THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
MEMOIRS
OF THE
DISTINGUISHED MEN OF SCIENCE
OF GREAT BRITAIN
LIVING IN THE YEAES 1807-8,
AND APPENDIX.
.
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
ROBERT HUJSTT, F.R.S., &c.
COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY
WILLIAM WALKER, JUNIOR.
The evil, that men do, lives after them ;
The good is oft interred with their bones."
SHAXJSPBABE.
LONDON:
E. & F. N. SPON, 16, BUCKLERSBURY.
1864.
LOXDOH :
W. DAVY AKD SOW, PRINTERS, GILBERT STREET,
OXFORD STREET, W.
QIH-I
CONTENTS.
PAGE
ALLEN, WILLIAM . . . . . . . . . . . . I
DAILY, FRANCIS .. .. .. .. .. 2
BANKS, SIK JOSEPH . . . . . . . . . . 4
BENTHAM, BRIGADIER- GENERAL SIR SAMUEL .. .. 7
BOULTON, MATTHEW .. .. .. .. ..13
BRAMAH, JOSEPH .. .. .. .. .. 15
BROWN, EGBERT . . . . . . . . . . 18
BRUNEL, SIR MARK ISAMBARD . . . . . . . . 21
CARTWRIGHT, REV. DR. EDMUND .. .. .. ..24
CAVENDISH, HON. HENRY . . . . . . . . 27
CHAPMAN, WILLIAM . . . . . . . . 30
CONGREVE, SIR WILLIAM .. .. .. .. 34
CROMPTON, SAMUEL . . . . . . . . 35
DALTON, JOHN . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
DAVY, SIR HUMPHRY . . . . . . . . 44
DOLLOND, PETER .. .. .. .. .. 49
DONKIN, BRYAN . . . . . . . . . . 51
FRODSHAM, WILLIAM JAMES . . . . . . . . 53
GILBERT, DAVIES GIDDY . . . . . . . . 53
HATCHETT, CHARLES . . . . . . . . . . 56
HENRY, DR. WILLIAM . . . . . . . . 58
HERSCHEL, SIR WILLIAM . . . , . . . . 61
HOWARD, EDWARD CHARLES . . . . . . 63
HUDDART, CAPTAIN JOSEPH . . . . . . . . 64
JENNER, DR. EDWARD . . . . . . . . 67
JESSOP, WILLIAM .. .. .. .. .* 72
KATER, CAPTAIN HENRY .. .. .. .. ..75
M367898
vi CONTENTS.
PAGE
LESLIE, SIR JOHN . . . . . . 77
MASKELYNE, DR. NEVIL . . . . . . . . 81
MAUDSLAY, HENRY
MILLER, PATRICK .. .. .. .. ..86
MURDOCK, WILLIAM .. ... .. 87
MYLNE, ROBERT . . . - . . . . 90
NAYSMITH, ALEXANDER ..
PLAYPAIR, JOHN .. .. .. .. ..92
RENNIE, JOHN . . . . . . . . 96
RONALDS, FRANCIS .. .. .. .. 99
RUMPORD, COUNT
RUTHERFORD, DR. DANIEL . . . . . . . . . . 107
SMITH, WILLIAM .. .. .. 107
STANHOPE, CHARLES, EARL .. .. .. .. ..112
SYMINGTON, WILLIAM .. .. .. .. .. 114
TELFORD, THOMAS .. .. .. .- .. ..117
TENNANT, CHARLES .. .. .. .. .. 122
THOMSON, DR. THOMAS .. .. .. .. .. 124
TREVITHICK, RICHARD .. .. .. .. .. 126
TROUGHTON, EDWARD .. .. .. .. ..132
WATSON, RICHARD, BISHOP OF LLANDAFF . . . . . . 134
WATT, JAMES .. .. .. .. .. ..137
WOLLASTON, DR. WILLIAM H. .. .. .. .. 142
YOUNG, DR. THOMAS .. .. .. .. ..145
APPENDIX.
BLACK, DR. JOSEPH . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
CORT, HENRY .. .. .. .. .. .. 152
IVORY, JAMES .. .. .. .. .. .. 155
PRIESTLY, JOSEPH .. .. .. .. .. 157
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION.
THE following brief memoirs were originally compiled for
the purpose of accompanying the Engraving of " The
Distinguished Men of Science of Great Britain living in
1807-8, assembled at the Royal Institution." As, however,
" The Memoirs" were found to have a considerable sale,
independent of the Engraving, it has been found necessary
to produce a second edition. All the lives have been care-
fully revised, and considerable additions made, while, in
order to render the present book a more complete com-
pendium of the great men of that period, an Appendix
has been added, containing the Memoirs of Black, Cort,
Ivory, and Priestly, who unfortunately were, from dif-
ferent reasons, unable to be included in the group in the
Engraving.
With the exception of the notices of Trevithick, Ten-
nant, Maudslay, Francis Ronalds, and one or two more,
these memoirs necessarily contain little information which
has not been previously published in some shape or other.
The authorities from which the present particulars have
been taken are given at the end of each memoir ; and the
writer claims no further merit than that of having com-
piled and arranged the works of others, whose language,
in most cases, it would indeed be presumption in him to
alter, further than was necessary to present to the public
in a clear, brief, and (it is hoped) readable form, the doings
of men who must ever be held in the grateful remembrance
of their country.
INTKODUCTION.
THE influences of human thought on the physical forces
which regulate the great phenomena of the universe,
and the operation of the powers of mind, on the material
constituents of the planet, which is man's abiding place,
form subjects for studies which have a most exalting
tendency. Thought has made the subtile element of the
thunderstorm man's most obedient messenger. Thought
has solicited the sunbeam to betray its secrets ; and an
invisible agent, controlled by light, delineates external
nature at man's request. Thought has subdued the wild
impulses of fire, and heat is made the willing ' power to
propel our trains of carriages with a bird-like speed, and
to urge in proud independence of winds or tides our
noble ships from shore to shore. Thought has penetrated
the arcana of nature, and, by learning her laws, has
imitated her works. Thus, Chemistry takes a crude mass,
rejected as unworthy and offensive, it recombines its
constituent parts, and gives us, the grateful odours of the
sweetest flowers, and tinctures which rival nature in the
intensity and the beauty of its dyes.
No truth was ever developed to man, in answer to his
laborious toils, which did not sooner or later benefit the
race. Every such development has been the result of the
continuous efforts of an individual mind; therefore it is
that we desire to possess some memorial of the men to
whom we are indebted.
INTRODUCTION. Vll
We have advanced to our present position in the scale
of nations by the efforts of a few chosen minds. Every
branch of human industry has been benefited by the
discoveries of science. The discoverers are therefore
deserving of that hero-worship which, sooner or later,
they receive from all.
The following pages are intended to convey to the
general reader a brief but correct account of the illustrious
dead, whose names are for ever associated with one of the
most brilliant eras in British science. It will be remem-
bered that, in the earliest years of the present century,
the world witnessed the control and application of steam
by Watt, Symington and Trevithick ; the great disco-
veries in physics and chemistry by Dalton, Cavendish,
Wollaston and Davy, in astronomy by Herschel, Mas-
kelyne and Baily; the inventions of the spinning-mule
and power-loom by Crompton and Cartwright ; the in-
troduction of machinery into the manufacture of paper,
by Bryan Donkin and others; the improvements in the
printing-press, and invention of stereotype printing, by
Charles Earl Stanhope ; the discovery of vaccination by
Jenner ; the introduction of gas into general use by
Murdock ; and the construction (in a great measure) of
the present system of canal communication by Jessop,
Chapman, Telford and Rennie. During the same period
of time were likewise living Count Rumford ; Robert
Brown, the botanist; William Smith, "The Father of
English Geology;" Thomas Young, the natural philo-
sopher; Brunei; Bentham; Maudslay; and Francis Ro-
nalds, who, by securing perfect insulation, was the first
to demonstrate the practicability of passing an electric
Vlll INTRODUCTION.
message through a lengthened space ; together with many
others, the fruits of whose labours we are now reaping.
The following pages briefly record the births, deaths,
and more striking incidents in the lives of those bene-
factors to mankind.
" Lives of great men all remind us we may make our
lives sublime." The truth of this is strongly enforced in
the brief memoirs which are included in this volume.
They teach us that mental power, used judiciously and
applied with industry, is capable of producing vast changes
in the crude productions of Nature. Beyond this, they
instruct us that men, who fulfil the commands of the
Creator and employ their minds, in unwearying efforts to
subdue the Earth, are rarely unrewarded. They aid in
the march of civilization, and they ameliorate the con-
ditions of humanity. They win a place amongst the great
names which we reverence, and each one
" becomes like a star
" From the abodes where the Eternals are."
EGBERT HUNT.
WILLIAM ALLEN, F.R.S.
Born August 29, 1770. Died December 30, 1843.
William Allen, the eminent chemist, was born in London. His
father was a silk manufacturer in Spitalfields, and a member of the
Society of Friends. Having at an early period shown a predilection
for chemical and other pursuits connected with medicine, William
was placed in the establishment of Mr. Joseph Gurney Bevan in
Plough Court, Lombard Street, where he acquired a practical know-
ledge of chemistry. He eventually succeeded to the business, which
he carried on in connection with Mr. Luke Howard, and obtained great
reputation as a pharmaceutical chemist. About the year 1804, Mr.
Allen was appointed lecturer on chemistry and experimental philo-
sophy at Guy's Hospital, at which institution he continued to be
engaged more or less until the year 1827. He was also connected
with the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and was concerned in
some of the most exact experiments of the day, together with Davy,
Babington, Marcet, Luke Howard, and Dalton. In conjunction with
his friend Mr. Pepys, Allen entered upon his well known chemical
investigations, which established the proportion of Carbon in Car-
bonic Acid, and proved the identity of the diamond with charcoal ;
these discoveries are recorded in the ' Philosophical Transactions'
of the Royal Society, of which he became a member in 1807. The
' Transactions' for 1829 also contain a paper by him, based on elabo-
rate experiments and calculations, concerning the changes produced
by respiration on atmospheric air and other gases. Mr. Allen was
mainly instrumental in establishing the Pharmaceutical Society, of
which he was president at the time of his death. Besides his public
labours as a practical chemist, he pursued with much delight, in his
hours of relaxation, the study of astronomy, and was one of the
original members of the Royal Astronomical Society. In connec-
tion with this science, he published, in 1815, a small work entitled
' A Companion to the Transit Instrument.'
Many years before his death Mr. Allen withdrew from business,
and purchased an estate near Lindfield, Sussex. Here while still
engaged in public schemes of usefulness and benevolence, he also
carried out various philanthropic plans for the improvement of his
immediate dependants, and poorer neighbours. He erected com-
modious cottages on his property, with an ample allotment of land
to each cottage, and established Schools at Lindfield for boys, girls,
and infants, with workshops, outhouses, and play-grounds. About
B
2 BAILY.
three acres of land were cultivated on the most approved system by
the boarders, who also took a part in household work. The subjects
taught were land-surveying, mapping, the elements of Botany, the
use of the barometer, rain-gauge, &c., and there was a good library
with various scientific and useful apparatus.
Mr. Allen died at Lindfield, the scene of his zealous benevolence,
in the seventy-fourth year of his age. English Cyclopaedia, London,
1856. Monthly notices of the Royal Ast. Soc. vol. 6, Feb., 1844.
FRANCIS BAILY, F.R.S. &c.
Born April 28, 1774. Died August 30, 1844.
This eminent English astronomer was born at Newbury in Berk-
shire, and received his education at the school of the Rev. Mr. Best
of that town, where he early showed a propensity to physical inquiry,
obtaining among his schoolmates the nickname of ' the Philosopher
of Newbury.' Francis Baily quitted this school, when fourteen years
old, for a house of business in the city of London, and remained there
until his twenty-second year, when, desirous of the enlargement of
views which travel affords, he embarked for America in 1795. Mr.
Baily remained there nearly three years, travelling over the whole
of the United States and through much of the western country, ex-
periencing at various times great hardships and privations.
Shortly after his return to England he commenced business in
London as a stockbroker, and was taken into partnership by a Mr.
Whitmore, in the year 1799. While engaged in this business he pub-
lished several works on Life Annuities, one of which, entitled ' The
Doctrine of Life Annuities and Insurances analytically investigated
and explained,' was published in 1810, with an appendix in 1813,
continuing to this day to be a standard work on the subject, and it
may serve to give some idea of the estimation in which it was
held, to mention, that when out of print, copies used to sell for four
to five times their original value.
Although Mr. Baily was thus actively devoting himself to matters
of a direct commercial interest, he was still able to find time for
works of a more general nature : in 1810 he wrote his first astro-
nomical paper on the celebrated Solar Eclipse, said to have been
predicted by Thales, published in the 'Philosophical Transactions
for 1811, and in 1813 published a work entitled 'An Epitome of
Universal History.' Astronomy, however, was his chief pursuit;
and shortly after the celebrated fraud of De Beranger on the Stock Ex-
change in 1814, (in the detection and exposure of which Baily had
BAILY. 3
a considerable share), this science absorbed more and more of his
attention. His accounts of the Eclipse of 1820 ; of the Annular
Eclipse of 1836, which he observed at Jedburgh ; and the Total
Eclipse of July 8, 1842, with its marvellous revelation of the rose-
coloured protuberances of the solar atmosphere, since known as
' Baily's Beads,' are among the most interesting and classical of his
writings.
In January, 1823, the Royal Astronomical Society was founded,
chiefly through the suggestions of Francis Baily and Dr. Pearson,
and for the first three years of its existence Mr. Baily filled the
office of Secretary, sparing no exertions on its behalf, watching over
its early progress with paternal care, and as the Society grew and
prospered, contributing to its transactions many copious and valuable
papers.
In 1825 Baily retired from the Stock Exchange, having acquired
a considerable fortune, and shortly afterwards took a house in
Tavistock Place, giving his whole attention to the furtherance of
astronomical science. Here, he executed that grand series of labours
which has perpetuated his name, and the building in which the
Cavendish experiment of weighing the earth was repeated, its
bulk and figure determined, and the standard of British measure
perpetuated, must continue to be a source of interest to scientific
men for many generations to come. The chief works to which
Mr. Baily devoted himself during this later portion of his life are:
1 . The Remodelling of the Nautical Almanac.
2. The Determination of the length of the Seconds Pendulum.
3. The Fixation of the Standard of Length.
4. The Determination of the Density of the Earth.
5. The Revision of the Catalogues of the Stars.
6. The Reduction of Lacaille's and Lalande's Catalogues ; and
7. The Formation of a New Standard Catalogue.
The benefits which not only astronomy but all England have de-
rived from these laborious investigations, can hardly be too much
appreciated. But a short time elapsed, after Baily had completed
his observations on the pendulum, and determined the standard of
length, being thereby enabled to compare his new scale with the
imperial standard yard, when the conflagration of the Houses of
Parliament in 1834 took place, and both the latter standard, and the
original one by Bird (that of 1758) were destroyed. When it is
considered that Baily's repetition of the Cavendish Experiment in-
volved untiring watching for more than 1200 hours, and this, too,
by one who in early life seemed only able to find food for his vigor-
ous mind amidst the hardships and fatigues of travel, it affords a
remarkable instance how a man, active and full of ardour in early
youth, can yet be enabled, by the strength of his character, to con-
centrate the full force of his powers upon a series of researches ap-
parently the most wearying and full of disappointment, an example
B 2
4 BANKS.
well fitted for the earnest consideration of all who imagine that the
energies of their minds can alone be satisfied by stirring scenes or
a life full of activity and adventure. Mr. Baily's last public appear-
ance was at Oxford, to which place he went with some difficulty, to
receive the honorary degree of Doctor of Civil Law. He was dis-
tinguished by great industry, which was made more effective by his
methodical habits ; and also by a suavity of manner which greatly
enlarged the circle of his friends. In fact, Mr. Baily effected in the
last 20 years of his life, a greater number of complete and refined
researches than most other philosophers have accomplished during
a whole lifetime. Memoir of Francis Baily, by Sir John Herschel,
Bart. London, 1856.
SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BART., C.B,, P.R.S.
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, ETC.
Born February 12, 1743. Died June 19, 1820.
Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society for upwards of
forty years, was born in Argyle Street, London, He was the eldest
son of Mr. W. Banks, a gentleman of considerable landed property,
whose family was originally of Swedish extraction, although it had
been settled in England for several generations. The early life of
Joseph Banks was passed principally at Revesby Hall, his father's
seat in Lincolnshire, and his education was for several years en-
trusted to a private tutor ; in his ninth year he was sent to Harrow
and four years after to Eton, from whence he proceeded to Christ's
College, Oxford.
During his residence at college, he made considerable progress in
classical knowledge, but evinced at the same time a decided predi-
lection for the study of natural history. Botany in particular was
his favourite occupation, and one to which his leisure hours were
devoted with enthusiastic ardour and perseverance. An anecdote is
told of Mr. Banks being on one occasion so intent on exploring
ditches and secluded spots, in search of rare plants, as to have
excited the suspicions of some countrymen, who, conceiving that
he could have no innocent design in acting thus, seized the young
naturalist, when he had fallen asleep exhausted with fatigue, and
brought him as a suspected thief before a neighbouring magistrate.
After a strict investigation he was soon liberated, but the incident
occasioned much amusement in the neighbourhood.
In the year 1761 Mr. Banks lost his father, and in 1764, on coming
BANKS. 5
of age, was put in possession of his valuable estates in Lincolnshire.
Mrs. Banks, soon after the death of her husband, removed with her
family from Lincolnshire to Chelsea, as a spot likely to afford her
son Joseph peculiar advantages in the study of botany, from the
numerous gardens in the vicinity devoted to the culture of rare and
curious plants of every description. And now it was that the great
merit of Mr. Banks shone forth. With all the incitements which
his age^, his figure, and his station naturally presented to leading a
life of idleness, -and with a fortune which placed the more vulgar
gratifications of sense or of ordinary ambition amply within his
reach, he steadily devoted himself to scientific pursuits, and only
lived for the studies of a naturalist. He remained out of Parliament,
went little into any society but that of learned men, while his
relaxation was confined to exercise and to angling, of which he
was so fond, that he would devote days and even nights to it.
Whilst living at Chelsea, Mr. Banks formed the acquaintance of
Lord Sandwich, afterwards first Lord of the Admiralty, who as it
happened had the same taste, and to the friendship of whom he
was in after life indebted for essential aid in the furtherance of his
numerous projects for the advancement of scientific knowledge.
Soon after attaining his 21st year, Mr. Banks undertook a voyage
to Newfoundland and the Labrador coast, for the purpose of explor-
ing the botany of those unfrequented regions. On his return, he
brought home valuable collections not only of plants, but also of
insects and other natural productions of that district. In 17C8, he
obtained leave from Government, through the interest of Lord
Sandwich, to embark in the ship commanded by the great navigator
Cook, who had been commissioned to observe the transit of Venus
in the Pacific ocean, by the observation of which phenomenon the
sun's parallax might be measured, and to fulfil also the usual object
of a voyage of discovery.*
In order to turn to the best account all opportunities that might
occur during the voyage, Mr. Banks made most careful preparations.
He provided himself with the best instruments for making all kinds
of scientific observations, and for preserving specimens of natural
history, and persuaded Dr. Solander, a distinguished pupil of
Linnseus, to become his associate in the enterprise. He also took
with him two draughtsmen, to delineate all objects of interest that
did not admit of being transported or preserved, and four servants.
This voyage occupied three years ; during that period all engaged
in it incurred many and severe hardships ; several, including three
of the attendants of Dr. Solander and Mr. Banks, losing their lives.
The results were highly important, the observations necessary for
making the solar parallax were made with perfect success. The
* The portable observatories used in this expedition were constructed by
Smeaton the engineer. Wild's History of the Roy. Soc. vol. 2, p. 37.
6 BANKS.
manners of the natives in the Society Islands had been examined,
and the singular state of their society ascertained. Their products,
vegetable, mineral, and animal, as well as those of New Holland,
New Zealand, and New Guinea, had been fully explored, and a con-
siderable share of the fame, which accrued to Captain Cook and his
associates in the enterprise, was due to Mr. Banks, who brought
home a splendid collection of specimens from those countries.
No sooner had Mr. Banks returned from this expedition than he
commenced, with unabated vigour after a few months repose, pre-
parations for another. Having been prevented from joining Captain
Cook's second expedition, chiefly through the influence of Sir Hugh
Pallisser with the admiralty, he undertook the equipment of a ship
at his own expense ; and, taking with him Dr. Solander, Dr. Lind,
Dr. Von Troil, a Swedish naturalist, and others, he sailed for Iceland
in 1772. After exploring during two months that interesting region
of volcanoes he returned to England, enriched with many valuable
specimens, and still more valuable information respecting the pro-
ductions of the country. A fine collection of books and manuscripts
were purchased and presented by Mr. Banks to the British Museum,
and Dr. Von Troil, in whose hands Mr. Banks, with his wonted
aversion to literary fame, left the subject, published a full and inter-
esting account of the voyage.
A great part of the knowledge resulting from the various travels
of Mr. Banks were communicated by him, at different times, in
papers to the Royal Society, of which he had been elected a fellow
as early as the year 1766. On the resignation of Sir John Pringle,
in 1778, Mr. Banks was elected President of this Society, an honour
he continued to hold until his death. During the whole of his life
Sir Joseph enjoyed the favour of the king, forming a kind of con-
necting link between his scientific compeers, and the courtly circles
of the aristocracy. In 1781 he was made a baronet; in 1795 was
invested with the order of the bath ; and, in 1797, became a member
of the privy council. He did not, however, engage much in politics,
but used the influence he had acquired chiefly in the promotion of
scientific objects, and the encouragement of those who pursued
them.
Sir Joseph Banks's published works bear little proportion either
to his scientific labours or his exertions on behalf of learned men,
nor are his real claims to the gratitude of posterity much known.
He it was who may truly be said to have planted and founded the
colony of Botany Bay. He was the real founder of the African
Association, and by his scientific exertions the productions of other
climates were diffused over each portion of the globe. Thus he
brought over into Europe the seeds of the South Sea lands, having
previously distributed to the latter those of Europe. To him are
we indebted for many of the beautiful plants which adorn our
gardens and shrubberies. The sugar-cane of Otaheite was trans-
BENTHAM. 7
planted by him into the colonies, the bread fruit tree of the Pacific
introduced into the tropical soil of America, and the flax of New
Zealand brought into Europe. While among animals, the black
swan and the kangaroo were brought from Australia and introduced
into this country by this eminent man.
Sir Joseph Banks was married but had no family. He continued
to fill the honourable office of President of the Royal Society for the
unprecedented period of nearly forty-two years, enjoying, during
that time, the 'correspondence and confidence of most of the dis-
tinguished men of learning both of this and other nations. His
name was enrolled amongst the associates of almost every academy
and learned society in Europe. His house and table were ever open
for the reception and entertainment of all those who were eminent
for their scientific attainments, with that spirit of liberality so con-
ducive to the union of interests and co-operation of efforts, requisite
for the cultivation of knowledge. During the latter part of his life
Sir Joseph Banks was a great sufferer from the gout, and during
the last fourteen years was almost deprived of the use of his feet
and legs. At last, he gradually sank under the exhausting effects
of this ailment, and died at his villa at Spring Grove, Hounslow, in
the seventy-eighth year of his age. He was succeeded in the chair
of the Royal Society by Dr. Wollaston for the remainder of the
year, until the election of Sir Humphry Davy on the anniversary of
the Society in November. Memoir of Sir J. Banks, by Dr. P. M.
