Early History of Physics with Accelerators

The early history of physics at accelerators is reviewed, with emphasis on three experiments which have had a profound influence on our view of the structure o f matter: The Franck and Hertz experiment demonstrating the mechanism of atomic spectra, the Cockcroft and Walton experiment opening practical ways of studying nuclear dipintegration, and the discovery of the A* isobar of the proton by Fermi and collaborators, revealing structure in the nucleon. Fermi's work is illustrated by pages from his notebooks.