Douglas Rayner Hartree (27.03.1897-12.02.1958) was an English theoretical physicist and mathematician and a Fellow of the Royal Society (1932). He was born in Cambridge. In 1926 he received the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge, where he worked. In 1929-46 he was a professor at Manchester University, and from 1946 at the University of Cambridge.
His work was in the field of numerical mathematical analysis, quantum theory, atomic structures, computing machines and the propagation of radio waves. In 1928 he developed the self-consistent field method, later extended by V. A. Fock (the Hartree — Fock method), which is of great importance in the quantum theory of many bodies. He applied his method to the calculation of the wave functions of many-electron atoms, and also to problems of ballistics, atmospheric physics and hydrodynamics. He introduced a mathematical definition of the quantity of information (1928). He built the first differential analyser in England and was a pioneer in introducing digital computing machines in England.