Roget, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eighth Edition. Welds' History of
the Royal Society, with Memoirs of the Presidents. London, 1848.
Brougham's Lives of Philosophers. London and Glasgow, 1855.
BRIGADIER-GENERAL SIR SAMUEL BENTHAM.
Born January 11, 1757. Died May 31, 1831.
Sir Samuel Beritham was the youngest son of Jeremiah Bentham,
and brother of Jeremy, the celebrated jurist. He was placed when
very young at a private school, from whence, at the age of six, he
was sent to Westminster. His father occupied a house in Queen's
Square Place, in the stable-yard of which were spacious workshops,
let to a carpenter ; here Samuel used to spend all his leisure time,
and soon acquired considerable skill in handling tools, for when
only thirteen years old he had managed to construct with his own
hands a carriage, for a young friend and playmate, Miss Cornelia
Knight At the age of fourteen he exhibited so strong a taste for
naval matters, that his father yielded to his wishes, and bound him
8 BENTHAM.
apprentice to the master shipwright of Woolwich Dockyard. At
that time the superior officers of a royal dockyard were exempted
from keeping their apprentices at hard labour, so that time might
be allowed for general instruction. Samuel, however, soon perceived
that practical manipulation was no less essential than theoretical
knowledge, and used therefore to work at the dock side till breakfast-
time, and devote the rest of the day to scientific acquirements. In
time, Samuel and his master were removed from Woolwich to
Chatham Dockyard, by which he was enabled to obtain a practical
knowledge of the behaviour of vessels at sea ; for he was often per-
mitted to sail in the British Channel, and sometimes extended his
voyages further. About this period his brother, Jeremy Bentham,
had returned from college, and used to instil into him many of the
first ideas of political economy : on these occasions Samuel would
take advantage of the Saturday afternoons to walk from Chatham to
his brother's chambers in Lincoln's Inn.
At the end of his seven years' apprenticeship, Samuel spent
another year in the other royal dockyards, and at the Naval College
at Portsmouth. He then went to sea as Captain Macbridge's guest,
whose ship was one of Lord Keppel's fleet, and on this occasion he
suggested sundry improvements in the apparatus of a ship, which
were executed in Portsmouth Dockyard. In consequence of the
abilities manifested by Bentham, many advantageous appointments
were offered him ; these were, however, refused, and in 1780 he
embarked for the Continent, in order to obtain greater experience
in the different practices in the art of naval construction. After
having visited Holland he proceeded to Russia, and was well re-
ceived at St. Petersburgh by the English Ambassador, Sir James
Harris, who introduced him to the best society, and through whose
means he became acquainted, among others, with Prince Potemkin,
and the celebrated traveller, Pallas. Whilst on a visit to the large
manufactory of Count Demidoff, Bentham constructed a sort of
amphibious vehicle, in the form of a boat, and capable of serving as
an ordinary wheel-carriage, and also, when necessity required, of
being navigated across, or along a stream of water. This inven-
tion he subsequently patented, and likewise extended its utility by
constructing the carriages so as to serve as army baggage-waggons,
a supply of which Prince Potemkin ordered to be furnished to a
regiment at Jassy. They were also introduced into England about
the year 1793, when the Duke of York requested that one should be
built for the English service, which was successfully tried on the
River Thames. In gratitude to Count Demidoff for the facilities
which he had afforded him in constructing this carriage, Bentham
invented for the use of the Count's factory, a wood-planing machine,
which could also be used for making mouldings by changing the
cutting tool.
Bentham's stay in Russia was prolonged for a greater period than
BENTHAM. 9
he originally intended, from his having become attached to a
Russian lady of considerable rank and beauty; but although this
attachment was mutual, nothing came of it, owing to the opposition
of the lady's relatives, on the score of Bentham being a foreigner.
During this period Bentham had the direction of the Fontanka
Canal, in connection with which he invented a peculiar form of pile-
driving machine, in which the weight was attached to a sort of
endless ladder, moved by a man stepping on it, on the principle
that a man's weight exceeds considerably hie muscular strength.
After the completion of the canal, Prince Poteinkin induced Ben-
tham to accept military service, and appointed him to the command
of a battalion stationed at Critcheff, in White Russia, with the
rank of lieutenant-colonel. As the prince's manufactories were in
the neighbourhood of CritchefF, Bentham offered to superintend
them. This offer was gladly received ; and as the management of
the works had been previously grossly misconducted, the lieutenant-
colonel soon perceived the necessity of his own constant inspection
of what was going on, and for this purpose contrived a panoptican
building or inspection-house, the centre of which commanded a
view of all its parts. His brother Jeremy was on a visit whilst he
was devising this panoptican, and the contrivance has frequently on
this account been attributed to Jeremy, although in his works
Jeremy repeatedly says it was his brother's. Up to this time the
panoptican principle has only been adopted in gaols; but Jeremy
Bentham has shown that it is equally desirable for a great variety
of buildings.
Bentham's next invention was a sort of jointed vessel, for the
conveyance of the Empress Catherine down the Dnieper and its
affluents, which were shallow, tortuous, and their navigation much
impeded by sandbanks and sunken trees. This vessel was in six
links, drawing only six inches of water when loaded, and with 124
men at the oars on board. Many more were constructed on the
same principle, for carrying the produce of the prince's establish-
ments and manufactories to the Black Sea.
On the breaking out of war with Turkey, Bentham was sent to
the south with his battalion, of which, according to orders, he had
made sailors and shipwrights ; and shortly afterwards, by the joint
order of Souvaroff and Admiral Mardvinoff, he was commanded to
fit out vessels at Cherson to oppose the enemy. It happened that
he had the sole command of the arsenal at Cherson, in which he
found an immense stock of ordnance of all descriptions, but no bet-
ter navigable vessels than the pleasure-galleys which had brought
the empress and her suite down the Dneiper. But nothing daunted,
Bentham set to work. He reflected that it is not size of vessel
which ensures victory, but that it is gained by the fleet that can
throw the heaviest weight of missile in the shortest time, joined to
the facility of manoeuvring vessels. Strengthening his vessels as
B 3
10 BENTHAM.
well as he could, he fitted them with as heavy artillery as they
could possibly bear, and when all was finished, took the command
of the flotilla himself, and had the satisfaction of engaging the
Turks on three separate days, in all of which actions he was equally
victorious, notwithstanding the enemy's flotilla were doubly as
numerous and powerful. For these three victories Bentham re-
ceived from the empress a like number of honourable rewards
rank in the army, a gold-hilted sword, and the Cross of the Order
of St. George.
Sir Samuel Bentham now returned to the army, and by his own
choice was appointed to the protection of the eastern frontier of
Siberia, his command extending from the northern part of the Ural
Mountains to the confines of Russia in the Chinese dominions.
After holding this appointment for a couple of years, during which
period he established schools for his troops, and introduced other
improvements into their condition, Bentham obtained leave of ab-
sence to visit England.
Here commences another epoch in Sir Samuel's life. Arrived in
England, he found his brother Jeremy absorbed in investigations
relative to jurisprudence. Jeremy, however, had not forgotten his
brother's Panoptican, but had proposed its adoption for the County
Gaol of Middlesex. This led to some explanations with the minis-
ters, who ultimately entrusted Jeremy Bentham with a thousand
convicts, of whose labour he was to make the best use he could.
In the meanwhile Samuel went to visit the principal manufactories
in England ; he found that steam-engines were used for giving
motion to machinery for spinning cotton, but in no case were they
applied to machinery for the working of wood, metal, &c.; nor, in
fact, were there any mechanical apparatuses for saving labour, with
the exception of turning-lathes, and some boring tools worked by
horses, for making ships' blocks. Bentham therefore patented, in
1791, his machinery for planing and making mouldings, specifying
the improvements which he had made on the machine constructed
ten years before for Count Demidoff. His brother's arrangements
for the industrial employment of convicts having been concluded,
Sir Samuel considered that the most profitable means of employing
them would be the working of machines for saving manual labour,
which at the same time ensured accuracy of work ; he therefore
exerted his mechanical genius to perfect several engines he had
previously contrived in Russia, and patented his inventions in the
specification (No. 1951). This specification includes machines for
sawing, boring, and many other operations necessary for the work-
ing of wood or metal.
Nor did the general confine himself to mere verbal descriptions
of his machines ; many of them were constructed and erected under
his own eye, in Queen's Square Place, amongst which may be men-
tioned an apparatus for making wheels, and another for making all
BENTHAM. 11
the parts of a window-sash frame ; both of these leaving nothing
for the skilled workman to do, save putting the pieces together.
There were also planes of various descriptions, saws for cutting
extremely fine veneers, machines for boring, dovetailing, cutting
stone, &c., &c. Machines for metal-work were not, however, at-
tempted, on account of the difficulty of obtaining the necessary
power for working them, the Queen's Square Place apparatus being
all worked by men. The fame of this machinery attracted many
visitors, amongst others Mr. Secretary Dundas (afterwards Lord
Melville), who stated in the House of Commons that it opened a
new era in the manufacturing prosperity of the country.
But the circumstance which completely changed Bentham's
future destiny, was the frequent visits of Earl Spencer and the
Lords of the Admiralty, who soon perceived the advantages which
would accrue to the state by engaging the general in the British
service. Various proposals were made by the Admiralty to engage
him permanently in the public service ; but Bentham refused all in
which he had not the individual responsibility. Ultimately a new
office was created for him, under the name of Inspector-General of
Naval Works; not, however, without the fierce opposition of the
Naval Board, who, although unable to change the title of the office,
managed to reduce the salary from the sum of 2000Z. per annum,
as originally proposed, to 750?. nominal, with an addition finally
agreed upon of 500?. a year in all, 1250/. per annum. Notwith-
standing this opposition, Bentham, convinced of the services he
could render, gave up the honours and riches which awaited him in
Russia amongst others, an estate promised him on his return and
determined to devote his energies to his native country, regardless
of all pecuniary advantages. During the interval which elapsed
before the actual institution of his new office, Bentham was author-
ized by the Lords of the Admiralty, early in 1795, to build seven
experimental vessels; into these he introduced many improvements,
amongst which may be mentioned diagonal braces, metallic tanks
for water, metallic canisters for powder, means for filling the maga-
zine with water in case of fire, safety lamps, &c.
Appointed Inspector-General of Naval Works in 1796, the whole
of Sir Samuel's energies were henceforward directed towards the
improvement of naval arsenals, and the introduction of his ma-
chinery for shaping wood, with steam-power to give it motion.
This introduction of steam-power into the naval dockyards of
Great Britain experienced at first the most violent opposition ; and
it was not until 1797 that any progress was made towards the fur-
therance of his object. During the same year Sir M. Isambard
(then Mr.) Brunei presented himself to the general, for the purpose
of bringing before his notice certain machinery for making blocks.
Bentham was at that time fully engaged by Lord St. Vincent in
organizing a better mode of managing timber in the royal dock-
12 BENTHAM.
yards, and it occurred to him that Brunei would be likely to influ-
ence the public in favour of machinery for working wood, and
therefore proposed that he should be engaged for that purpose,
recommending at the same time the adoption of his apparatus for
shaping blocks, to which Brunei's machines were solely confined*
a measure which has had the effect of giving almost the entire
merit of the Portsmouth machinery to Brunei. This statement is
made without any intention of detracting from Sir Isambard's well-
earned reputation, but simply in justice to Bentham, who, singu-
larly free from an inventor's jealousy, himself officially stated :
" In regard to the machinery, I was afterwards satisfied that Mr.
Brunei had skill enough to have contrived machinery to have
answered the same purposes, had he not found mine ready to his
hand."
To describe all Bentham's subsequent improvements, not only in
machinery, but also in the economy of the management of the
dockyards, would take too much space. By his energetic efforts
and inventive genius, the wood mills, metal mills, and millwrights'
shop were established at Portsmouth. In 1800, he proposed to the
Admiralty a steam dredging-machine, of which he gave drawings,
similar to the ones now in such general use ; and the efficacy of
this invention has since realized the most sanguine hopes of its
designer. Notwithstanding the great value of Bentham's ser-
vices, he seems to have experienced little gratitude on the part of
the government. During the year 1805, he was requested by the
Admiralty to proceed to Russia, and commence building in that
country ships of war for the British navy. On his consenting, and
arriving at St. Petersburgh, he found, much to his surprise, that
nothing had been done to facilitate his mission ; and although per-
sonally received with great kindness by the emperor, he was unable
to obtain the required permission to build vessels of war for Great
Britain.
Returning to England in 1807, he learnt that his office had been
abolished, and that henceforth he would be amalgamated with the
Naval Board. Nothing but the necessity of supporting his family,
made Bentham accept this new post, which gave him the title of
Civil Engineer and Architect of the Navy an employment for
which he had manifested peculiar talents, "although not educated
for it, but excluding him at the same time from all interference in
ship-building, for which he had served a regular apprenticeship, and
had subsequently manifested extraordinary talents. When this
office also was abolished, about the year 1812, Sir Samuel, by the de-
sire of Lord Melville, applied for some compensation for loss of office,
* Mr. Samuel Bentham had amongst his other contrivances for shaping wood,
described one in his patent of 1793, for shaping the shells of blocks, but with a
singular degree of candour and generosity, he at once acknowledged the supe-
riority of Brunei's machinery. Smiles' s Industrial Biography. London, 1863.
BOULTON. 13
and likewise for a remuneration for his services. On account of the
loss of office, Bentham's salary was continued ; but during the dis-
cussion which arose regarding the statement of services which Sir
Samuel had drawn up at the request of the Admiralty, although, on
coming to the metal mills, Lord Melville said, " There Sir Samuel
stands upon a rock," it proved a slippery one ; for under the pretext
that it would be necessary to apply to parliament for so large a
sum as a year's savings effected by the introduction of the metal
mills, no remuneration was ever accorded to Bentham for any one
of his services.
After the restoration of peace in 1814, Sir Samuel retired to
France, for the economical education of his children. In 1827 he
returned to England, where he remained until his death in 1831, at
the age. of seventy-four. Papers and Practical Illustrations of
Public Works of Recent Construction, &c. London, 1856.
MATTHEW BOULTON, F.R.S. L. and E. &c.
Born at Birmingham, Sept. 3, 1728. Died Aug. 17, 1809.
This skilful, energetic, and farseeing man, who, by his extended
views and liberal spirit of enterprise, contributed so greatly towards
the successful introduction of Watt's condensing steam-engine,
commenced life at Birmingham as a maker of buttons and shoe-
buckles. Matthew Boulton received an ordinary education at a
school at Deritend. He was, however, gifted with rare endow-
ments, and of these he made the best use ; with a thorough
knowledge of business, great prudence, and admirable tact, he com-
bined boldness of spirit, quickness of thought, and promptitude of
action. At the death of his father, Boulton became possessed of
considerable property, and desirous of extending his commercial
operations, purchased, about the year 1762, a lease of Soho, near
Handsworth, where he founded that establishment which has be-
come renowned as the nursery of English mechanics. The hill
from which this place derived its name was, at that time, a bleak
and barren heath, at the bottom of which rippled a small stream.
Boulton's instinctive mind saw the uses to which these waters might
be turned. By collecting them into a pool, and pouring their united
weight upon a water wheel, he became possessed of a motive-power
sufficient to set in motion various machines, by whose agency were
fabricated articles in gold, silver, and tortoise-shell, and plated and
inlaid works of the greatest elegance arid perfection. On the side
of the hill, Boulton built extensive workshops, and dwellings capable
14 BOULTON.
of holding many hundreds of workmen, and erected a mansion for
himself surrounded by beautiful grounds, where he lived as a prince
among his people, extending hospitality to all around. In 1767,
Boulton, finding that the motive -power which he possessed was
inadequate to the various purposes of his machinery, erected a
steam-engine upon the original construction of Savery. This, how-
ever, in turn was found to be insufficient for the objects required,
and Boulton then had the discernment to perceive that they might
be very completely attained by the adoption of the various improve-
ments lately made in the steam-engine by James Watt. In 1773 he
entered into partnership with this great scientific inventor, and in-
duced him to settle at Soho and superintend personally the erection
of his new steam-engines. This bold but clear-sighted act of Boulton
was destined to crown with honour a reputation, already rising, and
built upon the firm foundation of uprightness and integrity. " Had
Watt searched all Europe," says PI ay fair, " he could not have found
another man so calculated to introduce the machine to the public in
a manner worthy of its reputation." Its sale as an article of com-
merce was entirely conducted by him, and the skilful and liberal
way in which he performed this difficult task brought in time its own
reward ; yet as great a sum as 47,000/. had to be expended upon the
steam-engine before any profit resulted to its owners. In process of
time, however, wealth flowed into the hands of Boulton and Watt ;
and in the year 1800 Mr. Watt was enabled to retire from the firm
possessed of a large competency, and leaving the exclusive privilege
of the sale of the engine to Boulton. Boswell, who visited Soho in
1776, shortly after the manufacture of steam-engines had been com-
menced there, was greatly struck by the vastness and contrivance
of the machinery. " I shall never forget," he says, " Mr. Boulton's
expression to me when surveying the works : ' I sell here, sir, what
all the world desires to have Power.'' He had," continues Boswell,
" about 700 people at work ; I contemplated him as an iron chieftain,
and he seemed to be the father of his tribe."*
In 1785 Mr. Boulton was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society,
and two or three years after this, turned his attention to the subject
of coining, to the improvement of which art he devoted the last
twenty years of his life. He erected extensive machinery for this
purpose, and by uniting some processes originating in France with
new kinds of presses, he was enabled to obtain great rapidity of
action combined with the utmost perfection in the articles produced ;
so much so, that having been employed by the British Government
to recoin the whole of the British specie, he rendered counterfeits
nearly impossible by the economy and excellence of his work. In
addition to this, Mr. Boulton planned and directed the arrangement
of the machinery in the British Mint, and executed that for the
* Quarterly Review, October, 1858.
BRAMAH. 15
coining department. He also constructed the machinery for the
great national mints of St. Petersburgh and Copenhagen ; his son,
to whom the establishment at Soho devolved upon his death, doing
the same for the extensive and splendid establishments of the East
India Company at Bombay and Calcutta.
Boulton died August 17, 1809, in his eighty-first year, and his re-
mains were borne to the grave by the oldest workmen connected
with the works at Soho; five hundred persons belonging to that
establishment joined in the procession, which numbered among its
ranks several thousand individuals, to whom medals were given
recording the age of the deceased and the date of his death.
Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam Engine. London, 1829. Muirhea&s
Translation of Arago's Life of J. Watt. London, 1839.
JOSEPH BRAMAH.
Born April 13, 1749. Died December 9, 1814.
This eminent practical engineer and machinist was born at Stain-
borough, in Yorkshire. His father rented a farm on the estate of
Lord Strafford, and Joseph, being the eldest of five children was
intended for the same employment ; but fortunately for his subse-
quent career, an accidental lameness, which occurred when he was
sixteen years old, prevented his following agricultural pursuits.
When quite a boy, Bramah exhibited unusual mechanical talent ;
he succeeded in constructing two violoncellos, which were found
to be very tolerable instruments, and also managed to cut a violin
out of a single block of wood, by means of tools which were forged
for him by a neighbouring smith, whom in after life he engaged in
London as one of his principal workmen. After having served an ap-
prenticeship to a carpenter and joiner, Bramah obtained employment
in the workshop of a cabinetmaker in London, and soon afterwards
established himself as a principal in the business. The history of
his life after this is perhaps best given by a record of his numerous
inventions, all of which are, more or less, of a highly useful charac-
ter. For the manufacture of these, Bramah first took up his resi-
dence in Denmark Street, Soho, but subsequently removed to
Piccadilly, and established the various branches of his manufactory
in some extensive premises at Pimlico. In 1783 he took out a patent
for an improved watercock, and in the year following, completed the
invention of his famous lock, which for many years stood unrivalled
in ingenuity of construction, workmanship, and powers of resistance
16 BE AM AH.
against all attempts to pick.* Bramah's indefatigable spirit of in-
vention was stimulated to fresh efforts by the success of his lock,
and he now entered upon a more important and original line of
action than he had yet ventured upon. In his patent of 1785 he
indicated many inventions, although none of them came into prac-
tical use such as a Hydrostatical Machine and Boiler, and the ap-
plication of the power produced by them to the drawing of carriages
and the propelling of ships, by a paddle-wheel fixed in the stern of
the vessel. For different modifications of pumps and fire-engines,
Mr. Bramah took out three successive patents, the two last being
dated in 1790 and 1798. But in the year 1795 he produced and
patented the most important of all his inventions, namely, ' The
Hydraulic Press,' a machine which gives to a child the strength of a
giant, enabling him to bend a bar of iron as if it were wax. The
chief difficulty which Bramah experienced in constructing this press
was that of devising an efficient packing for the ram or solid piston,
which, while capable of keeping out the water under the tremendous
internal pressure exercised by the pump, should, on the withdrawal
of that pressure, allow the ram to sink into its original place. This
was at length accomplished by the invention of the self-tightening
leather-collar, which was firmly secured in a recess at the top of a
cylinder, with the concave side downwards. Consequently, when
the water was pumped into the cylinder, it immediately forced its
way between the bent edges of the collar ; and the greater the
pressure of water, the tighter became the hold which the collar
took of the solid piston. It appears from the testimony of Mr.
James Nasmyth, that Bramah was indebted for this simple but
beautiful contrivance, to Henry Maudslay, who was at that time a
workman in his shop, and who had already greatly assisted him in
the construction of his lock.
Bramah continued his useful labours as an inventor for many
years, and his studies of the principles of Hydraulics, in the course
of his invention of the press, enabled him to introduce many valuable
improvements in pumping machinery. By varying the form of the
piston and cylinder, he was enabled to obtain a rotary motion,
which he adopted in the well-known fire-engine. In 1797 he took
out a patent for the beer-machine, now in such general use in public
houses, and in the description of this he includes a mode of con-
verting every cask in a cellar into a force pump, so as to raise the
liquor to any part of the house ; a filtering machine ; a method of
making pipes ; a vent peg, and a new form of stop-cock. Bramah
also turned his attention to the improvement of the steam-engine,
but in this, Watt's patent had left little room for other inventors :
and hence Bramah seems to have entertained a grudge against Watt,
which was shown strongly in the evidence given by him in the case
* For Maudslay's connection with this lock, see Maudslay.
BRAMAH. 17
of Boulton and Watt versus Hornblower and Maberly, tried in
December 1796. On the expiry, however, of Boulton and Watt's
patent, Bramah introduced several valuable improvements in the
details of the condensing engine, the most important of which was
his " four-way cock," which was so contrived as to revolve continu-
ously instead of alternately, thus insuring greater precision with
less wear of parts. In this patent, which he secured in 1801, he
also proposed sundry improvements in the boilers, as well as modifi-
cations in various parts of the engine. In the year 1802, Bramah
obtained a patent for a very elaborate and accurate machine for pro-
ducing smooth and parallel surfaces on wood and other materials.
