Did you know that British astrophysicist and mathematician, Edward Arthur Milne, was a former student at Hymers College?

He was born in Hull in 1896 and started his education at Hymers College at the age of 12 years old in 1908.  He won an open scholarship in mathematics and natural science to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he gained the largest number of marks ever been awarded in an exam.

After serving as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve during the First World War, his scientific and teaching career saw his work concerned with the theory of relativity and cosmology. However, his work on the interior structure of stars caused controversy.

Milne was President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1943 to 1945, shortly after his research led him to offer an alternative to Albert Einstein's general relativity theory, with kinematic relativity.  He now has a crater on the Moon named after him.

During his career, Milne received many awards:

• MBE (1918)
• Smith's Prize (1922)
• Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1935)
• Royal Society's Royal Medal (1941)
• Bruce Medal (1945)

He now has a commemorative blue plaque attached to the main gates of Hymers College in his honour.