William Frederick Meggers

William Frederick Meggers (July 13, 1888 – November 19, 1966) was an American physicist specialising in spectroscopy.

Born in Clintonville, Wisconsin, he had to combine his early schooling with working on the family farm, but earned a scholarship to Ripon College, receiving a bachelor's degree in physics in 1910 and working as a research assistant.

His work in spectrochemistry is generally credited to have sparked interest in the field in the United States, leading to him being dubbed the Dean of American spectroscopists.

In 1965, Dr. Meggers and his wife, Edith R. Meggers, donated their coin and stamp collections to the American Institute of Physics, for the express purpose of establishing a biennial award program for the improvement of physics teaching at the high school level.

His daughter and oldest child was Betty J. Meggers, who also received her doctorate and became a noted archeologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, specializing in South American pre-Columbian archeology.