This was erected on a large scale at Woolwich Arsenal, and proved
perfectly successful. The specification of the patent includes the
description of a mode of turning spherical surfaces either convex or
concave, by a tool moveable on an axis perpendicular to that of the
lathe, and of cutting out concentric shells, by fixing in a similar
manner a curved tool, nearly of the same form as that employed by
common turners for making bowls. Bramah also invented machinery
for making paper in large sheets, and for printing by means of a
roller, composed of a number of circular plates, each turning on the
same axis, and bearing twenty-six letters capable of being shifted
at pleasure, so as to express any single line by a proper combination
of the plates. This was put in practice to number bank-notes, and
enabled twenty clerks to perform the labour which previously had
required one hundred and twenty. In 1812 he projected a scheme
for main-pipes, which was, however, in many respects, more ingeni-
ous than practicable. In describing this, he mentions having em-
ployed a hydrostatic pressure equal to that of a column of water
twenty thousand feet high (about three and a half tons per square
inch). Mr. Bramah made several improvements in the bearings of
wheels, and suggested the use of pneumatic springs formed by pistons
sliding in cylinders, in place of the usual metal springs for carriages.
He likewise improved the machines for sawing stones and timber,
and suggested some alterations in the construction of bridges and
canal locks. He died in his sixty-sixth year, his last illness having
been occasioned by a severe cold caught during the month of Novem-
ber, while making some experiments with his hydraulic press on the
tearing up of trees in Holt Forest. He was a cheerful, benevolent,
and affectionate man, neat and methodical in his habits, and knew
well how to temper liberality with economy ; greatly to his honour
he often kept his workmen employed solely for their sake, when the
stagnation of trade prevented him from disposing of the products
of their labour. As a manufacturer he was distinguished for his
promptitude and probity, and was celebrated for the exquisite finish
which he gave to his productions. At his death he left his family in
affluent circumstances, and his manufacturing establishments have
since his death been continued by his sons. Unfortunately, Mr.
18 BROWN.
Bramah had an invincible dislike to sitting for his portrait, and there
consequently exists no likeness of this distinguished man ; for,
although a cast of his face was taken after death by Sir Francis
Chantry, this, together with many others was destroyed by Lady
Chantry after the death of her husband. Memoir by Dr. Brown.
Stuarfs Anecdotes of the Steam Engine. London, 1829. Smiles's
Industrial Biography. London, 1863.
ROBERT BROWN, D.C.L,, F.R.S., P.L.S, &c.
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.
Born December 21, 1773. Died June 10, 1859.
Kobert Brown, whom Humboldt has designated as the " Prince of
Botanists," was the second and only surviving son of the Kev.
James Brown, Episcopalian Minister, of Montrose. Several gene-
rations of his maternal ancestors were, like his father, ministers of
the Scottish Episcopalian Church, and from them he appears to
have inherited a strong attachment to logical and metaphysical
studies, the effects of which are so strikingly manifested in the
philosophical character of his botanical investigations. At an early
age he was sent to the grammar-school of his native town, and
in 1787 entered at Marischal College, Aberdeen, where he immedi-
ately obtained a Ramsay Bursary in philosophy. About two years
afterwards, on his father quitting Montrose to reside in Edinburgh,
he was removed to the University of that city, in which he continued
his studies for several years ; but without taking a degree, although
destined for the medical profession.
In the year 1791, at the age of seventeen, Brown laid before the
Natural History Society, of which he was a member, his earliest
paper, which contained, together with critical notes and observa-
tions, an enumeration of such plants as had been discovered in
North Britain subsequent to the publication of Lightfoot's " Flora
Scotica." Although this paper was not intended for publication, it
brought the young botanist into communication with Dr. Withering,
and laid the foundation of a warm and intimate friendship between
them. In the year 1795, soon after the embodiment of the Fifeshire
Regiment of Fencible Infantry, Brown obtained in it the double
commission of ensign and assistant surgeon, proceeding with the
regiment to the north of Ireland, in various parts of which he was
stationed until the summer of 1798, when he was detached to
England on recruiting service.
Fortunately for himself and for science, this service enabled him
BROWN. 19
to pass some time in London, where his already established botanical
reputation secured him a cordial reception from Sir Joseph Banks,
of whose library and collections he availed himself to the utmost.
In 1799 he returned to his regimental duties in Ireland, from which
he was finally recalled, in December of the following year, by a
letter from Sir Joseph Banks, proposing for his acceptance the post
of naturalist in the expedition for surveying the coasts of New
Holland, then fitting out under the command of Captain Flinders.
In the summer of 1801 he embarked at Portsmouth and set out
on this expedition. His absence from England lasted more than
four years, during which period the southern, eastern, and northern
coasts of New Holland, and the southern part of Van Diemen's
Land were thoroughly explored; and he arrived in Liverpool, in
the month of October, 1805, enriched with a collection of dried
plants amounting to nearly 4000 species, a large proportion of
which were not only new to science, but likewise exhibited extra-
ordinary combinations of character and form. Immediately on his
arrival in England, Brown was appointed librarian of the Linnean
Society, of which he had been elected an associate in 1798. The
materials which he had been indefatigable in collecting during this
voyage, and the vast store of facts and observations in relation to
their structure and affinities which he had accumulated, opened out
to him new views upon a multitude of botanical subjects, which he
was enabled by his position in the Linnean Society to enlarge, and
to perfect, and ultimately to lay before the world in a series of
masterly publications, which at once stamped upon him the cha-
racter of the greatest and most philosophical botanist that England
had ever produced.
In 1810 appeared the first volume of his ' Prodromus Florae novas
Hollandiaa et Insulae Van Diemen.' This important work, together
with his memoirs on Proteacias and Asclepiadeaa, which immediately
followed, and his ' General Remarks, Geographical and Systematical,
on the Botany of Terra Australis,' appended to the * Narrative of
Captain Flinder's Voyage,' published in 1814, by displaying in the
most instructive form the superior advantages of the Natural Sys-
tem, gave new life to that system, which had- hitherto found little
favour in France, and speedily led to its universal adoption. A
series of memoirs followed the above works, chiefly in the Trans-
actions of the Linnean Society, or in the appendices to various
books of travel and survey, which gave fuller and more complete
development to his views upon almost every department of botanical
science, and induced the illustrious Humboldt not only to confer
upon Brown the title mentioned at the beginning of this memoir,
but also to designate him as the " Glory and Ornament of Great
Britain."*
* In the dedication of the ' Synopsis Plantarum Orhis Novi,' Roberto Brownio,
Britanniarum Glorise atque Ornamento, totam Botanices Scientiam ingenio
mirifico comylectenti.
20 BROWN.
At the close of the year 1810, on the death of his learned and
intimate friend Dryander, Mr. Brown succeeded to the office of
Librarian to Sir Joseph Banks, who (on his death in 1820) bequeathed
to him for life the use and enjoyment of his library and collections.
These were subsequently, with Mr. Brown's consent, and in con-
formity with the provisions of Sir Joseph's will, transferred, in 1827,
to the British Museum ; and from this latter date, until his death,
he continued to fill the office of Keeper of the Botanical Collections
in the National establishment. In 1849 Mr. Brown was elected
President of the Linnean Society, of which, soon after the death of
Sir Joseph Banks, he had resigned the Librarianship, and had become
a fellow.
In 1811 he had been made a fellow of the Royal Society; and in
1839 received its highest honour in the Copley medal, awarded to
him " for his discoveries during a series of years on the subject of
vegetable impregnation." In the meantime, honours and titles
flowed in upon him from all quarters. In 1832 the University of
Oxford conferred on him, in conjunction with Dalton, Faraday, and
Brewster, the honorary degree of D.C.L. ; and, in the succeeding
year, he was elected one of the eight foreign associates of the
Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France, his name being
selected from a list, including those of nine other savans of world-
wide reputation, nearly every one of whom has since been elected
to the same distinguished honour. During the administration of
Sir Robert Peel, he received, in recognition of his great eminence in
botanical science, a pension on the Civil List of 2001. per annum,
and shortly afterwards the King of Prussia decorated him with the
cross of the highest Prussian Civil Order ' Pour le Merite.'
Of Mr. Brown's later publications the most important are, his
1 Botanical Appendix to Captain Burt's Expedition into Central
Australia,' published in 1849 ; and his Memoir ' On Triplosporite, an
undescribed Fossil Fruit,' published in the Linnean Transactions for
1851. The pervading and distinguishing character of all these
writings, is to be found in the combination of the minutest accuracy
of detail with the most comprehensive generalization ; and no theory
is propounded which does not rest for its foundation on the most
circumspect investigation of all attainable facts. Among the most
important anatomical and physiological subjects of which they
treat, particular mention is due to the discovery of the nucleus of
the vegetable cell, the development of the stamina, together with
the mode of fecundation in Asclepiadeoe and Orchideoe ; the develop-
ment of the pollen and of the ovulum in Phoenogamous plants, and
the bearing of these facts upon the general subject of impregnation ;
also the origin and development of the spores of mosses ; and the
discovery of the peculiar motions which take place in the " active
molecules" of matter when seen suspended in a fluid under the
microscope. Of structural investigations, the most important are
those which establish the relation of the flower to the axis from
BRUNEL. 21
which it is derived, and of the parts of a flower to each other, as
regards both position and number ; the analogy between stamina
and pistilla ; the neuration of the corolla of composite, their cestiva-
tion and inflorescence ; and the structure of the stems of cycadece,
both recent and fossil.
Mr. Brown was also strongly attached to the study of fossil
botany, and, with a view to its prosecution, he formed an extensive
and valuable collection of fossil woods, which he has bequeathed,
under certain conditions, to the British Museum.
After the death of Sir Joseph Banks, who bequeathed to him his
house in Soho Square, Mr. Brown continued to occupy that portion
of it which opened upon Dean Street ; and it was in the library of
that illustrious man, the scene of his labours for sixty years, sur-
rounded by his books and by his collections, that Robert Brown
breathed his last, on the 10th of June, 1859, in the eighty-fifth year
of his age. Memoir by John J. Bennett, F.R.S., read at the Anniver-
sary Meeting of the Linnean Society, May, 1859.
SIR M. ISAMBARD BRUNEL, V.P.R.S,, &c.
Born April 25, 1769. Died December 12, 1849.
This celebrated engineer was born at Haqueville, in Normandy,
where his family had for several centuries held an honourable
position, numbering among its members the eminent French painter
Nicholas Poussin. Brunei was educated at the seminary at Rouen,
with the intention of his entering holy orders, but he displayed so
decided a taste for mathematics and mechanics,* that by the advice
of the superior of the establishment he was removed to follow a
more congenial career.
His father then destined him for the naval service, which he
entered on the appointment of the Mareschal de Castries, the
Minister of Marine, and made several voyages to the West Indies.
While in this position, although only fifteen years old, his mecha-
nical talents showed themselves on many occasions, and he surprised
his captain by the production of a sextant of his own manufacture,
with which he took his observations.
In 1792 Brunei returned to France, where he found the revolution
at its height, and, like all who entertained Royalist principles, was
* At eleven years of age, Brunei's love of tools was so great that he once
pawned his hat to buy them ; and at the age of twelve he is said to have con-
structed different articles with as much precision as a regular workman.
22 BRUNEL.
compelled to seek safety by flight, which with difficulty he effected,*
taking refuge in the United States of America. Here, driven by
necessity to the exercise of his talents, he followed the bent of his
inclination, and became a civil engineer and architect. His first
engagement in this capacity was on the survey of a tract of land
near Lake Erie ; he then became engaged in cutting canals, and
was employed to erect an arsenal and cannon foundry at New York,
where he erected several new and ingenious machines. He was also
engaged to design and superintend the building of the Bowery
Theatre, New York, since destroyed by fire, the roof of which was
peculiar and original in its construction. Brunei now rose high in
the estimation of the citizens of New York ; they appointed him
their chief engineer, and in that capacity he organized an establish-
ment for casting and boring ordnance, which at that time was
considered unsurpassed for its novelty of design and general practi-
cability. Previously to this the idea of substituting machinery for
manual labour in making ships' blocks had long occupied Brunei's
mind, and in 1799, having matured his plans, he determined upon
coming to England, finding that the United States were unable to
afford full occupation for his inventive genius.
In the month of May of the same year Brunei took out his first
patent in England, which was for a duplicate writing and drawing
machine. His next invention was a machine for twisting cotton-
thread and forming it into balls ; it measured the length of thread
which it wound, and proportioned the size of the ball to its weight and
firmness. This machine was not, however, patented, and it became
rapidly and generally adopted without bringing any advantage to
the inventor.
Brunei's next contrivance was a machine for trimmings and
borders for muslins, lawns, and cambrics, somewhat of the nature
of a sewing machine. Shortly after this he patented his famous
block-machinery, which he submitted for the inspection of the
Admiralty in 1801.
Earl St. Vincent was at that time at the head of the Admiralty,
and after many delays and difficulties, which were ultimately over-
come chiefly through the influence of Earl Spencer and Sir Samuel
Bentham, Brunei's system was adopted; and he was enabled to
erect the beautiful and effective machinery, which has continued
until the present time, without any alteration or improvement, to
* Brunei had scarcely left the shores of France when he found that "tie had
lost his passport. This difficulty he, however, got over by borrowing a pass-
port from a fellow-traveller, which he copied so exactly in every particular,
down to the very seal, that it was deemed proof against all scrutiny. He had
hardly completed his task when the American vessel was stopped hy a French
frigate, and all the passengers were ordered to show their passports. Brunei,
with perfect self-possession, was the first to show his, and not the slightest
douht was aroused as to its authenticity.
BRUNEL. 23
produce nearly all the blocks used in the Royal Navy.* The con-
struction of this block machinery, completed in 1808, was entrusted
to the late Mr. Henry Maudslay, from whom Brunei had already
derived considerable assistance in the execution of his models and
working out of his designs. It was erected in Portsmouth Dock-
yard, and the economy produced by the first year's use of these
machines was estimated at about 24,0007., two-thirds of which sum
was awarded to the ingenious inventor, who was soon after engaged
by the government to erect extensive saw mills, and carry out
other improvements at Chatham and Woolwich. Brunei was essen-
tially an inventor ; besides the above-mentioned machines, he took
out patents for " the manufacture of tin-foil," for " copying presses,"
for " stereotype printing plates," a contrivance for making the small
boxes used by druggists, and a nail-making machine.
He likewise introduced the system of cutting veneers by circular
saws of a large diameter, to which is mainly due the present ex-
tensive application of veneers of wood to ornamental furniture.
A short time before the termination of the war with France he
devised a plan for making shoes by machinery, and under the coun-
tenance of the Duke of York the shoes so manufactured were intro-
duced for the use of the army, on account of their strength, cheap-
ness, and durability ; but at the peace in 1815, the machines were
laid aside, manual labour having become cheaper, and the demand
for military equipments having in a measure ceased. Steam navi-
gation also attracted Brunei's attention, and he became deeply
interested in establishing the Ramsgate steam vessels, which were
among the first that plied effectively on the River Thames. About
this period, after much labour and perseverance, he induced the
Admiralty to permit the application of steam for towing vessels to
sea, the experiments being made chiefly at his own expense, a small
sum in aid having been promised, but eventually withdrawn before
the completion of the trials, the Admiralty considering the attempt
too chimerical to be seriously entertained.
In the year 1824 Brunei, undeterred by the two previous failures
of Dodd and Trevethick, commenced his great work the Thames
Tunnel. It is said that the original idea occurred to him as applied
to the Neva at St. Petersburgh, in order to avoid the inconvenience
arising from the floating ice ; a plan which he offered to the Emperor
Alexander, on the occasion of his visit to this country in 1814.
During the above-mentioned year a company was formed for the
execution of this work, under the auspices of the Duke of Wellington,
who had always entertained a favourable view as to its practica-
bility; and after numerous accidents, and frequent suspensions of
the works, this great and novel undertaking was successfully
* The total number of machines employed in the various operations of
making a ship's block by this method was forty-four, and 16,000 blocks of
various sizes could be turned out in the course of a year.
24 CARTWRIGHT.
accomplished, and opened to the public in the year 1843. In the
prosecution of this undertaking Sir Isambard derived great assist-
ance from his son, the late Mr. I. K. Brunei.
The shield, as it was termed, under shelter of which the excava-
tion beneath the bed of the river was carried forward, required very
peculiar contrivances to adapt it to its purpose. It was made in
sections or compartments contained in a strong square frame, each
section or compartment being moved forward by screws, as the men
working in them proceeded with the excavation ; the entire shield
was thus enabled to be moved forward, and the brickwork, consist-
ing of two tunnels, was built up to the extent that it had been
advanced.
After the completion of the Tunnel, Brunei's health became
seriously impaired from the labours he had undergone in its execu-
tion, and he was unable to mix in active life ; he expired on the
12th of December, 1849, in his eighty-first year, after a long illness.
He received the honour of Knighthood in 1841, and the order of
the Legion of honour in 1829 ; he was also a corresponding member
of the French Institute, a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a
member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, which he joined in
the year 1823. Annual Report of the Institution of Civil Engineers.
December 17, 1850. Beamish'' s Life of Brunei. London, 1862.
EDMUND CARTWRIGHT, D.D., F.R.S., &c.
Born April 24, 1743. Died October 30, 1823.
Dr. Cartwright, whose invention of the power-loom may be con-
sidered as one of the valuable elements of our national manufactur-
ing superiority, was born at Marnham in Nottinghamshire, and
was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom were remarkable
men.* He was educated under Dr. Clarke, at the Grammar School
of Wakefield, and had he been permitted to follow the bent of his
own inclination in the choice of a profession, would have preferred
the navy ; but two of his brothers being already designed for that
service, it was thought advisable that Edmund should enter the
Church. Dr. Cartwright began his academical studies at University
College, Oxford, where he was entered at fourteen years of age,
and during the vacations was placed under the private tuition of
Dr. Langhorne, the editor of ' Plutarch's Lives.'
* Dr. Cartwright was the younger brother of Major John Cartwright, the
well-known English Reformer of the reign of George III., to whose memory
a bronze statue is erected in Burton Crescent, London.
CARTWRIGHT. 25
In process of time he became distinguished for his literary abili-
ties, and was elected a Fellow of Magdalen College. He likewise
evinced a considerable taste for poetry, and published in 1770 a
legendary tale, entitled ' Armine and Elvira,' which went through
seven editions in little more than a year, and was greatly admired
for its pathos and elegant simplicity. Some years subsequent to
this, Cartwright wrote ' The Prince of Peace,' published in 1779,
and was also for several years a principal contributor to the
'Monthly Review.'
In the year 1772 he married the daughter of Richard Whittaker,
Esq., of Doncaster, and after his marriage resided first at Marnham,
and afterwards at Brampton in Derbyshire, to the perpetual curacy
of which he was presented by the Dean of Lincoln, Dr. Gust. It
was while attending to his clerical duties at this latter place, that
Cartwright discovered the application of yeast as a remedy for
typhus fever. In 1779 he was presented to the living of Goadby
Marwood in Leicestershire, and continued to reside there until the
summer of 1796, when he removed with his family* to London, as
being a situation more favourable for the cultivation of the scien-
tific pursuits in which he had by that time become engrossed.
Dr. Cartwright had attained the mature age of forty, before his
attention was drawn towards the subject of weaving, by the following
accidental occurrence : In the summer of 1784, he happened to be
on a visit at Matlock, in Derbyshire, and in the company of some
gentlemen from Manchester. The conversation turned upon Ark-
wright's spinning machinery ; and fears were expressed by one of
the company, that, in consequence of the recent improvements, so
much cotton would soon be spun, that hands would not be found to
weave it. To this the doctor replied, that the only remedy for such
an evil would be to apply the power of machinery to weaving as
well as spinning. The discussion which ensued upon the practica-
bility of doing this, made such an impression on Cartwright's mind,
that on returning home he determined to try and see what he
could do.
His first attempts, as might be supposed, were very clumsy, but
he at length succeeded in constructing a machine (for which he
took out a patent in 1785), which, although rude and cumbersome
in its action, was yet capable of weaving a piece of cloth. Up to
this time he had never turned his mind to anything mechanical,
either in theory or practice, and his invention was consequently
susceptible of great improvement. To accomplish this, he now
examined with care the contrivances already in use among the
weavers, and availing himself of their general principles, produced
in the year 1787 a far more complete and valuable machine, since
known as the power-loom.
* Dr. Cartwright was married twice. His first wife died in 1785, and in
1790 he married the youngest daughter of the Rev. Dr. Kearney.
C
26 CARTWRIGHT.
Shortly after he had brought his loom to perfection, a manufac-
turer who had called upon him to see it at work, after expressing
his admiration at the ingenuity displayed in it, remarked, that
wonderful as was Dr. Cartwright's skill, there was one thing that
would effectually baffle him, and that was, the weaving of patterns
in checks, or, in other words, the combining in the same web a
pattern or fancy figure with the crossing colours which constitute
the check. The doctor made no reply to this at the time ; but
some weeks afterwards, on receiving a second visit from the same
person, he showed him a piece of muslin, of the description men-
tioned, beautifully executed by machinery, which so astonished the
man, that he roundly declared his conviction that some more than
human agency must have been called in on the occasion.*
Dr. Cartwright being precluded by his clerical character from
entering himself into the manufacture of his machines, a weaving
factory was erected at Doncaster, by some friends, with his licence,
but it was unsuccessful ; and another establishment, built at Man-
chester, containing 500 looms, was destroyed by an exasperated
mob in 1790. Cartwright, however, still continued his inventions,
and shortly afterwards contrived a wool-combing machine, which
met with even fiercer opposition from the working-classes, who went
the length of petitioning parliament to suppress all such obnoxious
machines. Their great utility, however, caused them by degrees
to be generally adopted; and at the time of Cartwright's death,
steam-looms had increased so rapidly, that they were performing
the work of 200,000 men.
Notwithstanding the great advantages which the cotton and
wool manufacturers reaped from these inventions, their author had
as yet obtained no emolument from them, but, on the contrary, had
incurred a heavy loss. In consideration of this, and on the peti-
tion of several influential cotton-spinners, Parliament in 1810 made
the doctor a grant of 10,0002. a sum which, although munificent
as a present, hardly covered what he had expended in his experi-
ments. Having received the sum awarded by Parliament, and
being now sixty-six years of age, Dr. Cartwright was desirous of
passing the remainder of his life in retirement and tranquillity, and
for this purpose purchased a small farm at Hollenden, in Kent. At
this place he spent the remainder of his life, occupied in various
scientific and mechanical experiments.
Dr. Cartwright was the author of many other inventions in the
arts and agriculture, for some of which he received premiums from
the Board of Agriculture and Society of Arts. He also contrived
an ingenious modification of the steam-engine, in which he made
use of surface condensation, and metallic spring packing for the
piston.
Till within a few days of his death, Dr. Cartwright retained full
* Pursuit of Knowledge, vol. 2.
CAVENDISH. 27
possession of his mental faculties, and attained, at the time of his
decease in 1823, the age of eighty-one. His remains were interred
in the church at Battle, in Sussex. Memoir of Dr. Edmund Cart-
wright. London, 1843. Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam-Engine.
