Lyman Spitzer ( born 26.06.1914) is an American astrophysicist and physicist, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1952). He was born in Toledo. He graduated from Yale University (1935). In 1939-42 and 1946-47 he worked at Yale University. From 1947 he has been professor at Princeton University and director of the astronomical observatory (in 1953 —61 director of the Matterhorn stellarator project).
His work is in the fields of space physics, cosmogony and plasma physics. He studied the formation of stars from gas and dust clouds under the influence of magnetic fields. One of the pioneers in the study of controlled thermonuclear fusion, he put forward (1950) the idea of confining high-temperature plasma by a magnetic field. He proposed the stellarator and a number of elements of its design, in particular the divertor (1951), as well as a method of heating plasma — magnetic pumping (1953). In the 1960s and 1970s he carried out the idea of an extra-atmospheric (satellite) telescope.
In 1960 — 62 he was president of the American Astronomical Society. H. Draper Medal (1974), J. Maxwell Prize (1975) and others.