Robert Ditchburn began undergraduate studies at Liverpool University, obtaining his “ordinary degree” at age 19 in 1922. He then entered Trinity College, Cambridge, where he completed his Ph.D. in 1928. In his last year in Cambridge, he moved to Dublin University as a fellow of Trinity college, but stayed as a professor until 1946. He was elected a Member of the Royal Irish academy in 1930. In 1946, he moved to Reading University, where he stayed until his retirement in 1968.

He was a Fellow of the Physical Society, the Institute of Physics, OSA, and the Royal Society. He was the Chair of many organizations throughout his career, and served on numerous boards. He was awarded many awards as well, including OSA’s C.E.K. Mees Medal in 1983.

Ditchburn passed away in 1987.