London, 1829.
THE HON. HENRY CAVENDISH, F.R.S.
Born October 10, 1731. Died February 24, 1810.
Henry Cavendish, the third in order of time among the four
great English pneumatic chemists of the eighteenth century,* was
the younger son of Lord Charles Cavendish, whose father was the
second Duke of Devonshire. His family trace back their descent
in unbroken and unquestionable links to Sir John Cavendish, Lord
Chief Justice during the reign of Edward III. The great majority
of the distinguished chemists of Great Britain have sprung from
the middle and lower ranks of the people, but in this respect Henry
Cavendish presents a remarkable exception. He was moreover
immensely wealthy, so much so, that it has been epigrammatically
remarked of him, " That he was the richest of all wise men, and
probably, too, the wisest of all rich men ; " yet no one could well
be more indifferent than he, to the external advantages which are
conferred by birth and fortune. Few particulars are known of his
early life. He was born at Nice, whither his mother, who died
when he was two years old, had gone for the sake of her health.
In 1742 Cavendish became a pupil at Dr. Newcome's school at
Hackney, continuing his studies there until he had reached his
seventeenth year, when he went to Cambridge, where he matricu-
lated in the first rank on the 18th of December, 1749. He remained
at this university until 1753, but did not graduate.
After leaving Cambridge, the personal history of Cavendish be-
comes a blank for the next ten years. He joined the Royal Society
in 1760, but did not contribute anything to its ' Transactions ' until
the year 1766, when he published his paper * On Factitious Airs,'
which contains the first distinct exposition of the properties of
hydrogen, and the first full account of those of carbonic acid ; and a
paper published by him in the following year may be considered as
a still further extension of his research into the properties of this
acid.
For some considerable time after this, Cavendish appears to have
* The other three being Hales, Black, and Priestly.
c 2
28 CAVENDISH.
laid aside Chemistry for other departments of physics. In 1771 he
published an elaborate paper on the theory of the principal phe-
nomena of electricity ; and in 1776 appeared the curious and inter-
esting account of his attempts to imitate the eifects of the torpedo,
by an apparatus constructed in imitation of the living fish, and
placed in connection with a frictional electrical machine and a
Leyden battery. In this imitation he succeeded so well, that all
doubts were removed as to the identity of the torpedinal benumb-
ing power with common electricity. In 1776 Cavendish was se-
lected by the Royal Society, in whose ' Transactions' all his previous
papers had been published, to describe the various meteorological
instruments which were made use of in their apartments ; and the
succeeding year to this marks the period when he commenced his
most important chemical researches, entitled ' Experiments on Air,'
which were carried on with frequent and sometimes long interrup-
tions until 1788, no part of them, however, having been published
before the year 1783. They led to the discovery of the constant
quantitative composition of the atmosphere, the compound nature
of water, and the composition of nitric acid. To solve the impor-
tant problems, whether the atmosphere is constant in its composi-
tion, and if so, what is its composition? Cavendish experimented
in 1781 for some sixty successive days, making many hundred
analyses of air. The honour of the discovery of the compound
nature of water, by which perhaps his name has become most
famous, is also claimed by James Watt. Cavendish, however, seems
at all events entitled to the honour of having first supplied the
data on which that discovery was founded, whilst Watt appears to
have supplied the conclusion.
Between the years 1783 and 1788, Cavendish published his papers
on * Heat,' and his ' Experiments on Air ;' the former are three in
number, and relate chiefly to the phenomena of congelation, and
embody some of the results of experiments made as early as the
year 1764. The first of these papers refer to quicksilver, demon-
strating the true freezing-point of this metal to be 39 or 40 below
zero, while the second and third refer to the freezing of the mineral
acids and of alcohol.
His experiments on air, which led to the important results already
referred to, supplied materials for four papers, besides leading to
the observation of many phenomena which were never made pub-
lic. With the last of these papers published in 1788, Cavendish
closed his chemical researches, his remaining publications referring
to meteorology and astronomy.
In 1798 appeared the celebrated enquiry into the density of the
earth, communicated by Cavendish, in a paper to the Royal Society,
in which he determined, by means of an apparatus contrived by the
Rev. John Mitchell, the density of our globe to be 5'4, or, in other
words, nearly five-and-a-half times heavier than the same bulk of
CAVENDISH. 20
water would be. The experiments made with this apparatus con-
sisted in observing, with many precautions, the movements of a
long lever delicately suspended by the centre, so as to hang hori-
zontally, and furnished at either extremity with small leaden balls.
When two much larger and heavier balls of the same metal were
brought near the smaller ones, the latter were attracted towards
them with a certain force, the measurement of which supplied one
essential datum for the determination of the mean density of the
earth. No greater compliment to the accuracy of the ' Cavendish
Experiment' (as the researches taken as a whole are generally
called) can be afforded, than the slight difference which appeared
when the experiment was repeated at a later period by Francis
Baily, who, with extraordinary precautions to ensure a correct re-
sult, and with all the improvements which forty fertile years had
added to mechanical contrivances, determined the density to be 5*6,
or a little more than five-and-a-half times that of water.
The last paper which Cavendish published, on an improvement
in the manner of dividing astronomical instruments, appeared in
1809, a year before his death. His published papers give, how-
ever, but an imperfect notion of the great extent of ground over
which he travelled in the course of his investigations, and of the
success with which he explored it. He was an excellent mathema-
tician, electrician, astronomer, meteorologist, and geologist, and a
chemist equally learned and original. He lived retired from the
world among his books and instruments; he never meddled with
the affairs of active life, but passed his whole time in storing his
mind with the knowledge imparted by former inquirers, and in ex-
tending its bounds. His dress was of the oldest fashion; his walk
was quick and uneasy ; he never appeared in London unless lying
back in the corner of his carriage ; and he probably uttered fewer
words in the course of his life than any man who ever lived to
fourscore years. His private character has been thus described by
Dr. George Wilson, from whose comprehensive life of Cavendish
the present memoir has been chiefly taken :
" Morally it was a blank, and can only be described by a series of
negations. He did not love, he did not hate, he did not hope, he
did not fear, he did not worship as others do. He separated himself
from his fellow men, and apparently from God. There was nothing
earnest, enthusiastic, heroic or chivalrous in his nature; and as lit-
tle was there anything mean, grovelling or ignoble. He was
almost passionless. An intellectual head thinking, a pair of won-
derfully acute eyes observing, arid a pair of very skilful hands
experimenting or recording, are all that I recognize in his memo-
rials. His brain seems to have been but a calculating engine ; his
eyes inlets of vision, not fountains of tears ; his hands instruments
of manipulation, which never trembled with emotion, or were
clasped together in adoration, thanksgiving or despair; his heart
30 CHAPMAN.
only an anatomical organ necessary for the circulation of the blood.
A sense of isolation from his brethren made him shrink from their
society and avoid their presence ; but he did so as one conscious
of an infirmity, not boasting of an excellence. He was like a deaf
mute, sitting apart from a circle whose looks and gestures show
that they are uttering and listening to music and eloquence, in pro-
ducing or welcoming which he can be no sharer. Wisely therefore
he dwelt apart. He was one of the unthanked benefactors of his
race, who was patiently teaching and serving mankind, whilst they
were shrinking from his coldness or mocking his peculiarities. He
could not sing for them a sweet song, or create a ' thing of beauty,'
which would be ' a joy for ever,' or touch their hearts, or fire their
spirits, or deepen their reverence or their fervour. He was not a
poet, a priest, or a prophet, but only a cold clear intelligence, ray-
ing down pure white light, which brightened everything on which
it fell, but warmed nothing a star of at least the second, if not of
the first magnitude in the intellectual firmament."
As Cavendish had lived, so he died alone. He died after a short
illness, probably the first as well as the last under which he ever
suffered. His habit of curious observation continued to the end;
he was desirous of marking the progress of disease and the gradual
extinction of the vital powers. With this view, that he might not
be disturbed, he desired to be left alone. His servant returning
sooner than he had wished was ordered again to leave the chamber
of death, and when he came back a second time he found his master
had expired. Although in many respects of a highly liberal cha-
racter, so great was the frugality of his ordinary mode of living in
comparison to his income, that at his death Cavendish left the
enormous sum of 1,200,000?. to be divided among his relations.
Life of the Hon. Henry Cavendish, ty George Wilson, M.D., F.R.S.E.
London, 1851. Brougham's Lives of Philosophers. London and
Glasgow, 1855.
WILLIAM CHAPMAN, M.R.I.A.
Born 1749. Died May 29, 1832.
William Chapman, Civil Engineer, was born at Whitby, in York-
shire, of a respectable and wealthy family, who had resided in that
town for several generations. He inherited the freedom of Newcastle-
upon-Tyne from his father, who, in common with all the chief people
of Whitby, was engaged in shipping, and was besides particularly
distinguished for his attainments in mathematics and other scien-
CHAPMAN. 31
tific pursuits. William Chapman derived great advantage from his
father's knowledge of these subjects, contracting a strong taste for
similar occupations. After receiving a liberal education at different
public schools, he was put in command, at the early age of eighteen,
of a merchant vessel, in which he enjoyed the opportunity of visiting
numerous harbours, both in Great Britain and other countries. He
continued thus occupied for a period of three years, losing no op-
portunity of making himself acquainted with the circumstances of
the various harbours he was in the habit of visiting, and he thus
acquired that valuable practical knowledge on the subject of these
works for which he became afterwards so highly distinguished.
After leaving the merchant service, Mr. Chapman was fortunate
enough to become acquainted with James Watt, with his partner
Matthew Boulton, and also with Mr. Wooller, Engineer to the Board
of Ordnance. By these eminent men he was strongly advised to
become an engineer, and follow as a profession that which he had
already closely studied as an amusement. Chapman accordingly
accompanied Mr. Boulton into Ireland, about the close of the year
1783, but although well introduced, was unable to obtain any em-
ployment of consequence in that country, until he had written a
prize essay on the effects of the river Dodder on the Harbour of
Dublin. Shortly after this, he was appointed resident engineer to
the County of Kildare Canal, the works of which were carried on
under the surveillance of the Duke of Leinster, the county members,
and other leading men. In the execution of this undertaking, Mr.
Chapman was requested not to alter the direction of the roads in-
tersected by it, although one of them deviated from the right angle
across the canal upwards of 50 deg. To meet this difficulty, and
knowing that a bridge of the ordinary construction, with any ob-
liquity, could not possibly stand, Chapman invented, and put into
practice, the method of building oblique or skew bridges, which has
since been so generally adopted throughout the country, in railway,
canal, and other bridges. Before this period, (1787), whenever a
road crossed the course of a canal or river, requiring the construc-
tion of a bridge, it had been usual to deviate the course, either of
the road or the object it crossed, so that the crossing should be at
right angles ; a practice which occasioned a great waste of land and
considerable expense as well as awkward and dangerous bends in
the roads thus treated. In some few cases where the bridge was
required to be of only a small opening, no alteration in the direction was
made, but a bridge built of an oblique form, that is with abutments
forming oblique angles with the road passing over it, the courses of
the arch being built in lines parallel with the abutments, and the
ends of the voussoirs bevelled off to coincide with the direction of
the road. Bridges built in this manner consequently became highly
dangerous when the span was great, or the obliquity considerable.
The value of Chapman's invention consists in this, that he gave the
32 CHAPMAN.
means of building bridges on the skew principle, in any required
situation, without altering the direction of the roads or wasting
material, and at an expense little above that of ordinary rectangular
bridges. This he accomplished by the principle of building the
courses of voussoirs at right angles to the face of the arch, meeting
the abutments at oblique angles, being the very reverse of the system
previously practised.
During the progress of the Kildare Canal, Mr. Chapman, at the
request of the Duke of Leinster, became overseer, conjointly with
him and the Hon. Mr. Ponsonby Moore, for the building a bridge of
five arches over the Liffey, to replace the former one which had been
carried away by a flood. The bridge itself was a plain structure,
but the means employed in forming and securing the foundations
attracted general attention, and brought Mr. Chapman into still
greater notice. From this time the number and importance of his
professional engagements continued to increase, and he was engaged
to survey and report upon several projects for the improvement of
the navigations of various rivers, of which plans the most important
was the navigation of the river Barrow, from Athy downwards.
During this period he was appointed consulting engineer to the
Grand Canal of Ireland, of which undertaking Mr. Jessop was
directing engineer ; and under the joint superintendence and surveys
of these two gentlemen, the extension of the Grand Canal from
Kobarts Town to Tullamore was laid out, as well as the Dock be-
tween Dublin and Kingsend, and the canal of communication by the line
of the circular road. The projected canal from near Tullamore passed
through extensive bogs, some of which were thirty feet in depth,
and in consequence of its difficulties was laid out by Mr. Chapman
himself. The directors of the Grand canal had expended upwards
of 100,000/. in a very short space of ground between Kobarts Town
and Bathangar, from not being acquainted with the extent of the
subsidence of bogs under superincumbent weight, or when laid dry
by drainage. Mr. Chapman, therefore, availed himself of their dearly
bought experience, and adopted the following ingenious method of
comparing different kinds of bogs and their relative subsidence. He
provided himself with a cylindric implement of steel plate, sharp
at the lower edges, and containing exactly one hundredth part of a
cubic foot, and having divided the strata of the bogs into as many
leading classes and subdivisions as were necessary, he rilled the
cylinders with a specimen of each, by twisting them round so as to
cut the fibres of the bog. The samples thus taken were carefully
cut off at the level of the cylindric guage, and their weight having
been ascertained, they were left to dry during the space of several
months ; and when in a firm state and consequently greatly con-
tracted, were again weighed, the result being that the originally
wettest bog was found to have lost 10-llths of its weight, and the
firmest 2-3rds, the rest in due progression between. Ittherefore
CHAPMAN. 33
became a simple process to ascertain pretty nearly the extent of
subsidence in any bog to be passed through, and of course to lay
out the line of the canal with such levels, that after subsidence, its
surface should be at the required depth below the surface of the bog.
Amongst Mr. Chapman's other extensive employments in Ireland,
he caused, at the instance of the Irish Government, a survey to be
made of the harbour of Dublin to beyond the Bar at Howth ; and
on this occasion projected a pier from the Clontarf shore to a due
distance from the lighthouse, and then to the westward to a proper
distance from the north wall, so as to confine all the tidal water
covering that vast space, and to cause it to pass down the channel
of Pool Beg, in place of being permitted to flow inwards and out-
wards over the North Bull.
In the year 1794 Mr. Chapman returned from Ireland, and fixed
his general residence at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. About this time the
great project of a canal communication between the German Ocean
and the Irish Sea, was engaging general attention in the North of
England, and Mr. Chapman was fixed upon to survey the line of
country for this proposed canal between Newcastle and the Solway
Firth. His reports on this subject, which were made during the
years 1795 and 1796, are still extant ; and although the work to
which they relate was never executed, the documents connected
with it are of a very interesting nature. In 1808 this project, which
had lain dormant for many years, was again revived, and Mr. Telford
was employed to survey and report upon the best line of canal be-
tween Carlisle and a suitable port on the Solway Firth. Although
Mr. Telford's plan was highly approved of, the time had not yet
arrived for the carrying out of even this small portion of the original
great scheme ; and it was not until the year 1818, when Mr. Chap-
man drew up a plan and report upon this line from Carlisle to Bowness,
that a Bill was brought into Parliament, for which an act was ob-
tained early in 1819. The canal which has been in successful oper-
ation for many years, is eleven-and-a-half miles in length, and cost
about 120,000. It commences on the south-eastern side of Carlisle,
and falls into the sea, through a height of seventy feet, by means of
nine locks.
About the year 1796 Mr. Chapman became a member of the
Society of Civil Engineers, which at that time numbered amongst
its members Watt, Jessop, and Rennie, and amongst its honorary
associates Sir Joseph Banks, and other leading men of the day. In
conjunction with Mr. Rennie, Chapman was then occupied in design-
ing the London Docks, and subsequently the southern dock and basin
at Hull. He was also engaged as engineer for the construction of
Leith, Scarborough, and Seaham Harbours, the last named work
being undertaken for the Marquis of Londonderry.
In addition to his regular professional occupations, Mr. Chapman
devoted a portion of his time to the publication of works bearing on
c 3
34 CONGREVE.
engineering. Amongst the most important of these were the fol-
lowing : ' A Treatise on the various inventions for effecting ascents
in rivers ;' ' Hints on the necessity of Legislative interference for
registering the extent of workings in the Coal Seams, and prevent-
ing such accidents as arise from want of that knowledge ;' ' An Essay
on Cordage ;' and ' A Treatise on the preservation of Timber from
premature decay.' Mr. Chapman also took out a patent for an im-
provement upon Captain Huddart's system of manufacturing ropes.
This method was successfully carried into effect in all the rope
grounds on the river Tyne, and in some of those on the Wear and
Tweed. His next invention was for an expeditious and easily prac-
ticable method of lowering coal waggons, with their contents, im-
mediately over the hatchways of ships, so as to prevent the great
breakage of coals which attended the usual method of shooting them
through long spouts ; this system, after the expiration of the patent
became universal upon the Tyne.
- Mr. Chapman possessed a robust constitution, and practised through
life the most temperate habits ; he was thus enabled to retain the full
enjoyment of his faculties, and to continue employed upon various
public works, in drainages, canals, and harbours, up till within a very
short period of his decease, which occurred in 1832, in the eighty-
third year of his age. Life of Chapman. London, John "Weale.
SIR WILLIAM CONGREVE, BART., F.R.S.
Born in Middlesex, May 20, 1772. Died May 3, 1828.
Sir William Congreve was the son of the first baronet, an Artillery
officer of the same name. He entered early into the branch of
military service his father had pursued, and, in 1816, attained in it
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He was also at this time equerry
to the Prince Regent, which office he retained on the occasion of his
quitting the military service in 1820. Congreve very early dis-
tinguished himself by his inventions in the construction of missiles.
He invented the rocket which bears his name in the year 1808, and
succeeded in establishing this destructive engine of warfare as a
permanent instrument in military and naval tactics, both at home
and abroad. It was used by Lord Cochrane in his attack on the
French squadron in the Basque roads, in the expedition against
Walcheren, at Waterloo, and with most serviceable effect in the
attack on Algiers. It was also used at the battle of Leipzig in 1813,
and for its service on this occasion the Order of St. Anne was con-
ferred on Sir William by the Emperor of Russia. Since that time
CROMPTON. 35
the rocket has been much improved and modified, and has become
an essential part of every armament, not in England alone, but
universally.
Sir William Congreve was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
in the year 1811. In 1812 he became a Member of Parliament for
Gatton, and in 1820 and 1826 for Plymouth. He succeeded his
father as baronet in 1814. Besides the above important invention,
Sir William wrote and published in 1812 an ' Elementary Treatise
on the Mounting of Naval Ordnance,' and in 1815 ' A Description of
the Hydro-Pneumatic Lock.' During the course of the same year
he obtained a patent for a new. mode of manufacturing gunpowder.
This invention consisted, first, of a machine for producing as perfect
a mixture as possible of the ingredients ; and, secondly, of an im-
proved mode of passing the mill-cake under the press, and a new
granulating machine. In 1819 a patent was granted to him for an
improved mode of inlaying or combining different metals, and another
for certain improvements in the manufacture of bank-note paper for
the prevention of forgery.
The last public service performed by Sir William was the drawing
up and publishing, in 1823, a very interesting report on the gaslight
establishments of the metropolis. In 1826, he became mixed up in
the speculative mania which prevailed at that period, and was
ultimately compelled to seek refuge on the continent at Toulouse,
where he shortly afterwards died at the age of fifty-six. Annual
Register, 1828.
SAMUEL CROMPTON.
Born December 3, 1753. Died June 26, 1827.
Few men, perhaps, have ever conferred so great a benefit on their
country and reaped so little profit for themselves as Samuel Cromp-
ton, inventor of the Spinning Mule. He was born at Firwood, in
the township of Tonge near Bolton, where his parents occupied a
farm, and spent their leisure hours according to the custom of the
period in the operations of carding, spinning, and weaving. Soon
after the birth of Samuel, the Cromptons removed to a cottage near
Lower Wood in the same township, and afterwards, when their
child was five years old, to a portion of the neighbouring ancient
mansion called Hall-in-the-Wood. Almost immediately after this
last removal Samuel's father died, at the early age of thirty seven,
and he was left to be brought up under the care of his mother, a
prudent and virtuous woman, who took care that her son should
have the benefit of all available means of education. Samuel first
36 CROMPTON.
attended the school of Mr. Lever in Church Street, Bolton, but was
very early removed to the school of William Barlow, a master well
known at that time for his success as a teacher of writing, arith-
metic, and the higher branches of mathematics.
From the exigencies of her situation, Mrs. Crompton was com-
pelled to take advantage of her son's assistance, as soon as she
possibly could, and there is little doubt that Samuel's legs must
have been accustomed to the loom almost as soon as they were long
enough to touch the treddles. Little, however, is known of his
early life until the year 1769. He was then sixteen years old, and
continued to reside with his mother, occupied during the day at the
loom and spending his evenings at a school in Bolton, where he
advanced his knowledge of algebra, mathematics, and trigonometry.
For some years previous to this period there had been a greatly
increased demand for all kinds of cotton goods, particularly for
imitations of the fine muslins imported from India; and many
attempts were made by the manufacturers in Lancashire and Scot-
land to produce similar fabrics, but without success, for the handspun
yarn of this country could not compete with the delicate filaments
produced by Hindoo fingers. Still, the demand for fine cottons of
various kinds was so considerable, that the weavers, for the sake of
high wages, were stimulated to make great exertions. But they
were continually impeded by the scarcity of yarn for weft, which
often kept them idle half their time, or compelled them to collect it
in small quantities from the cottages round about.
Another important cause of this scarcity had been the invention
of the fly-shuttle, by Kay of Bury, in 1738, which by doubling the
speed of the weaver's operations, had destroyed the arrangement
which, up to that time, existed between the quantity of yarn spun
and the weavers' demand for it. This natural balance, the fly-
shuttle suddenly disturbed, and, notwithstanding the great efforts
of others, it was not again adjusted until after Crompton's invention
was in full operation. Such was the weavers' state of starvation for
yarn, when, in 1767, Hargreaves invented the jenny, which enabled
a number of threads to be spun at the same time.
It was on one of these machines with eight spindles, that Samuel
Crompton was in the habit of spinning the yarn which he afterwards
wove into quilting, and he continued thus occupied for the five
following years. During this period, being debarred from company
and accustomed to solitude, he began to show a taste for music ; to
gratify which he was led to the first trial of his mechanical skill in
making a violin, upon which he commenced learning to play. With
this musical friend Crompton would beguile many a long winter
night, or during the summer evenings wander contemplatively
among the green lanes, or by the margin of the pleasant brook that
swept round the romantic old residence of Hall-in-the-Wood. He
had, however, little leisure in general to spend with his favourite
CROMPTON. 37
instrument ; the necessities of his situation compelled him to perform
daily a certain amount of weaving, and he only succeeded in per-
forming this at the expense of much time lost in mending the ever
breaking ends of the yarn spun on Hargreave's machine, which was
of a very soft nature, and quite unfitted for warps or for the muslins
so much in demand.
