John Boardman (physicist)
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September 8, 1932
John Boardman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jack Melton Boardman September 8, 1932 Turlock, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 29, 2025 (aged 92) Montgomery Village, Maryland, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago Iowa State University Syracuse University |
| Known for | Science fiction, board games |
| Spouse |
Perdita Lilly Nelson Girsdansky
(died 2017) |
| Children | 2 |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | Quantization of the general theory of relativity. (1962) |
| Doctoral advisor | Peter Bergmann[1] |
Jack Melton "John" Boardman (September 8, 1932 – May 29, 2025) was an American physicist. He was a professor of physics and astronomy at Queens College and then Brooklyn College (where he spent the majority of his career) in New York City; an internationally renowned science fiction fan, author and fanzine publisher; and a gaming authority.
Boardman received his B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1952 and his M.S. from Iowa State University in 1956. He then attended Florida State University to begin his doctoral studies. However, he was expelled in 1957 due to his involvement with the Inter-Civic Council and more specifically for inviting three Black Florida A&M University exchange students to a Christmas party.[2][3]
He ultimately received his Ph.D. in physics from Syracuse University in 1962; his doctoral thesis was titled Quantization of the General Theory of Relativity.[4] His publications include "Spherical Gravitational Waves" (a collaboration with his advisor, Peter Bergmann, who had served as research assistant to Albert Einstein between 1936 and 1941),[5] "Contributions to the Quantization Problem in General Relativity",[6] and "The Normal Modes Of A Hanging Oscillator Of Order N".[7]
Boardman and gaming
Boardman was involved in early play-by-mail (PBM) for the Diplomacy game, and for a small fee he would send copies of each player's turns to every other player involved in a game.[8] He was one of the most noted figures in the game of Diplomacy, having established the original play-by-mail setup in 1961, and also the system of numbering each game for statistical purposes. These numbers, known as Boardman Numbers, include the year and a letter indicating sequence.[9] For instance, 2004A was the first game started in 2004.[10][11][12]
Boardman started the first successful postal Diplomacy zine, Graustark, in 1963 as an offshoot from his science fiction fanzine Knowable.[9] Soon Graustark grew from just a gameturn-report newsletter to a hobby activity similar to science fiction fanzines.[13] Boardman continued to produce Graustark for almost 50 years, publishing issue 793 in June 2013.[14]
