he developed award-winning educational software that helps students visualize and manipulate the predictions of relativity and quantum mechanics.