During this same period Arkwright had risen to eminence, by
adopting and carrying into practice the ideas of Highs,* and one
Kay a clockmaker, and had constructed his water-frame, which by
means of rollers produced thread of a very superior texture and
firmness. It remained, however, for Crompton to combine in his
machine the improvements of Hargreaves and Arkwright, and hence
was derived the name given to it of the Spinning-Mule.
Crompton commenced the construction of this machine, which
for many years was known by the name of the ' Hall-i'-th'-Wood
Wheels,' in the year 1774. His first spinning-mule was constructed
chiefly in wood, by the aid of a scanty supply of tools which had
been left by his father, who, enthusiastically fond of music, had
shortly before his death commenced making an organ. With the
help of these tools, and the assistance which a small wayside smithy
afforded him, Samuel Crompton completed that invention which,
from the extended benefits it has conferred upon our commerce,
entitles him to rank amongst the greatest inventors Britain has ever
produced. The important part of his invention was the spindle
carriage, and the principle of there being no strain upon the thread
until it was completed. This was accomplished by causing the
carriage with the spindles to recede by the movement of the hand
and knee, just as the rollers delivered out the elongated thread in a
soft state, so that it would allow of a considerable stretch, before
the thread had to encounter the stress of winding upon the spindle.
" This," as the late Mr. Kennedy of Manchester truly said, " was the
corner stone of his invention."
When Crompton was on the eve of completing his first mule,
about the year 1779, the Blackburn spinners and weavers, who had
previously driven Hargreaves from his home, again commenced
their riotous proceedings, and began to destroy all the Jennys round
about, which had more than twenty spindles. Crompton, fearful
lest his new machine should meet with a similar fate, took it to
pieces and kept it hid in a loft above the ceiling of his room during
several weeks. In the course of the same year, however, the Hall-
i'-th'-Wood Wheel was completed, and the yarn spun on it proved
fit for the manufacture of muslins of an extremely fine and delicate
texture.
* Highs or Hays was a reedmaker at Leigh, and in 1 767 took up the plan of
attempting to spin by rollers running at different speeds, previously invented by
Lewis Paul in 1738. Highs employed Kay to carry out his plans, from whom
Arkwright obtained the requisite information.
38 CROMPTON.
Shortly before this, Crompton had married Mary Pimlott, the
daughter of a gentleman residing at New Keys Hall, near Warring-
ton. After his marriage he lived in a cottage attached to the old
Hall, though he still continued to occupy part of the mansion, in
one of whose large rooms he now operated upon the mule with the
utmost secrecy and with perfect success, startling the manufactur-
ing world by the production of yarn which both in fineness and
firmness had hitherto been unattainable. This seems to have been
the happiest portion of Crompton's life. He was then twenty-seven
years of age, and the acknowledged inventor of a machine which,
from the first hour of its operation, altered the entire system of
cotton manufacture in this country. Its merit was universally
acknowledged by all engaged in the trade who had an opportunity to
examine the yarn spun on it, or the fabrics made from that yarn ;
but paradoxical as it may appear, the very perfection of his principle
of spinning, was in a measure instrumental in depriving him of the
harvest for which he had so laboriously worked.
The demand for his yarn became so extensive and urgent, that
the old Hall was literally besieged by manufacturers and others
from the surrounding districts many of whom came to purchase
yarn, but many more to try and penetrate the mystery of the new
wheel, and to discover if possible the principle of its operations.
All kinds of stratagems were practised in order to obtain admission
to the house ; and one inquisitive adventurer is said to have en-
sconced himself for some days in the cockloft, where he watched
Samuel at work through a gimlet-hole pierced through the ceiling.
Crompton, at length wearied out, and seeing the utter impossi-
bility of retaining his secret, or of spinning upon the machine with
the undisturbed secrecy he desired, yielded to the urgent solicita-
tions, and liberal but deceitful promises of numerous manufacturers,
and surrendered to them not only the secret of the principle upon
which he spun the much prized yarn, but likewise the machine
itself. This he did on the faith of an agreement drawn up by them-
selves, in which they promised to subscribe certain sums as a reward
for his improvement in spinning. No sooner, however, was the
mule given up to the public than the subscriptions entirely ceased,
and many of those who had previously put down their names
evaded or refused payment ; some actually denounced Crompton as
an impostor, and when he respectfully put before them their own
written agreement, asked him how he dared to come on such an
errand I
The gross sum of money realized by this subscription amounted
to between 50 and 100Z. Mr. Crompton himself says : " I received
as much by way of subscription as built me a new machine, with
only four spindles more than the one I had given up the old one
having forty-eight, and the new one fifty-two spindles." This
shameful treatment rested in Crompton's memory through life, and
CROMPTON. 39
to the morbid distrust of his fellow-men, which it engendered, may
be ascribed many of the misfortunes which attended his succeeding
life.
About the year 1785 Mr. Oompton removed from the c Hall-in-
the-Wood' to a farmhouse at Oldhams, in the township of Sharpies,
about two miles from Bolton. Here he farmed several acres of land,
and kept three or four cows ; while in the upper story of the house
was erected his spinning mule, upon which he continued to spin
with as much privacy as possible. He was, nevertheless, still
troubled by many curious visitors, who were desirous of seeing the
improvements he was supposed to have made on it. Among others
he received two visits from the first Sir Robert Peel, then an
eminent though untitled manufacturer, who came with the hope of
inducing Crompton to join his establishment, and on his second
visit made him an offer of partnership. It is much to be regretted
that this offer was declined, as Mr. Peel's enterprising business
character was exactly that most suited for supporting Crompton's
great inventive genius. Had these two men continued as partners
at this particular .time, the successful development of the cotton
trade would have been hastened by at least twenty years, while a
large and well deserved fortune might have been secured to
Crompton and his children.
Excelling all other spinners in the quality and fineness of his
yarn, Crompton continued to obtain a high price for all he could
produce, but his production was restricted to the work of his own
hands, (an increasing family having deprived him of the aid of his
wife) ; for whenever he commenced to teach any new hands to
assist him in his work, no matter how strictly they were bound to
serve him by honour, by gratitude, or by law, as soon as they
acquired a little knowledge and, experience under his tuition, they
were invariably seduced from his service by his wealthy com-
petitors ; so that he was ultimately compelled to renounce the use
of his mules, and betake himself to his original occupation of
weaving, or at least to spin only such yarn as he could employ in
his own looms as a small manufacturer.
In 1800 some gentlemen of Manchester, among whom ought to
be mentioned Mr. George Lee and Mr. Kennedy, sensible that Mr.
Crompton had been illused and neglected, agreed, without his
knowledge, to promote a subscription on such a scale as would
result in a substantial reward for his labours. But this scheme,
although generous and noble in its intention, in a great measure
failed. Before it could be carried out, the country suffered severe
distress from a failure in the crops ; in addition to this the horrors
of the French Revolution approached their crisis ; war broke out,
and trade was all but extinguished. Ultimately, all that could be
realized amounted to about 450Z., and this was handed over to
Crompton to enable him to increase his operations in spinning and
weaving.
40 CROMPTON.
ID October, 1807, Mr. Crompton, in the hopes of gaining the
patronage of Sir Joseph Banks, wrote a letter to him, but unfortu-
nately addressed it to Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Society of
Arts, and it is probable that Sir Joseph never read the letter, but
transmitted it to the Society to which it was addressed; in any
case, no notice was taken of this letter, and Crompton's too mor-
bidly sensitive mind thus received an additional wound.
Two or three years after this, his family circumstances became
very precarious, and in the undefined hope of yet obtaining some
recompense for his labours which might better his position,
Crompton, in the year 1811, commenced a statistical investigation
into the results of his invention. For this purpose he visited the
various manufacturing districts of Great Britain, and, from the
information he obtained, calculated that between four and five
millions of mule spindles were then in actual use. But this estimate
was afterwards found to be much too low, as it did not include any
of the numerous mules used in the manufacture of woollen yarn.
A story is told of Mr. Crompton, that, when at Glasgow engaged
in collecting this information, he was invited to a complimentary
dinner, but his courage was unable to carry him through so formid-
able an ordeal ; and so when the time came for going, to use his
own words, " rather than face up, I first hid myself and then fairly
bolted from the city."
Mr. Crompton laid the result of his investigation before some
kind friends* at Manchester, who undertook to draw up a memorial
to Parliament on his behalf. But in this matter Crompton's con-
tinued ill-fortune was singularly displayed. When the time came
for the grant to be proposed to Parliament (May 11, 1812), Mr.
Percival, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had intended pro-
posing 20,000. as the sum to be awarded, was assassinated while
entering the lobby of the House of Commons. Crompton's petition
was consequently postponed, and ultimately 5000Z. was all that was
awarded to the Inventor of the Spinning-Mule ; and thus, after having
haunted the lobby of the House of Commons for five wearisome
months, Samuel Crompton went back to Bolton with this shadow of
a national reward.
Late in life Mr. Crompton's family became dispersed, and as old
age crept on he became less and less fitted for business, and now for
the first time sank into actual poverty.
A noble effort was, however, made by some of the inhabitants of
Bolton to rescue him from his distressing position, and by their
efforts an annuity of 631. per annum was secured to him for the
remainder of his life.
In the year 1827 Samuel Crompton's melancholy life came to an
end. He died at his house in King Street, Great Bolton, aged
* Mr. Lee, Mr. Kennedy, and Mr. George Duckworth.
DALTON. 41
seventy-three, of no particular complaint, but by the gradual decay
of nature. His body was placed in a grave near the centre of the
parish churchyard, underneath a flagstone with the following in-
scription : " Beneath this stone are interred the mortal remains of
Samuel Crompton, of Bolton, late of Hall-i'-th'-Wood, in the town-
ship of Tonge, inventor of the spinning machine called the Mule]
who departed this life the 26th day of June, 1827, aged seventy-two
years."* The Life and Times of Samuel Crompton, &c., by Gilbert
J. French, F.S.A., &c. Manchester and London, 1860.
JOHN DALTON, D.C.L., L.L.D., F.R.S., L. and E.
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.
Born September 5, 1766. Died July 27, 1844.
John Dalton was born at Eaglesfield, a small village in Cumber-
land, near Cockermouth. His father, Joseph Dalton, was a woollen-
weaver, and at the birth of his second son, John, gained but a
scanty subsistence by weaving common country goods. At the
death of his elder brother, however, he inherited a small estate of
sixty acres, which enabled him to give up weaving. John Dalton
had consequently few opportunities of obtaining a good education ;
he was emphatically self-taught, and from his very childhood began
to acquire those habits of stern self-reliance and indomitable per-
severance which in after life, rather than any direct inspirations of
genius (as Dalton himself used to affirm), enabled him to work out
his grand discovery of the ' Atomic Theory.'
Dalton attended the schools in the neighbourhood of Eaglesfield
until eleven years old, by which time he had gone through a course
of mensuration, surveying, and navigation. At the age of twelve
he began to teach in the village school, and for the next two or
three years continued to be partially occupied in teaching and in
working on his father's farm. When fifteen years old he removed
to Kendal, to become an assistant in a boarding school established
there; and, after remaining in this capacity for four years, he deter-
mined to undertake, with the assistance of his elder brother, the
management of the same school. Dalton continued to be connected
with this school for the next eight years, during which time he
occupied his leisure in studying Greek, Latin, French, and Natural
Philosophy, and was also a frequent contributor to the ' Gentleman's
* There is an unaccountable mistake of one year in Mr. Crompton's age as
engraved on his tombstone.
42 DALTON.
and Lady's Diaries,' two periodicals then in considerable repute.
While residing at Kendal, Dalton became acquainted with Mr.
Gough, a man who, though blind from infancy, was yet possessed
of high scientific attainments. With this gentleman he contracted
an intimate friendship, and in 1793 was invited, chiefly through
Mr. Gough's favourable recommendation, to join a college, estab-
lished in Manchester by a body of Protestant dissenters, as tutor in
the department of mathematics and natural philosophy. He re-
signed this appointment after holding it for a period of six years,
but continued to reside in Manchester during the whole of his sub-
sequent life.
In September 1793 Dalton published his first work, entitled
' Meteorological Observations and Essays,' the materials of which
were, however, collected, and the work entirely completed during
his residence at Kendal. A second edition was printed in 1834, and
he continued to pay much attention to this subject until within a
short period of his death, by which time he had recorded upwards
of 200,000 meteorological observations.
In the year 1794 Dalton became a member of the Literary and
Philosophical Society of Manchester, of which, during the course of
his life, he filled in succession all the more important offices ; in-
cluding that of the presidentship, which he held from the period of
his election in 1817, until his death in 1844. On the 31st of Octo-
ber, 1794, he read his first paper to this Society, entitled, ' Extraor-
dinary Facts relating to the Vision of Colours,' in which he gives
an account of a singular defect in his own vision, known by the
name of colour-blindness, which rendered him incapable of distin-
guishing certain colours, such as scarlet and green. He first became
aware of this defect in his sight from the following circumstance.
When a boy he had gone to see a review of troops, and being sur-
prised to hear those around him expatiating on the gorgeous effect
of the military costume, he asked, " In what a soldier's coat differed
from the grass upon which he trod," a speech which was received
by his companions with derisive laughs and exclamations of
wonder.* Until Dalton had announced his own case, and described
the cases of more than twenty persons similarly circumstanced, this
peculiar form of blindness was supposed to be very rare. In the
annals of the above-mentioned Society, Dalton published a long
series of important essays, among the most remarkable of which
are some papers read in the year 1801, entitled, 'Experimental
Essays on the Constitution of Mixed Gases;' 'On the Force of
Steam or Vapour and other liquids at different temperatures in a
vacuum and in air ; ' ' On Evaporation,' and ' On the Expansion of
Gases by Heat.' In January 1803 he read to the same Society an
inquiry ' On the tendency of Elastic fluids to diffusion through each
other,' and in October of the same year wrote an Essay containing
* Memoir, by Dr. T. S. Trail, Encydop&dia, Britannica.
DALTON. 43
an outline of his speculations on the subject of the composition of
bodies, in which he gave to the world for the first time a ' Table of
Atomic Weights.' In the following year he communicated his
views on the theory of definite proportions to Dr. Thomas Thomson,
of Glasgow, who at once published an abstract of them ; and in
1808 Dalton himself published the first volume of his new system
of Chemical Philosophy, in which he placed the Atomic Theory on
a firm and clear basis, and established the law of Multiple Propor-
tions. The value of Dalton's researches on this great subject is
immense ; by the promulgation of his views Chemistry became for
the first time a science, and one great law or theory was seen to
govern its actions ; before it was a series of separate facts, but
by this fundamental law and its branches, and by this only, it is
preserved as a science.
Dalton's theory incurred much opposition before it was finally
accepted by scientific men, and among the unbelievers in it may be
mentioned Sir Humphry Davy. The baronet, however, in the year
1826, clearly acknowledged and accurately defined Dalton's dis-
coveries in his anniversary discourse, when he made known that
the first award of the Royal Society's Prize, founded by George IV.
in the year before, would be given to Mr. John Dalton, " for the
development of the chemical theory of Definite Proportions, usually
called the Atomic Theory, and for his various other labours and
discoveries in physical and chemical science."
During his later life Dalton continued to gain his living as profes-
sional chemist, lecturer, and teacher of Chemistry and Mathematics,
and contributed to the advancement of science many valuable
papers chiefly relating to Chemistry ; he was also accustomed in
his analytical researches to use the graduated dropping tube, and
may be considered as the originator of analysis by volume. Mr.
Dalton was present at the first meeting of the British Association
held in York in 1831, and continued to feel a lively interest in its
prosperity, and to attend the annual meetings as long as his health
permitted him. On the occasion of the second meeting at Oxford
in 1832, the honorary degree of D.C.L. was conferred upon him,
in conjunction with Faraday, Brown the botanist, and Sir David
Brewster. In the summer of the following year, at the meeting of
the same society in Cambridge, it was announced by Professor
Sedgewick, that the King had conferred on Dalton a pension of
150L per annum, which was increased in 1836 to 300?. ; and as his
brother Jonathan died about the same time and left him heir to the
paternal estate, he became comparatively wealthy. He, however,
still continued working according to his strength, and so late as
1840 published four Essays, entitled, ' On the Phosphates and Ar-
seniates;' 'Microcosmic Salt;' 'Acids, Bases, and Water;' and
{ A New and Easy Method of Analysing Sugar.' In 1837-8 Dalton
was attacked by paralysis, which greatly enfeebled him ; he, how-
44 DAVY.
ever lived till the year 1844, when a third attack occurred, from
which he never recovered, but died shortly afterwards in his
seventy-eighth year.
Dr. B. Angus Smith thus describes Dalton's mode of life while
living with the family of the Rev. W. Johns, of George Street,
Manchester, with whom Dalton continued to reside for twenty-six
years: "He rose at about eight o'clock in the morning; if in
winter, went with his lantern in his hand to his laboratory, lighted
the fire, and came over to breakfast when the family had nearly
done. Went to the laboratory and staid till dinner-time, coming in
a hurry when it was nearly over, eating moderately, and drinking
water only. Went out again and returned about five o'clock to
tea, still in a hurry, when the rest were finishing. Again to his
laboratory till nine o'clock, when he returned to supper, after which
he and Mr. Johns smoked a pipe, and the whole family seems much
to have enjoyed this time of conversation and recreation after the
busy day. Life of J. Dalton, by William Charles Henry, M.D.,
F.R.S., &c. London, 1854. Life of J. Dalton, by Robert Angus
Smith, Ph.D., F.R.S., &c. London, 1856.
SIR HUMPHRY DAVY, BART., LL.D., P.R.S., &c ,
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, ETC.
Bora December 17, 1778. Died May 30, 1829.
This eminent philosopher was born at Penzance, in Cornwall. As
a child he was remarkably healthy and strong, displaying at the
same time great mental capacity. The first school he ever attended
was that of Mr. Bushell, at which reading and writing only were
taught. In these rudimentary branches of education he soon made
such progress, that he was removed, by the master's advice, to the
grammar school kept by the Rev. Mr. Cory ton. He was then only
six years old. Here Davy received the elements of his education
until 1793, when he went to the grammar school of Truro, conducted
by the Rev. Mr. Cardew, at which place he continued for about a
year.
Both Davy and his family received much assistance from the dis-
interested friendship of Mr. Tonkin, a respectable medical practitioner
at Penzance, who had adopted the mother of Davy and her sisters,
under circumstances of deep distress, extending his kindness to all
her family, particularly to Humphry.
Soon after leaving Dr. Garde w's school, Davy's father died in 1794;
DAVY. 45
and in the following year Humphry was apprenticed to Mr. Bingham
Borlace, a gentleman at that time practising as surgeon-apothecary
in Penzance. While yet very young, Davy had exhibited traces of
an ardent and inquisitive mind, displaying also a great predilection
for poetry ; but from this period he directed his attention more par-
ticularly to the study of chemistry and natural philosophy His
efforts at attaining an experimental knowledge of the above sciences
were, however, greatly retarded by the defects of his apparatus,
which was necessarily very limited, and consisted chiefly of phials,
wine-glasses, tobacco-pipes, and earthen crucibles. But about this
time he had the good fortune to make the acquaintance of Mr.
Davies Giddy Gilbert and Mr. Gregory Watt,* by whose instru-
mentality the subject of our memoir was introduced to Dr. Beddoes,
who engaged him to superintend a pneumatic medical institution,
which that able but eccentric man had just then established at
Clifton, for the purpose of trying the effects of gases upon various
diseases. This event took place in 1798, Mr. Borlace readily giving
up Davy's indenture, which had not as yet expired. During his
residence at Clifton, Davy was placed in a sphere where his genius
could expand ; he was associated with men engaged in similar
pursuits, was provided with suitable apparatus, and enabled to
speedily enter upon that brilliant career of discovery which has ren-
dered his name illustrious among philosophers.
Soon after he had removed to the neighbourhood of Bristol, Davy's
first published paper, on ' Heat, Light, and Respiration,' appeared in
* Beddoes' West Country Contributions.' His earliest scientific dis-
covery was the detection of siliceous earth in the epidermis of canes,
reeds, and grasses.
About the same period, he began to investigate the properties of
gases, and discovered the respirability of nitrous oxide, giving in a
letter to his friend Mr. Davies Gilbert (dated April 16, 1799), the
first intimation of the intoxicating qualities of that gas. Shortly
afterwards he examined its properties more accurately, administer-
ing it to various individuals, and published an account of his dis-
coveries in a volume entitled ' Researches Chemical and Philosophical
chiefly concerning Nitrous Oxide and its Respiration.' While the
favourable impression from this publication was still fresh on the
public mind, the establishment of the Royal Institution, under the
auspices of Count Rumford, had taken place, and a lecturer of talent
was wanting, to fill the chemical chair. Through the recommenda-
tion of Dr. Hope of Edinburgh, with whom he had become acquainted
Davy received the appointment, and became lecturer to the institu-
tion and director of the laboratory.
It is a singular fact, that although Davy's attention had never
been confined to his favourite science, for he had studied general
literature as well as poetry, yet he was of so uncouth an exterior
* Youngest son of James Watt,
46 DAVY.
and manners, notwithstanding an exceedingly handsome and ex-
pressive countenance, that Count Kumford, a leading director of the
Institution, on seeing him for the first time, expressed no little dis-
appointment, even regretting the part he had taken in promoting
the engagement. But these feelings were of short duration. Davy
was soon sufficiently humanized, and even refined, to appear before
a London and a fashionable audience of both sexes with great ad-
vantage, and by his ingenuity, and happy facility of illustration, he
rendered his lectures so popular, that at the early age of twenty-two,
he found his company courted by the choicest society of the metro-
polis. An anecdote is told illustrative of his popularity, even among
the more humble classes. While passing through the streets one
fine night, he observed a man showing the moon through a telescope
to the surrounding bystanders ; Davy stopped to have a look, and
having satisfied his curiosity, tendered a penny <to the exhibitor.
The man had, however, in the meanwhile, learnt the name of his
customer, and exclaimed, with an important air, that he could not
think of taking money from a * brother philosopher.' Davy's style
of lecturing was animated, clear and impressive, notwithstanding
the naturally inharmonious tones of his voice ; whilst the ingenuity
of his happily devised experiments, the neatness of their execution,
and above all the ingenious enthusiasm which he displayed for his
subject, fixed and arrested the attention of his hearers.
At this time, experimental chemistry began to be the fashion of
the day. Voltaic electricity had just been found to possess extra-
ordinary powers in effecting the decomposition of chemical com-
pounds ; and by the liberality of the Eoyal Institution, Davy was
put in possession of a battery consisting of 400 5-inch plates, and
one of 40 plates, 1-foot in diameter, with which batteries his early
and most brilliant investigations were conducted.
In 1801 he made his first important discovery, which was com-
municated to the Royal Society under the title ' An Account of some
Galvanic Combinations formed by an Arrangement of Single Metallic
Plates and Fluids,' read in June of the same year. In this paper,
he showed that the usual galvanic phenomena might be energeti-
cally exhibited by a single metallic plate, and two strata of different
fluids ; or that a battery might be constructed of one metal and two
fluids, provided one of the fluids was capable of oxidizing the surface
of the metal. In the following year to this, Davy was appointed
professor to the Board of Agriculture, and in 1803 was admitted a
member of the Royal Society, of which he became first the secretary^
and ultimately the president.
To the ' Philosophical Transactions' of this society he continued
to contribute papers on different branches of experimental philosophy;
and it is on these papers that his claims to celebrity almost entirely
rest. From 1802 to 1805, Davy published several minor papers;
but in the following year appeared his first Bakerian lecture, read to
DAVY. 47
the Royal Society in November, 1806, in which he detailed the phe-
nomena of electro-chemical decomposition, and laid down its laws ;
while in his second lecture, read in the November following, he an-
nounced the successful application of these principles, and the dis-
covery of the metallic bases of the fixed alkalies, witnessed by the
production of two new metals, which he named potassium and
sodium.* This splendid discovery was fully confirmed by Guy
Lussac and Thenard, who, in the following year, succeeded in de-
composing potash by iron filings, in a red-hot gun barrel. From
1808 to 1810, Davy gave three more lectures, in which he announced
the results of his further chemical investigations. It may be inter-
esting to remark that the original batteries of the institution were
so worn during the course of his experiments, as to be unserviceable;
a liberal voluntary subscription, however, amongst the members, in
July 1808, put him in possession of the most powerful voltaic battery
ever constructed, consisting of 2000 double plates, with a surface
equal to 128,000 square inches. The results produced by this
tremendous power did not, however, add to science one new fact of
any importance. All Davy's great voltaic discoveries were made
before it was in use, and it only served to show the phenomena of
galvanism with greater brilliancy.
Mr. Davy's reputation was now at its height, and he was invited
by the Dublin Society to give a course of lectures on electro-chemical
science. For these lectures, which were commenced on the 8th,
and concluded on the 29th of November, 1810, he received 500
guineas. In the following year he was invited to give two more
courses, on the Elements of Chemical Philosophy, and on Geology,
for which he received 750Z., the Provost and Fellows of Trinity
College also conferring on him the degree of LL.D. In 1812, Davy
dissolved his connection with the Royal Institution, by giving a
farewell lecture on the 9th of April ; on the preceding day he had
received the honour of knighthood from the hands of the Prince
Regent, and on the llth of the same month was married to Mrs.
Apreece, daughter and heiress of Charles Kerr, of Kelso, and the
possessor of an ample fortune. During the next two or three years,
Sir Humphry communicated several papers to the Royal Society,
but they contained little of importance to science.
Whilst experimenting, in the latter part of 1812, upon azote and
chlorine, he was severely wounded in the eye by the explosion of
these substances ; and it is a strong proof of his energy, that when
his eye was sufficiently recovered, he renewed his experiments upon
the same bodies, and was again wounded in the head and hands,
but this time slightly, as he had taken the precaution of defending
his face by a plate of glass.
In the autumn of 1813 he obtained the permission of Napoleon to
* Davy also reduced by voltaic electricity alumina, but aluminium was first
obtained in a perfectly separate state by Wbnler in 1827.
48 DAVY.
travel in France, whither he proceeded, accompanied by his lady
and Mr. Faraday. From France, Davy proceeded to Italy, where
he spent the winter, returning to London on the 23rd of April, 1814.
During his stay in Italy, he collected specimens of the colours used
by the ancients in their pictures. This formed the subject of a
memoir to the Royal Society, the most interesting part of the paper
being the announcement that the fine blues of the ancients were
formed of silex, soda, and copper, and that they may be exactly
imitated by strongly heating together, for the space of two hours,
three parts of copper filings, fifteen of carbonate of soda, and twenty
of powdered flint.
In the year 1816, Davy turned his attention to a method of pre-
venting the dreadful accidents in coal mines, from explosions of the
fire-damp. After considerable investigation, he found that this gas
would not explode when mixed with less than six times or more
than fourteen times its volume of atmospheric air; and in the
course of experiments made for the purpose of ascertaining how the
inflammation takes place, he was surprised to observe that flames
will not pass through tubes of a certain length or smallness of bore.
He then found that if the length was diminished, and the bore also
reduced, that flames still would not pass ; and further, that the
length of the tubes might safely be diminished to hardly anything,
provided their bore was proportionably lessened. Working from
these principles, he proposed several kinds of lamps, but all were
finally superseded by the simple one known as the Davy safety-
lamp, in which a small oil light is covered by a cylinder of wire
gauze, the small apertures* of which flame will not pass through,
and the explosion is thus prevented from extending outside the
wire gauze. The introduction of this beautiful invention, although
freely given to the public, was for a time violently opposed by
prejudice and passion. Experience, however, showed the com-
parative safety which the miners who used it possessed, and the
coal-owners of Newcastle and the vicinity presented Davy with a
superb service of plate, as some recognition of the important benefit
he had conferred on them.
During the later years of Sir Humphry Davy's life, various com-
munications appeared from him to the Royal Society, none, however,
presenting any very remarkable features. In November, 1820, a
few months after the death of Sir Joseph Banks, he was elected
president of the above society. In 1823 he repeated the interesting
experiment of Mr. Faraday, as to the condensation of gases by
mechanical pressure, and succeeded in converting sulphurous acid
and prussic acid gases into liquids, by heating them in" strong sealed
tubes. During the same year he investigated the causes of the
rapid decay of copper sheathing on ships, and attributing this to
* The meshes or apertures of the wire gauze ought not to he more than one
twenty-second of an inch in diameter. Brougham's Lives of Philosophers.
DOLLOND. 49
electro-chemical action, succeeded in preventing it, by attaching
plates of iron or zinc to the copper. This, however, on being tried
practically, introduced the unlocked for evil, of excessive fouling of
the bottoms of ships so protected, which became liable to marine
deposits in an equal manner with wooden bottoms. Davy's plan
was thus rendered utterly useless, much to his mortification.
During the later portion of his life, Sir Humphry was in very
infirm health, and in 1828 he determined to go abroad. Proceeding
into Italy, he fixed his residence at Rome, whence he sent his last
communication to the Royal Society, viz., ' Remarks on the Elec-
tricity of the Torpedo.' The chief peculiarity of this paper was the
discovery that the electricity of this curious creature had no effect
on the most delicate galvanometer. While staying at Rome, Sir
Humphry was seized with a paralytic attack, which greatly alarmed
his friends. Shortly afterwards he left Rome for Geneva, on reach-
ing which city an attack of apoplexy seized him during the night,
which terminated fatally. The funeral took place on the 1st of
June, 1829, with all the honour and respect the inhabitants of Ge-
neva could testify. His remains were deposited in the burying-
ground of the city, without the walls, the spot being marked by a
simple monument, with a Latin inscription, erected by Lady Davy.
Life of Sir H. Davy, by his brother, John Davy, M.D., F.R.S.
London, 1839. Memoir by Dr. Thomas Trail, Encyclopedia Britan-
nica. Weld's History of the Eoyal Society, with Memoirs of the
Presidents. London, 1848. Brougham's Lives of Philosophers.
London and Glasgow, 1855.
PETER DOLLOND.
Born February 2, 1731. Died July 2, 1820.
Peter Dollond, the subject of the present memoir, was the eldest
son of John Dollond, the celebrated inventor of the Achromatic
Refracting Telescope, who, during the greater portion of his life,
was engaged in the business of a silk-manufacturer, in Stuart Street,
Spitalfields. Here Peter Dollond was born and spent the early
portion of his life. On reaching manhood he engaged in the same
occupation as his father, and for several years they carried on their
manufactures together in Spitalfields. Peter Dollond had, however,
acquired some knowledge of the theory of Optics, and he deter-
mined, if possible, to turn the knowledge he had gained to the
improvement of himself and his family. He accordingly com-
menced business as an optician, under the direction of his father, in
D
50 DOLLOND.
the year 1750, occupying a small house in Vine Street, Spitalfields.
In 1752 John Dollond, who up till then had pursued his original
occupation, grew weary of pursuits so little in accordance with the
natural bent of his mind, and entered into partnership with his son,
in a house near to Exeter Change, in the Strand. Here father and
son began and continued that series of experimental researches
which, in June 1758, led to the memorable conclusion on which was
founded the construction of the Achromatic Refracting Telescope.
In the following year a patent was obtained for the exclusive sale
of these telescopes, but so limited were the means of the authors of
this invention, that, in order to defray the expenses of the patent,
they were compelled to sell a moiety of its value to an optician,
with whom they entered into partnership. Notwithstanding the
great practical value of this discovery, it produced little benefit for
some years to the owners of the patent. In 1761 John Dollond
died, leaving to his son Peter the task of carrying on the business
in partnership with the optician who had paid for the patent. This
connection was, however, of short duration, for the conduct of his
partner was so unsatisfactory, that in 1763 Mr. Dollond purchased
from him his share in the business for 200J., the full commercial
value of this most important discovery being considered at that
time to be worth only 400Z. Peter Dollond was now in possession
of the entire patent, and he was soon called upon to contest its
validity with the very man who had so lately been concerned in
protecting it. These suits were uniformly decided in favour of
Dollond, and although vexatious in their character, were of advan-
tage to him, not only in their immediate issue, but also in extending
the name, reputation, and sale of the object whose right of owner-
ship was contested.
Mr. Dollond now began to be more generally known, and made
the acquaintance of many of the philosophical men of the time,
becoming intimate with Dr. Maskelyne, the Astronomer Royal at
that period, and with Mr. James Short, a man highly distinguished
in arts and science. To this latter gentleman he, in 1765, proposed
an improvement in the Achromatic Telescope, which Mr. Short laid
before the Royal Society, at the same time signifying that it had
his entire concurrence and approval. Among other works of Dol-
lond are an improvement of Headley's Quadrant, communicated to
the Royal Society, in 1772, by the Astronomer Royal ; and an
apparatus for the improvement of the Equatorial instrument, laid
before the Society, through the same medium, in 1779.
Mr. Dollond had now earned for himself a well-deserved reputa-
tion. In 1786 the American Philosophical Society, unsolicited, and
with the approval of Benjamin Franklin, elected him a member of
their society.
About the year 1766 the optical business had been removed from
the Strand to St. Paul's Churchyard, where it became so extensive
DONKIN. 51
and prosperous, that Mr. Dollond took into partnership his brother
John. For nearly forty years the brothers resided here, endeavour-
ing, by their cordial and united efforts, to improve and extend each
branch of their profession. In 1804 John, the younger brother,
died, and in the following year his place was supplied by a nephew,
George Huggins, who, on being admitted into partnership, changed
his name to Dollond, and eventually succeeded to the whole con-
cern. In 1817 Peter Dollond took up his residence at Richmond
Hill, remaining there till June 1820, when he removed to Kenning-
ton Common, where he breathed his last, having arrived at his
90th yeax. Memoir by the Rev. Dr. Kelly.
BRYAN DONKIN, F.R.S., &c.
Born March 22, 1768. Died February 27, 1855.
Bryan Donkin was born at Sandoe, in Northumberland. His
father, who followed the business of a surveyor and land agent, was
acquainted with John Smeaton, the eminent engineer, from having
had occasion to consult him frequently on questions relating to the
bridges and other works on the Tyne. Donkin early showed a taste
for science and mechanics, and when almost a child was to be found
continually occupied in making various ingenious mechanical con-
trivances. He commenced life in the same business as his father,
being engaged for a year or two as land agent to the Duke of
Dorset. Donkin, however, soon showed the bent of his natural
genius by quitting this agency, and going to consult Smeaton as
to how he could best become an engineer. By Smeaton's advice,
he apprenticed himself to Mr. Hall, of Dartford, in the carrying on
of whose works he was soon able to take so active a part, that in
1801-2 he was principally entrusted with the construction of a
model of the first machine for making paper, the execution of which
had been put into Messrs. Hall's hands by the Messrs. Fourdrinier.
The idea of this machine originated with Mr. Roberts, and formed
the subject of a patent, which was assigned to Messrs. Bloxam and
Fourdrinier. After considerable expense had been incurred, and
many trials made with the model, the paper produced was found to
be of too inferior a quality for sale. The model remained at Mr.
Hall's works for some time, till at length Donkin agreed with the
owners to take the matter in hand himself, and for this purpose
took premises at Bermondsey (still occupied by his sons). In 1804
he succeeded in producing a machine which, on being erected at
Frogmore, Herts, and set to work, was found to be successful,
D 2
52 DONKIN.
although still far from perfect. A second one, in which still further
improvements were introduced, was consequently made the follow-
ing year and erected at Two-waters; and in 1810 eighteen more of
these complex machines were erected at various mills, some oj
which are even now at work. The practical difficulties having been
at length overcome, these machines soon superseded, both at home
and abroad, the ordinary method of making paper by hand ; and
although the original idea was not Mr. Donkin's, still to him the
credit is due of having developed, and practically introduced into
general use, these most useful and complete mechanical contrivances,
by means of which the process of making paper is carried on unin-
terruptedly from the liquid pulp to the perfect sheet ready for
writing or printing.
About the year 1812 Donkin's attention was turned to the subject
of the preservation of meat and vegetables in air-tight cases, and
he erected a considerable manufactory for this purpose at Ber-
mondsey. Mr. Donkin was also one of the first to introduce im-
provements into printing machinery. In 1813 he, in conjunction
with Mr. Bacon, secured a patent for a Polygonal printing machine,
and in the same year invented and brought into use composition
rollers, by which some of the greatest difficulties experienced at
that time in printing by machinery were overcome. Among other
inventions and mechanical contrivances of Donkin's are a very
beautiful screw-cutting and dividing machine ; an instrument to
measure the velocity of the rotation of machinery ; and a counting
engine : for the two last gold medals were awarded by the Society
of Arts. In 1820 Mr. Donkin was much engaged with Sir William
Congreve in contriving a method of printing stamps in two colours,
with compound plates, for the prevention of forgery ; and with the
aid of Mr. Wilks, who was at that time his partner, he produced the
beautiful machine now used at the Excise and Stamp Offices, and
by the East India Company.at Calcutta.
Mr. Donkin was an early member of the Society of Arts, and
became one of the vice-presidents. From this society he received
two medals, one for his invention of an instrument to measure the
velocity of the rotation of machinery, and another for his counting-
engine.
During the last forty years of his life he was greatly occupied as
a civil engineer, arid was one of the originators and a vice-president
of the Institution of Civil Engineers, which was founded by one of
his pupils, Mr. Henry Palmer, and a few other gentlemen, the
Royal Charter being obtained by Mr. Telford and himself. He died
in his eighty-seventh year, having passed a long life in an almost
uninterrupted course of usefulness and good purpose. From the
Proceedings of the Royal Society, Nov. 30, 1855.
53
WHLIAM JAMES FRODSHAM, F.R.S.
Born July 25, 1778. Died June 29, 1850.
William J. Frodsham was born in London, and brought up under
the care of his grandfather, a great admirer of John Harrison, the
inventor of the timekeeper for ascertaining the longitude at sea.
From thus spending his early life with his grandfather, young
Frodsham acquired a strong desire to engage in the business of
chronometer making, he was consequently apprenticed to a man
eminent in that art. Shortly after completing his apprenticeship
Mr. Frodsham, in the year 1800, entered into partnership with Mr.
W. Parkinson of Lancaster, and hence arose the celebrated firm of
Parkinson and Frodsham.
During his entire life Mr. Frodsham devoted himself to the ad-
vancement of the art he had engaged in, and being ably assisted
by his partner effected various improvements in chronometers,
watches, and other timekeepers, and was also the author of a paper
on pendulum experiments. Mr. Frodsham lived to an advanced
age, surviving his partner by many years. During his career he
acquired a large fortune, which he bequeathed to his family, leaving
at the same time a sum of 1000. to the Clockmakers' Company, of
which he had been Master several times during his life. Mr.
Frodsham died at Chatham Place, Hackney, and was buried in
Highgate Cemetery.
DAVIES GIDDY GILBERT, D.C.L., P.R.S.
Born March 6, 1767. Died December 24, 1839.
Davies Giddy Gilbert was born at Tredrea, in the parish of St.
Erth, in the west of Cornwall. His paternal name was Giddy, his
father being the Rev. Edward Giddy of St. Erth. His mother, an
heiress of very considerable property, was Catherine Davies, allied
to the noble family of Sandys, and a descendant of William Noye,
attorney general in the reign of Charles the First. Young Giddy,
not being of very robust health, was reared with great care, and
his education chiefly superintended by his father, who was an
accomplished scholar, and a man of acknowledged ability and
attainments.
As Gilbert grew up, it was thought desirable to place him in the
grammar school at Penzance ; and for this purpose his parents
54 GILBERT.
removed for about eighteen months to that town. In 1782 they
went to Bristol, where their son's studies were assisted for some
time by Mr. Benjamin Donne. In 1785 Gilbert matriculated at
Oxford, and became a gentleman-commoner of Pembroke College.
He was already master of a considerable amount of mathematical
and physical knowledge, the greater portion of which he had
acquired by almost unassisted application. While residing at the
University he associated with the senior members of his college,
preferring their company to that of students of his own age ; and
considering the natural bent of his tastes, which led him to prefer
the study of the severer sciences to the elegancies of classical
literature, it is not surprising that such should be the case. Dr.
Parr, writing at this time to the late Master of Pembroke, speaks
of Mr. Giddy, then twenty-three years old, as * the Cornish Philo-
sopher,' and adds that he deserved that name.
During his residence at Oxford, Gilbert was a regular attendant
at the lectures on anatomy and mineralogy, delivered by Dr.
Thompson, at Christ Church. He also attended with assiduity the
lectures on chemistry and botany of Drs. Beddoes and Sibthorp,
with whom he contracted a friendship, which terminated only with
their lives. To the former of these two gentlemen Gilbert subse-
quently introduced his friend Sir Humphry Davy, at that time in
comparatively humble life, but whose extraordinary combination of
poetical and philosophical genius had attracted Gilbert's attention,
and he thus had the merit and good fortune of contributing to
rescue from obscurity one of the greatest discoverers in modern
chemistry.
Mr. Gilbert continued to reside principally at his college until the
year 1793, when, having previously taken the honorary degree of
M.A., he returned to Cornwall to serve as sheriff, and to divide
his time, between the cultivation of science and literature, and the
duties of a magistrate in a populous and busy town. Previous to
this, in the year 1791, he had been elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society, his certificate describing him as being " devoted to mathe-
matical and philosophical pursuits." It was signed by Thomas
Hornsby, Savilian professor of astronomy, G. Shuckburgh, N. Mas-
kelyne, George Staunton, and other Fellows. In 1804 Mr. Gilbert
became a member of Parliament for Helstone, and at the general
election in 1806, was chosen to represent Bodmin, continuing to sit
for that borough until December, 1832. He was emphatically the
representative of scientific interests in the House of Commons, and
was continually appointed to serve on committees of inquiry touch-
ing scientific and financial questions. He acted as Chairman of the
committee for rebuilding London Bridge, causing it to be widened
ten feet more than originally proposed, and he greatly contributed
by his exertions to carry many very important public projects,
amongst which may be mentioned, the Breakwater at Plymouth,
GILBERT. 55
and the bill for the revision of weights and measures, of which he
was appointed a commissioner. He was also a member of the Board
of Longitude.
On the 8th of April, 1808, he married Mary Ann Gilbert, only
niece of Charles Gilbert of Eastbourne in Sussex, under whose will
he came into possession of considerable estates in that county;
and, in compliance with its conjunctions, obtained permission to
assume the name and arms of Gilbert.
Mr. Gilbert contributed several important papers on mathematical
subjects to the ' Philosophical Transactions.' In July, 1819, he
succeeded Samuel Lyons in the office of treasurer to the Royal
Society, which office he retained until elected President in 1828.
He was also the author of numerous papers in the ' Quarterly
Journal of Science and Arts,' and presented the world with the
fruits of his labours as an antiquary, by publishing, in 1838, ' The
Parochial History of Cornwall,' in four volumes 8vo., founded on
the manuscript histories of Mr. Hals arid Mr. Tonkin. Mr. Gilbert
was a diligent collector of ancient traditions, legendary tales, songs,
and carols, illustrating the manners of the Cornish peasants, and
printed various ballads at his house at Eastbourne. He possessed
great memory and powers of quotation and anecdote ; his conversa-
tion has been described as being a continued stream of learning and
philosophy, adapted with excellent taste to the capacity of his
auditory, and enlivened with anecdotes to which the most listless
could not but listen and learn.
" His manners," says Dr. Buckland, " were most unaffected,
childlike, gentle, and natural. As a friend, he was kind, consi-
derate, forbearing, patient, and generous ; and when the grave was
closed over him, not one man, woman, or child, who was honoured
with his acquaintance, but felt that he had a friend less in the
world."
Mr. Gilbert retired from the chair of the Royal Society in 1830,
and two years later from Parliament ; he did not, however, resign
himself to repose, but continued in many ways still to advocate the
cause of science. In 1839 he became much weaker in health and
spirits ; and although he made a journey to Durham, and afterwards
into Cornwall, where he presided for the last time at the Anniversary
of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall (of which he had been
President since its institution in 1814), he was evidently unequal to
the exertions he was making. His last visit was to Oxford, which
University had some years before conferred on him the title of D.C.L.
From that period he never went into public, but, bidding farewell
to London, retired to his house at Eastbourne on the 7th of No-
vember, 1 839, where he died on the 24th of the following December.
His body was borne to the grave by his own labourers, and followed
by his widow and family, which consisted of one son (the present
J. D. Gilbert, F.R.S.) and two daughters. Weld's History of the
Royal Society, with Memoirs of the Presidents. London, 1848.
56
CHARLES HATCHETT, F.R.S.
Born January 2, 1765. Died March 10, 1847.
Charles Hatchett was born at a house in Long Acre, where his
father carried on the business of a coachmaker. He was sent to a
school known by the name of Fountayne's, situated in what was
formerly called Maryleboue Park. On leaving school, Mr. Hatchett
continued to live for some time with his father, purposing to follow
the same business ; he, however, never took kindly to it, but spent
the chief part of his time in perusing books of science, or in attend-
ing lectures on scientific subjects; and his father, perceiving the
bent of his inclination, made him a handsome allowance, to enable
him to prosecute his studies.
An amusing story is told by the Rev. Mr. Lockwood, Rector of
Kingham, who was an intimate friend of Mr. Hatchett's, that one
day he remembered asking Hatchett what first led him to turn his
attention to the study of chemistry ; he replied, that he believed it
was his love for raspberry-jam ; for, when quite a boy, he used to
accompany his mother to the storeroom, and on one occasion, while
as usual entreating for some jam, she locked the door, and putting
the key in her pocket, told him he might now get as much as he
could. This somewhat nettled the lad, and setting his wits to work,
he remembered having read of the power of certain acids to dissolve
metals. Young Hatchett accordingly purchased what he thought
would suit his purpose, and applying it to the lock of the cupboard,
gained an entrance,, and carried off in triumph the pot of jam.
On the 24th of March, 1786, when just one-and-twenty, Mr.
Hatchett married the only daughter of Mr. John Collick, of Saint
Martin's Lane, and shortly afterwards, in company with his wife,
visited Russia and Poland, where they remained for nearly two
years. On returning to England, Mr. Hatchett established himself
in a house at Hammersmith, which he fitted with an excellent
laboratory, so as to be able to pursue his chemical studies. On the
9th of March, 1807, he was elected into the Royal Society, his first
paper having appeared in their l Transactions ' in 1796 ; it was
entitled, * An Analysis of the Carinthian Molybdate of Lead, with
Experiments on the Molybdic Acid; to which are added, some
Experiments and Observations on the Decomposition of the Sulphate
of Ammonia.' This paper was followed by fifteen others, on
various subjects, exhibiting the extent and research of his chemical
investigations. In one of these, published in 1802, and entitled an
* Analysis of a Mineral Substance from North America, containing a
metal unknown,' Mr. Hatchett gives an account of his discovery of
the metal Columbium.
During the later portion of his life, Mr. Hatchett was often called
HATCHETT. 57
upon committees, whenever points of chemistry or other sciences
were to be discussed. In 1818, he formed one of the commission,
comprising amongst others Dr. Wollaston, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir
William Congreve, Davies Gilbert, &c., appointed to authorize an
inquiry into the best means of preventing the forgery of bank
notes ; he was also one of the chemists (consisting of Brande,
Hatchett, Wollaston, and Young) who met at Sir Joseph Banks's
house, to decide on the respective merits of Sir Humphry Davy and
George Stephenson, in the matter of the safety-lamp.
Besides his scientific attainments, Hatchett possessed great con-
versational powers ; he was good-humoured, full of drollery, and
never at fault for some jocular or pleasant story, to amuse the
company he might be with. At the Royal Society Club, of which
he was a member, he was a great favourite, particularly with Sir
Joseph Banks, who, after Dr. Johnson, used to call him a clubable
man. Sir John Barrow gives the following anecdote : That " one day,
at the club, Hatchett amused us with the story of a dream, which
he prefaced by saying that, although it was * such stuff as dreams
are made of,' it still contained a reality in its conclusion, which had
very much distressed him. He dreamt that he had lost his way,
but came to a dark and dismal-looking building, into which he
passed through a forbidding sort of gate, opened by a black-looking
porter, who closed it immediately after him. He walked on, and
everywhere observed clumps of ill-looking people skirmishing and
fighting, while a little beyond were other groups, weeping and in
great distress ; further on still were flames of fire. Beginning to
think he had got into a very bad place, he endeavoured to retrace
his steps and get out again ; but the black doorkeeper refused to let
him pass. A furious fight ensued, and he pummelled the negro -
looking rascal, first with one fist and then with another. At length
he was brought to his senses by a scream, which, to his dismay,
proceeded from his poor wife, and he found that, instead of pum-
melling the black doorkeeper, he had given Mrs. Hatchett a black
eye."
In 1809, Mr. Hatchett was elected one of the chosen few of the
Literary Club, originally instituted by Dr. Johnson and Sir Joshua
Reynolds ; and on the death of Dr. Burney, in 1829, was appointed
to the chief official station of treasurer to the elub.
In 1810 he took up his residence at Belle Viie House, Chelsea,
where he continued for the remainder of his life, which terminated
in 1847, Mr. Hatchett having then attained the advanced age of
eighty-two. Sketches of the Royal Society and Royal Society Club,
by Sir John Barrow, Bart., FM.S. London, 1849.
D 3
68
WILLIAM HENRY, M.D., F.E.S., &c.
Born December 12, 1774. Died September 2, 1836.
,Dr. William Henry, the distinguished chemical philosopher, was
born at Manchester. His father, Mr. Thomas Henry, was a zealous
cultivator of chemical science. The earliest impressions of Henry's
childhood were, therefore, such as to inspire interest and reverence
for the pursuits of science; and he is said, when very young, to
have sought amusement in attempting to imitate, with such means
as were at his disposal, the chemical experiments which his father
had been performing. A severe accident which occurred in early
life, by disqualifying him for the active sports of boyhood, also con-
tributed to determine his taste for books and sedentary occupations.
This injury, occasioned by the fall of a heavy beam upon his right
side, was of a very serious nature, and materially checked his
growth; it left as its consequence acute neuralgic pains, which
recurred from time to time, with more or less severity, during the
remainder of his life.
Dr. Henry's earliest instructor was the Rev. Ralph Harrison, who
possessed considerable repute as a teacher of the ancient languages,
and was considered at that period to be one of the best instructors
of youth in the North of England. Immediately on leaving Mr.
Harrison's academy at Manchester, Henry had the good fortune to
become the private secretary of Dr. Percival, a physician of great
general accomplishments and refined taste, whose example and
judicious counsels were most instrumental in guiding the tastes of
his young companion, and in establishing habits of vigilant and
appropriate expression. In this improving residence Dr. Henry
remained for the space of five years ; he was then removed, in the
winter of 1795-6, to the University of Edinburgh, after having
acquired some preliminary medical knowledge at the Infirmary at
Manchester. Prudential considerations compelled him to leave the
University at the end of a year, and commence general medical
practice in company with his father. A few years' experience,
however, showed the inadequacy of his delicate frame to bear up
against the fatigues of this branch of the medical profession, and he
was permitted, in the year 1805, to return to the University, at that
time adorned by the learning of Play fair and Stewart. So pOAverful
was the stimulus given to his mental powers during his residence
at the University, that he often declared that the rest of his life,
active as it was, appeared a state of inglorious repose when con-
trasted with this season of unremitted effort. The period interven-
ing between Dr. Henry's two academic residences, although passed
in the engrossing occupations of his profession, to which was added
the superintendence of a chemical business previously established
HENRY. 59
by his father, was yet marked by several important contributions
to science. In 1797 he communicated to the Royal Society an
experimental memoir (the first of a long series with which he
enriched the ' Transactions' of that body), the design of which was
to re-establish the title of carbon to be ranked among elementary
bodies, which had been denied by Austin, Beddoes, and other
eminent chemists. In this paper he subsequently discovered a
fallacy in his own reasoning, which he exposed before it had been
detected by any other chemist. In 1800 he published in the ' Philo-
sophical Transactions' his experiments on muriatic acid gas, and in
1803 made known to the Royal Society his elaborate experiments
on the quantity of gases absorbed by water at different temperature
and under different pressures, the result of which was the establish-
ment of the law that " water takes up of gas, condensed 'by one, two
or more additional atmospheres, a quantity which would be equal to
twice, thrice, &c. the volume absorbed under the ordinary pressure
of the atmosphere." In 1808 Henry was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society, and in the same year described in their ' Transactions'
a form of apparatus adapted to the combustion of larger quantities
of gases than could be fired in eudiometric tubes. This apparatus,
though now superseded, gave more accurate results than had ever
before been attained. In the following year (1809) the Copley gold
medal was awarded to him for his valuable contributions to the
' Transactions ' of the Royal Society. For the next fifteen years
Dr. Henry continued his experiments on gases, making known to
the Society the results from time to time. In his last communica-
tion, in 1824, he claimed the merit of having conquered the only
difficulty that remained in a series of experiments on the analysis of
the gaseous substances issuing from the destructive distillation of
coal and oil viz., the ascertaining by chemical means the exact
proportions which the gases, left after the action of chlorine on oil
and coal gas, bear to each other. This he accomplished by skilfully
availing himself of the property (recently discovered by Dobereiner),
in finely divided platinum, of causing gaseous combinations, and he
was thus enabled to prove the exact composition of the fire-damp
of mines. All the experiments of Dr. Henry which have been
previously alluded to bore upon aeriform bodies ; but although
these were his favourite studies, his acquaintance with general
chemistry is proved by his ' Elements of Experimental Chemistry,'
to have been both sound and extensive. This work was one of the
first on chemical science published in this country, which combined
great literary elegance with the highest standard" of scientific accu-
racy. His comparative analysis of many varieties of British and
foreign salts were models of accurate analysis, and were important
in dispelling the prejudices then popular in favour of the latter for
economical purposes. His ' Memoir on the Theories of Galvanic
Decomposition' earned the cordial approval of Berzelius, as being
60 HENRY.
among the first maintaining that view which he himself so earnestly
supported.
It is greatly to be regretted that Dr. Henry did not contribute
more to the literature of science, as he appears to have been emi-
nently fitted, both by natural tastes and by after culture, to excel
in this particular respect ; especially is it to be regretted that he
did not live to carry out the great literary project for which he
had collected materials a history of chemical discovery from the
middle of the last century. He could have made it one of the
most popular books in our tongue.
In the general intercourse of society Dr. Henry was distinguished
by a polished courtesy, by an intuitive propriety, and by a con-
siderate forethought and respect for the feelings and opinions of
others ; qualities issuing out of the same high-toned sensibility, that
guided his taste in letters, and that softened and elevated his whole
moral frame and bearing. His comprehensive range of thought and
knowledge, his proneness to general speculation in contradistinction
to detail, his ready command of the refinements of language, and
the liveliness of his feelings and imagination, rendered him a most
instructive and engaging companion. To the young, and more
especially to such as gave evidence of a taste for liberal studies, his
manner was peculiarly kind and encouraging. In measuring the
amount and importance of his contributions to chemical knowledge,
it must be borne in mind, that in his season of greatest mental
activity, he never enjoyed that uncontrolled command of time and
that serene concentration of thought which are essential to the
completion of great scientific designs. In more advanced life, when
relieved from the duties of an extensive medical practice and other
equally pressing avocations, growing infirmities and failing bodily
power restrained him to studies not demanding personal exertion,
and even abridged his season of purely mental labour. That amid
circumstances so unfriendly to original and sustained achievements
in science, he should have accomplished so much, bears testimony
to that energy of resolve, that unsubdued ardour of spirit which
ever glowed within him, urging him steadily onwards in the career
of honourable ambition, and prompting exertions more than com-
mensurate with the decaying forces of a frame that had never been
vigorous. At intervals during his whole life, Dr. Henry suffered
severely from the effect of the accident already mentioned. The
paroxysms of intense neuralgic agony which attacked him, at length
caused the whole nervous system to be so irritated as to deprive
him of sleep, and cause his death in September, 1836, at the age of
sixty-one. Biographical Account of the late Dr. Henry, by his son,
William Charles Henry t M.D., F.R.S., &c. Encyclopedia Britannica,
Eighth Edition.
61
SIE WILLIAM HERSCHEL, D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
Born November 15, 1738. Died August 23, 1822.
Authentic particulars respecting both the early and private life
of this great astronomer are sadly deficient ; his scientific works
are, however, of a world-wide reputation, and it is with these that
we are chiefly concerned. William Herschel was born at Hanover,
and was one of a numerous family, who supported themselves chiefly
by their musical talents. At the age of fourteen William was placed,
it is said, in the band of the Hanoverian regiment of Guards, which
he accompanied to England at a period variously stated from 1757
to 1759. On his arrival he remained for some time at Durham, and
was subsequently, for several years, organist at Halifax, where he
was also employed in teaching music and studying languages. At
length, about the year 1766, he found himself in comparatively easy
circumstances, as organist of the Octagon Chapel at Bath. Here
Herschel began to study earnestly the science of astronomy ; and
feeling the necessity of obtaining a good telescope, the purchase of
which would be beyond his means, he determined to make one him-
self. After many trials, he succeeded in 1774 in executing with
his own hands a reflecting telescope, and soon acquired so much
dexterity, as to construct instruments of ten and twenty feet in
focal length.
In the year 1780 he contributed his first paper, ' On the Variable
Star in Cetus,' to the Royal Society; and on the 13th of March, 1781,
announced to the world his discovery of a supposed comet, which,
on further examination, proved to be a planet exterior to Saturn,
now named Uranus.* This fortunate success was the first addition
to the number of primary planets since a period of an immemorial
antiquity, and it speedily made the name of Herschel famous.
George III. took the new astronomer under his protection, and
attached him to his court, bestowing on him the title of astronomer
to the king, with a salary of 400Z. a year. It is difficult to estimate
the amount of benefit thus conferred on astronomy by the award of
this pension ; for nothing short of the entire devotion of a lifetime,
could have produced such results as we owe to Herschel. His
contributions to the ' Philosophical Transactions' alone amount to
sixty-nine in number, and may give some idea of the unwearied
activity of the author ; they range over a period of thirty-five years,
commencing in 1780 and terminating in 1815. The numerous bodies
which he added to the solar system, make that number half as large
again as he found it. Including Halley's comet, and the four satel-
lites of Jupiter and five of Saturn, the number previously known
* Called at first Georgium Sidus in honour of George the Third.
62 HERSCHEL.
was eighteen, to which Herschel added nine namely Uranus and
six satellites, and two satellites of Saturn. His discovery of the
rotation of Saturn's ring, his measurements of the rotation of Saturn
and Venus, his observations of the belts of the former, and his con-
jectural theory derived from observation of the rotation of Jupi-
ter's satellites, with a large number of minor observations, prove
that no one individual ever added so much to the facts on which
our knowledge of the solar system is founded. His leading dis-
coveries in siderial astronomy include the discovery of binary
systems of stars, and the orbits of several revolving stars; the
discovery and classification of a prodigious multitude of nebula;
the law of grouping of the entire firmament, and its connection
with the great nebula of the Milky Way ; and lastly, the determina-
tion of the motion of our sun and system in space, and the direction
of that motion.
Herschel's magnificent speculations on the Milky Way, the con-
stitution of nebula, &c., first opened the road to the conception,
that what was called the universe was, in all probability, but a
detached and minute portion of that fathomless series of similar
formations which ought to bear the name. Imagination roves with
ease upon such subjects ; but before Herschel's observations, even
that daring faculty would have rejected ideas which afterwards
proved to be but sober philosophy. These great and arduous
enquiries occupied Herschel during nearly the whole of his scientific
career, extending to almost half a century, and, excepting the con-
tinuation of his labours by his illustrious son, Sir John, little has
been added to our knowledge of ' the constitution of the heavens'
since his death.
As an optician, Herschel deserves equal notice for the wonderful
improvements which he effected in the dimensions and magnifying
power of telescopes, and by the skill with which he applied them
to celestial observations. The reflecting telescope was the one to
the improvement of which he so successfully devoted himself ; and
the real secret of his success in this, was his astonishing persever-
ance ; his determination being to obtain telescopes of twenty feet
focal length or more, and of a perfection equal or superior to the
small ones then in use. He himself relates, that whilst at Bath he
had constructed 200 specula of seven feet focus, 150 of ten feet, and
about 80 of twenty feet ; a proof of extraordinary resolution in a
man of limited means, and at that time engaged in a laborious
profession.
Herschel at last succeeded in constructing his enormous telescope
of forty feet focal length, which he erected in the grounds of his
house at Slough. This instrument was begun in 1785, and finally
completed on August 28th, 1789, on which day Herschel discovered
with it the sixth satellite of Saturn; the diameter of the tube was
4 feet 10 inches, the speculum having a useful area of 4 feet : the
HOWARD. 63
total cost was 4000?., which was entirely defrayed by the liberality
of George the Third.
^ After the award of the king's pension, Sir William Herschel fixed
his residence at Slough, near Windsor, his family consisting at first
of one of his brothers, and his sister, Miss Caroline Herschel, who
was his coadjutor and assistant in his computations and reductions,
and was also actively employed in astronomical observation, being
the discoverer of more than one comet. Herschel married a widow
lady, Mrs. Mary Pitt, and left one son, the present Sir John, whose
name has long been known to the public as one of the most active
and successful adherents of science that our day has produced.
Dr. J. D. Forbes thus sums up the philosophical character of Sir
William Herschel:
" He united, in a remarkable degree, the resolute industry which
distinguishes the Germans, with the ardour and constancy which
has been thought characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon. From his
native country he brought with him the boldness of speculation
which has long distinguished it, and it is probable that he had also
a vigorous and even poetical imagination. Yet he was ever im-
patient until he had brought his conjectures to the test of experi-
ment, and observation of the most uncompromising kind. He
delighted to give his data a numerical character, and where this
was (by their nature) impossible, he confirmed his descriptions by-
reiterated observation, in different states of weather, with different
telescopes, apertures, and magnifying powers ; and with praise-
worthy fidelity he enabled his readers to form their own judgment
of the ^ character of his results, by copious and literal transcripts
from his journals."
^ Herschel died peacefully at Slough, at the advanced age of
eighty-three, on the 23rd of August, 1822, only one year after the
publication of his latest memoir in the * Transactions ' of the then
recently formed Astronomical Society, of which he was the first
president. Sixth Dissertation, by James David Forbes^ D.C.L.,
F.R.S., (&c., Encyclopaedia Britt., eighth edition. English Cyclo-
paedia. London, 1856. Weld's Hist, of Roy. Society.
EDWARD CHARLES HOWARD, F.R.S.
Born May 28, 1774. Died September 28, 1816.
Mr. Howard was born at Darnell, in the parish of Sheffield, and
was the third brother of the twelfth Duke of Norfolk. His name
has become intimately connected with the manufacture of sugar,
64 HUDDART.
from the many improvements which he introduced into the old
processes for the refinement of this most important article of com-
merce, and especially by his invention of the vacuum-pan.
It is related, on the authority of the late Mr. C. Few, that Mr.
Howard's attention was drawn towards this subject by Mr. Charles
Ellis, who, on the occasion of an immense quantity of West India
sugar being in bond, and for which the revenue could find no
market, recommended Howard, whose talents as a practical chemist
Mr. Ellis was well acquainted with, to try and see if he could not
relieve the Government warehouses, by converting the raw sugar
into some kind of manure, and thus avoid the duty and render the
article saleable. While experimenting for this purpose, Mr. Howard
accidentally discovered his process of purifying sugar, for which, in
conjunction with certain sugar refiners, he took out patents, and
ultimately realized a considerable fortune.
Howard's vacuum-pan was patented in 1812 ; it depends for its
action on the principle that liquids boil at temperatures dependent
on the pressures they have to sustain. Thus water, under the
ordinary pressure of the atmosphere (30 inches barometer), boils at
212 F., whereas in vacuo it will boil at about 80 ; consequently a
comparatively low temperature will effect the boiling of sugar-syrup
in vacuo, evaporation will proceed far more safely than in the old
process of heating the syrup in open pans, and the percentage of
waste will be greatly reduced, rendering the manufacture highly
profitable in a commercial point of view.
Mr. Howard died at the early age of forty-two, and was buried at
St. Pancras, Middlesex. He left one son, and a daughter, Julia, who
was married in the year 1829 to the Hon. Henry Stafford Jerning-
ham, afterwards Lord Stafford.
CAPTAIN J. HTTDDAET, F.R.S.
Born Jan. 11, 1740. Died August 19, 1816.
Joseph Huddart was born at Allonby in Cumberland. His
Father, who was a shoemaker and farmer, desiring to give his son
the best education in his power, sent him to a day-school kept by
Mr. Wilson, the clergyman of the village. Here young Huddart
acquired a knowledge of the elements of mathematics, including
astronomy, sciences in which he attained great proficiency in after
life. When quite a boy, Huddart gave indications of an original
mind, combined with great industry and unwearied patience. Having
fallen in with a treatise by Mungo Murray on ship building, he was
HUDDART. 65
so pleased with its clear directions, that he set to work and suc-
ceeded, after immense labour and ingenuity, in making a model of a
seventy-four gun-ship, with ribs, planks, and bolts complete. When
engaged in herding his father's cows, he used to carry out into the
country a desk of his own manufacture, employing his time in
reading, and mathematical drawing and calculations.
As Huddart grew up he evinced a strong bias for a sea-faring
life, and an event occurred in 1756 which decided his future career.
In that year large shoals of herrings came into the Solway Frith,
and the elder Huddart took advantage of the circumstance to trade
in conjunction with a Herring Fishery Company, while his son took
his place with others in the boats, and soon displayed so much skill
and ability in their management that he became noted among his
fellows for superiority of knowledge in nautical matters. Young
Huddart continued more or less in this new employment until his
father's death, in 1762, when he succeeded to a share in the fishery,
and at once took the command of a sloop employed in carrying the
salted herrings to Cork and other parts of Ireland, for the supply of
the West India markets.
These voyages gave him a thorough knowledge of St. George's
Channel, convinced him of the insufficiency of the charts then in
use, and ultimately led to his making a complete survey of that
sea, and to the subsequent publication of his own most valuable
chart. In 1768 Huddart, with the assistance of his uncle, designed
and built a vessel for himself, and named it the Patience, every
timber in it having been moulded with his own hand. In this
vessel he made his first voyage to North America, and continued to
sail in her until the year 1771, when he was induced by Sir Richard
Hotham, with whom he had become acquainted, to enter the East
India Mercantile Marine, in which service he continued for many
years, and realized a considerable independency.
Captain Huddart's scientific knowledge and high character intro-
duced him into the Trinity House as an Elder Brother, and also into
the Committee of the Ramsgate Harbour Trust, and into the London
and East India Dock Directions. At the Trinity House all inquiries
relating to lights, lighthouses and charts were chiefly referred to
him, while the lighthouses on Hurst Point were built under his
superintendence and immediate direction.
On retirement from the East India Company's service, Huddart
engaged again in his favourite pursuit of ship building, making
many practical experiments to determine the lines, which consistent
with stability and capacity for stowage would give to vessels the
greatest velocity through the water. Bat that which constitutes
Captain Huddart's chief claim on the gratitude of posterity are his
great improvements and inventions in the manufacture of Cordage ;
before his time nothing worthy of the name of machinery had been
applied to rope-making, and to him was reserved the honour of
66 HUDDART.
bringing the wonderful power of Watt's steam engine to bear upon
this most important article of manufacture.
Captain Huddart's attention was first drawn towards the subject
during a voyage from India to China through the Straits of Sunda,
where the ship he commanded was frequently compelled to anchor.
When the anchor was weighed, the outer yarns of the cable were
often found to be broken, and on opening a piece of cable to find
out the cause, Huddart's attention was forcibly drawn to the fact
that rope as then manufactured, bore almost the entire strain on the
outer yarns of the strands, from the yarns being originally of the
same length, and the strand in the process of twisting becoming
shortened. He determined to remedy this, and ultimately con-
structed a machine which, by means of what he called a register
plate, gave to every yarn the same strain, and its proper position in
the strand which was compressed through a tube into the desired
form.
Government refusing to take up this valuable invention, a com-
pany was formed by Huddart's friends for the manufacture of rope
upon his new principle. These gentlemen built a factory at Lime-
house, which was established under the name of Huddart & Co.
Captain Huddart now devoted himself to the further develop-
ment of his valuable invention ; he contrived a registering machine
whereby the yarns were formed as they came out of the tar-kettle'
the tar being kept at the temperature (212-220 Fah.) he found by
experiment to be sufficient for the required purpose, without in-
juring by too great heat the fibres of the rope.
He also constructed a laying machine, which gave the same length
and twist to every strand, and an uniform angle and pressure to the
rope or cable. These improvements involved the manufacture of
much beautiful machinery, which was made after Huddart's design
and under his own personal superintendance.*
Captain Huddart lived to an advanced old age, and even in his
last illness his disposition to inquire into causes and effects did not
forsake him, as his body gradually wasted away, he caused himself
to be weighed from time to time, noting thereby the quantity of
moisture which escaped by the breath and insensible perspiration.
He died at Highbury Terrace, London, at the age of seventy six,
and was interred in a vault under St. Martin's Church, in the
Strand. Memoir of Capt. Jos. Huddart, by Wm. Cotton, D.C.L.
London, 1855.
* This machinery was constructed by John Rennie. Mechanics' Magazine^
Sept. 20, 1861.
67
EDWARD JENNER, M.D., L.L.D., F.R.S., &c.
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.
Born May 17, 1749. Died January 26, 1823.
Edward Jenner, who by his discovery of vaccination has pre-
eminently acquired a right to the title of the " Benefactor of
Mankind," was born at the vicarage house of Berkeley, in Glouces-
tershire, and was the third son of the Rev. Stephen Jenner, rector
of Rockhampton, and vicar of Berkeley. Jenner's father died when
he was only five years old, leaving him to be brought up under the
care of his uncle. At eight years of age he was put to school at
Wotton-under-Edge, from whence he was removed shortly after-
wards to the care of Dr. Washborn, at Cirencester. Jenner early
displayed that taste for natural history which afterwards formed so
marked a feature in his character. Before he was nine years old he
had made a collection of the nests of the dormouse, and when at
Cirencester used to spend his hours of recreation in searching for
the fossils which abound in that district.
After the completion of his scholastic education, Jenner removed
to Sudbury, near Bristol, where he acquired the elements of surgery
and pharmacy under Mr. Ludlow, an eminent surgeon in the neigh-
bourhood. Having completed his term with this gentleman, he
went to London and became a pupil of the celebrated John Hunter,
in whose family he resided for two years, laying the foundation of
an intimate friendship only broken by Hunter's death. Under the
tuition of this distinguished anatomist he acquired an almost un-
rivalled skill in minute dissections and delicate injections of parts;
,and when, in the year 1771, Captain Cook returned from his first
voyage of discovery, the valuable specimens of Natural History,
yhich had been collected by Sir Joseph Banks, were in a great
measure arranged and prepared by Jenner, who was recommended
by Mr. Hunter for that purpose. In executing this task, he evinced
'so much dexterity and intelligence, that he was offered the post of
Naturalist in the next expedition, which sailed in 1772. Jenner,
however, refused the offer, and determined to fix his abode at the
place of his birth. He returned to Berkeley when about twenty-
four years old, and at once commenced practice as a country
surgeon. His first attempts were very successful ; and as he added
to his professional skill the manners of a thorough gentleman, and
the information of a scholar, he became a welcome guest in the
most distinguished families. ,He was in the habit at this time of
cultivating the art of poetry, and used to send his compositions to
his friends in the ordinary interchange of literary correspondence.
He was likewise clever at an epigram or a ballad, and had a natural
68 JENNER.
taste for music, being able to play on the flute and violin, and sing
his own verses with considerable taste and feeling. Such was the
attachment of Jenner's friends to him at this period of his career,
and so highly did they value his amusing and interesting conversa-
tion, that, when he had called at their houses, either as a visitor or
in his professional capacity, they would accompany him, on leaving,
many miles on his way home, and this too, often at midnight, in
order that they might prolong the pleasure derived from his com-
pany and conversation.
Although Jenner's time was chiefly occupied with his profess iona
duties, he still kept up a constant and regular correspondence
with his friend John Hunter on different scientific subjects. He
managed also to find leisure to institute many experiments and
observations in natural history, one of the results of which was his
account of the Cuckoo, a most carefully elaborated essay, and which
has always been considered as a model of accurate observation.
This paper was read to the Royal Society on the 10th of March,
1788, and printed in their ' Transactions.' It explained the habits
of this curious bird very satisfactorily, and its publication at once
secured the author a considerable reputation as a Naturalist. As
this paper appears not to be very generally known, the following
account taken from it may be interesting :
" The cuckoo furtively deposits her egg in the nest of another
bird ; it is done not that her offspring may be a sharer of the care
of the foster-parent, but that it may engross it entirely to the total
destruction of its own natural offspring. A perversion of all the
maternal instincts is a most remarkable result of this vicarious
incubation. The hedge-sparrow, or other birds whose nests have
been visited by the cuckoo, actually sometimes eject their own eggs
to make room for the new guest ; but it occasionally happens that
this is not done ; the eggs are not disturbed, and the process of
hatching is allowed to go on regularly, and the young sparrows and
the cuckoo emerge from the shell about the same time. This event,
when it is permitted to happen, does not at all improve the con-
dition of the former; on the contrary, it only exposes them to
greater sufferings. The size of the egg of the cuckoo does not vary
much from that of the bird in whose nest it is deposited. When
the young sparrow, therefore, and the intruder first come into life,
they are pretty much on an equality ; but unhappily for the foster-
brethren, this equality does not last long: the cuckoo's growth
rapidly outstrips that of his companions, and he immediately ex-
ercises his new powers with abundant selfishness and cruelty. By
a singular configuration of his own body he contrives to lodge his
companions, one by one, upon his back, and then scrambling up the
sides of the nest, he suddenly throws them from their seat, and
completely ejects them from their own home to become food for
worms. There is reason to believe that the unnatural parent is
JENNER. 69
often an unmoved witness of this atrocity. Her whole care and
affection are absorbed by the intruder, and her own flesh and blood
literally turned out to perish. It sometimes, though very rarely,
happens that two cuckoo's eggs are deposited in the same nest.
When this occurs, and they are both hatched together, a bitter
feud arises, which is only terminated by the ejection of one or other
from the nest."
All naturalists previous to Jenner were inclined to ascribe the
peculiarity in the economy of the cuckoo to its structure ; the
largeness of the stomach, which is only protected by a thin cover-
ing, they asserted, rendered the pressure attendant upon incubation
incompatible with health. This theory is^incorrect, and was adopted
without due examination.
Jenner observes, " May they not, be owing to the following cir-
cumstances ? namely, the short residence this bird is allowed to
make in this country, where it is destined to propagate its species,
and the call that nature has upon it, during that short residence, to
produce a numerous progeny. The cuckoo's first appearance here
is about the middle of April. Its egg is not ready for incubation
till some weeks after its arrival. A fortnight is taken up by the
sitting bird in hatching the egg. The young bird generally con-
tinues three weeks in the nest before it flies, and the foster-parents
feed it more than five weeks after this period : so that even if a
cuckoo should be ready with an egg much sooner than the time
pointed out, not a single nestling, would be fit to provide for
itself, before its parent would be instinctively directed to seek
a new residence, and be thus compelled to abandon its young ; for
the old cuckoos take their final leave of this country the first week
in July."
The domestic incidents of Jenner's life during this period, although
important to himself and his future career, were not otherwise
remarkable. Having experienced a disappointment in his affections
early in life, he continued for many years unmarried. Ultimately,
however, on the 6th of March, 1788, he was married to Catherine
Kingscote, a descendant of an ancient Gloucestershire family.
In 1793 John Hunter died, and Jenner was deeply affected by the
loss of his esteemed friend. Many years previous to this sad event,
Jenner's anxious and affectionate attention to the symptoms of the
disease, which as early as 1777 had begun to attack Hunter, had
enabled him to detect the true nature of his illness (Angina pec-
toris), and the result of the examination after death fully established
the correctness of Jenner's views.
In 1792, having determined to give up the general practice of his
profession, and practice as a physician only, Jenner obtained the
degree of Doctor of Medicine from St. Andrews ; and three years
afterwards, on finding that Berkeley by itself could never support
a physician, commenced making professional visits to Cheltenham,
a practice which he continued for many years.
70 JENNER.
We now come to the important epoch in the life of this eminenl
man. On the 14th of May, 1796 (commemorated in Berlin as an
annual festival), he made his first successful vaccination on a boy
of the name of Phipps, eight years old, and announced the event in
a letter to a friend named Gardner, in the following words : " But
listen to the most delightful part of my story. The boy has
since been inoculated for the small-pox, which, as I ventured to
predict, produced no effect. I shall now pursue my experiments
with redoubled ardour." In the year 1798 he made public the
result of his continued observations and experiments, published
during this year his work entitled an ' Inquiry into the Causes and
Effects of the Varioloa Vaftcince,' and henceforth the imperishable
name of Jenner was to be identified with vaccination. Although
Jenner announced his discovery thus late in life, his attention had
been drawn forcibly towards the subject when quite a youth, while
pursuing his professional education in the house of his master at
Sudbury. During that time, a young countrywoman having come
to seek advice, the subject of small-pox was mentioned in her
presence ; she immediately observed, " I cannot take that, for I
have had the cow-pox." This incident rivetted the attention of
Jenner, and he resolved to let no opportunity escape of procuring
knowledge upon so interesting a subject. When, in 1770, he was
prosecuting his studies in London, he mentioned the matter to
Hunter, who told him not to think but try, and above all to be
patient and accurate. Hunter, however, from the great number of
original and important pursuits, which fully engrossed his attention,
was never so greatly impressed, as Jenner, with the probable con-
sequences of the successful elucidation of the subject of cow-pox ;
while other surgeons and scientific men, to whom the subject was
mentioned, ridiculed the idea ; and even when Jenner had drawn up
his ' Inquiry,' he was recommended not to send it to the Royal
Society, lest it should injure the scientific reputation which he had
formerly acquired with that body by his paper on the ' Natural
History of the Cuckoo.' Undeterred by this want of sympathy,
Jenner, during the time of his practice at Berkeley, patiently con-
tinued his investigations as to the nature of cow-pox, and, gradually
struggling through the difficulties which he had to encounter on
his way, eliminated the following facts : that there were certain
people to whom it was impossible to give the small-pox by inocula-
tion, and that these had all had the cow-pox ; but that there were
also others who had had cow-pox, and who yet received small-pox.
This, after much labour, led him to the discovery that the cow was
subject to a variety of eruptions, of which one only had the power
of guarding from small-pox, and that this, the true cow-pox, as he
called it, could, at only one period of its course, produce, by inocu-
lation, such an influence upon the constitution as to render the
individual safe from further contagion. This was the basis upon
which the fundamental rules for the practice of vaccination were
JENNER. 71
founded. The publication of his 'Inquiry' excited the greatest
interest, for the evidence in it seemed conclusive ; yet the practice
of vaccination met with opposition, as severe as it was unfair, and
its success seemed uncertain until a year had passed, when upwards
of seventy of the principal physicians and surgeons in London
signed a declaration of their entire confidence in it. An attempt
was then made to deprive Jenner of the merit of his discovery, but
it signally failed, and scientific honours began to be bestowed on
him from all quarters. Nothing could, however, induce Jenner to
leave his native village, and all his correspondence shows that the
purest benevolence, rather than ambition, had been the motive
which actuated his labours. In a letter to Mr. Clive, who instituted
the first successful case of vaccination in London, he says : " Shall
I, who, even in the morning of my life, sought the lowly and se-
questered paths of life, the valley and not the mountain ; shall I,
now my evening is fast approaching, hold myself up as an object
for fortune and for fame ? Admitting it as a certainty that I obtain
both, what stock should I add to my little fund of happiness ? And
as for fame, what is it ? a gilded butt for ever pierced with the
arrows of malignancy." On the Continent Jenner's claims on the
gratitude of mankind were quickly recognised, and the influence of
his name and character was very great. On one occasion during
the war he addressed a letter to Napoleon, requesting permission
for two men of science and literature to return to England ; and it
is related that Napoleon, being about to reject the petition, heard
Josephine utter the name of Jenner ; on which the Emperor paused
for an instant, and exclaimed, " Jenner ! ah, we can refuse nothing
to that man." He subsequently made other applications both to
the French and other governments, which were uniformly attended
.with similar success. In fact his name became at length so potent,
and his influence so well known, that persons left England with
certificates signed by him, which had all the force and value of real
passports. England, however, was more tardy in recognizing the
claims of this great man. He once or twice applied to the British
government on behalf of some French prisoners, but unhappily
without success. Nor was he permitted to share in the least degree
in the vast patronage at the disposal of the government, and all his
attempts to obtain a living for one of his nephews failed, although
he applied where he was quite justified in thinking he would meet
with attention and success. On the occasion of the first parlia-
mentary grant to Jenner in the year 1802, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer stated that he thought the " approbation " of the House
was the highest reward that could be given him, inasmuch as it
would lead to an extended and very lucrative practice ; and although
it was proved in evidence that 40,000 men were annually preserved
to the State, even at that time, by Dr. Jenner's discovery, the pro-
position of a grant for 10,000. was carried only by a majority of
72 JESSOP.
three. Jenner's feelings were deeply wounded by the manner in
which this grant was made, and he would gladly have repudiated
the whole affair. It remained unpaid for two years, and when at
length the money was paid to him, it was so loaded with taxes and
other expenses, as to be of little pecuniary benefit. Happily, how-
ever, both for Jenner and the credit of Great Britain, the Marquis
of Lansdowne (then Lord Henry Petty) was a principal mover in
his second parliamentary grant, and through the able advocacy of
this enlightened nobleman, together with Mr. Whitbread, Mr.
Windham, and Mr. Edward Morris and others, a more fitting re-
compense of 20,000., free of all charges, was awarded him in July
1807.
Jenner had several attacks of severe illness during his life, but he
notwithstanding attained to a good old age. Till the last day of
his life he was occupied in the most anxious labours to diffuse the
advantages of his discovery both at home and abroad ; and he had
the satisfaction of knowing that vaccination had even then shed
its blessing over every civilised nation of the world, prolonging life,
and preventing the ravages of one of the most terrible scourges to
which the human race was ever subject. He died suddenly from
an attack of paralysis in July 1823, having attained the seventy-
fifth year of his age.
Shortly after Jenner's death a statue was erected to his memory
in Gloucester Cathedral, chiefly through the exertions of his friend
and biographer, Dr. Baron ; still more recently the statue in bronze,
by William Calder Marshall, R.A., was erected in Trafalgar Square,
and afterwards removed to Kensington Gardens, as a 'TRIBUTE
FROM ALL NATIONS' to the memory of this distinguished phi-
lanthropist. Life of Edward Jenner, by John Baron, M.D., &c.
London, 1827. Memoir by Dr. Thos. Lay cock, Encyclopaedia Bri-
tannica.
WILLIAM JESSOP.
Born 1745. Died 1814.
This engineer forms the connecting link between the first and
second generations of civil engineers in this country. To the
former belong Smeaton and Brindsley, while the latter are headed
by the great names of Telford and Rennie.
The father of Mr. Jessop was engaged under Smeaton in super-
intending the erection of the Eddystone Lighthouse, and his son
JESSOP. 73
William, the subject of this memoir, was born at Plymouth. When
he had attained the age of sixteen his father died, leaving the
guardianship of his family to Smeaton, who thenceforth adopted
William as his pupil, determining to bring him up to his own pro-
fession. Young Jessop remained with Smeaton for a period of ten
years, enjoying, during this the busiest part of Smeaton's active
career, many opportunities of acquiring an extensive knowledge of
the business of civil engineering. After leaving the service of
Smeaton, Mr. Jessop was engaged for several years in improving
the navigation of the rivers Aire and Calder, and of the Colder and
Hebble in Yorkshire. He was also employed on the river Trent in
Nottinghamshire, and he appears to have been principally occupied
on these works for some time subsequent to his leaving Smeaton.
A few years before the retirement of the latter, which took place
in 1791, his pupil began to obtain active employment, and we find
him about the years 1788 and 1789, reporting on the navigation of
the Sussex Ouse, and the drainage of Laughton Level in the same
country, being called on, at the same time, by the Commissioners of
the Thames and Isis, to advise on the works they had undertaken,
and were about to execute, for the improvement of this important
navigation.
In the three following years (1790-2) his professional employment
greatly increased. He was now actively engaged in prosecuting
various important canals in connection with the great central navi-
gation of the Trent. Amongst these were the Cromford Canal,
penetrating amongst the mountains of Derbyshire into the rich
mineral districts of that wild and romantic country ; the Notting-
ham Canal, which connects the Cromford with the Trent at
Nottingham; the Loughborough and Leicester navigation, con-
necting the Ashby Coalfield with the navigable part of the Soar
and with Nottingham, thus opening an important communication
with the Trent on the one hand, and with Nottingham and the
whole south of England on the other. In addition to this system in
connection with the Trent, he projected and commenced at this
time the Horncastle navigation, which, besides acting as a valuable
drainage for this part of the fens, was productive of great benefit
to a large district, by bringing it into communication with the river
Witham, which is navigable to the sea in one direction, and in the
other through Lincoln to the Trent.
But a larger and more important work than these last named,
which Mr. Jessop was at this period engaged on, was the Grand
Junction Canal, which, joining the Oxford Canal at Braunston, in
Northamptonshire, connects the whole inland navigation with the
metropolis, by means of a comparatively direct line ninety miles
in length, traced in a diagonal direction across the two formidable
ranges of hills peculiar to the secondary formations of England.
This canal communicates with the Thames by its main line at
E
74 JESSOP.
Brentford, and by a branch starting five miles above at Bullbridge,
stretching to Paddington, from whence the Eegent's Canal proceeds
round the north side of London to the Thames at Limehouse, thus
completing the connection between the main line and the lower
part of the river. The execution of this canal necessitated the
construction of many heavy works, consisting of tunnels, deep
cuttings, embankments, aqueducts, reservoirs, and weirs. Of these
works one of the most famous is the Blisworth Tunnel, 3080 yards
in length, cut through the inferior oolite and the shales of the lias.
Its internal width is 16 feet, the depth below the water-line to the
inverted arch being 7 feet, while the soffit or crown of the arch is
11 feet above the same line. The cost of this great undertaking,
with all its branches and attendant works, amounted to about two
millions sterling.
During the execution of this work, Mr. Jessop was also called
into Ireland, and was taking an active part in carrying on the public
works which had been undertaken by the authority of Parliament in
that country.
The year 1793 originated several great projects, in furtherance of
which Mr. Jessop's aid was secured. Amongst these were the
Grantham Canal, supplied by vast artificial reservoirs, and extend-
ing from the river Trent, through a rich pasture district of the new
red sandstone, winding for many miles through the broad and
fertile vale of Belvoir, up to Grantham at the base of the Lincoln-
shire hills, the furthest point to which it is possible to penetrate in
this direction.
The Barnsley Canal, which opens up an immense amount of
mineral wealth in the Yorkshire coalfield, and brings it into com-
munication with the river Calder, and the Dearn and Dove Canal ;
and finally, the Great Ellesmere Canal, which completes a commu-
nication between the Severn and the Mersey, and ramifies in
numerous directions amongst the rugged hills and valleys of North
Wales.
In the carrying on of this last named undertaking, Mr. Telford
was likewise engaged under Mr. Jessop. Two of its most important
works are the great aqueducts of Chirk and Pont-y-cysylte, the
former of which carries the canal over the river Ceriog, at an
elevation of 70 feet, while the latter carries it across the Dee at an
elevation of 127 feet. The grand peculiarity in these aqueducts
consisted in constructing a water-tight trough of cast iron for
carrying the canal across the arches, instead of an immense puddled
clay trough, as was the practice until that time in use. The execu-
tion and management of the numerous works here mentioned occu-
pied the greater part of Mr. Jessop's time during the next few years.
But the commencement of the present century was the signal for
another torrent of speculation, which, in addition to canals, began
now to be directed towards docks and railroads. The promoters of
KATER. 75
the first great public dock establishment employed Mr. Jessop to
conduct their works, and he had the honour of completing the great
project of the West India Docks, with their numerous accompany-
ing details, in a manner which alone entitles him to rank among
our most eminent engineers.
On the completion of these docks his professional services were
engaged by the citizens of Bristol, to effect a great and compre-
hensive measure of harbour improvement, designed to place the
port of Bristol at once in the foremost position with respect to
commercial advantages. This was the conversion of part of the
river Avon into an immense floating dock, capable of accommo-
dating 1400 vessels. Mr. Jessop was also at this time occupied in
constructing the Surrey iron railways, which consisted of a double
tramroad, from the Thames at Wandsworth to the town of Croydon,
with an extension from Croydon to Godstone and Merstham ; they
are principally remarkable as being the first public railroads con-
structed in the south of England. The whole of these tramroads
were afterwards bought and taken up by the Brighton Eailway
Company. Mr. Jessop was likewise connected with the Caledonian
Canal, which he was specially called upon to survey before its com-
mencement, and of which he continued to be the consulting engineer
for many years.
In concluding this brief notice of Mr. Jessop's life, it remains
only to be said that with him exclusively originated the idea of
taking advantage of the immense floods to which certain districts
are subject, by storing these waters up for the gradual and regular
supply of his canals. In addition to this he shares with Mr. Telford
the honour of first using iron in the construction of the troughs of
aqueducts, and for the heads, heel-posts and ribs of lock-gates, as
adopted on the Caledonian and Ellesmere canals. Memoir of
William Jessop, by Samuel Hughes, C.E.
CAPTAIN HENKY KATER, F.E.S., &c.
Born April 16, 1777. Died April 26, 1835.
Captain Henry Kater, distinguished by his mathematical and
physical researches during the space of nearly half a century, was
born at Bristol ; his father was of a German family, and his mother
was the daughter of an eminent architect ; both were distinguished
for their scientific attainments, and united in imbuing their son
with a similar taste. Henry was, however, destined by his father
for the law. and had with great reluctance to give up for a time his
E 2
76 KATER.
hitherto exclusive devotion to abstract science. Mr. Kater con-
tinued for two years to remain in a pleader's office, during which
time he acquired a considerable portion of legal knowledge, on
which he valued himself through life ; but the death of his father,
in 1794, permitted him to resume his favourite studies ; and bidding
adieu to the law, he obtained a commission in^the 12th Regiment of
Foot, at that time stationed in India.
During the following year, Mr. Kater was engaged in the trigo-
nometrical survey of India under Colonel Lambton, contributing
greatly, by his untiring labours, to the success of that vast under-
taking. About the same period, he was also occupied in construct-
ing a peculiarly sensible hygrometer, of which he published a
description in the ' Asiatic Researches.' Mr. Kater remained in
India seven years, during which time his unremitting study in a
hot climate greatly injured his constitution, and was the cause of
his falling into a state of ill health, from which he suffered more or
less until the end of his life.
On his return to England, he qualified himself to serve on the
general staff, and later in life retired on half-pay, from which period
he devoted himself entirely to science. When Parliament, in the
years 1818-19, determined on establishing an uniform system of
weights and measures, Captain Kater, in conjunction with Sir
Joseph Banks, Sir George Clerk, Davies Gilbert, and Drs. Wollaston
and Young, was appointed to investigate this most important sub-
ject; and he instituted a series of experiments with a pendulum
made of a bar of brass, 1 inches wide and | of an inch thick, to
which two knife-edges of a kind of steel prepared in India, and
known by the name of wootz, were attached, playing upon agate
plates. The knife-edges were placed in a parallel direction on the
brass bar, facing opposite ways upon either of which it might be
swung. They were so arranged, that when either was used as the
point of suspension the other nearly represented the centre of oscil-
lation, and by means of a small adjustable weight, this condition
might be accurately fulfilled. These experiments were made in the
house of Mr. H. Browne, F.R.S., which was situated in a part of
Portland Place not likely to be disturbed by carriages. They occu-
pied Captain Kater's close attention for several years ; and he has
permanently attached his name to the beautiful theorem of Huygens
respecting the reciprocity of the centres of oscillation and suspen-
sion, and their consequent quality of convertibility. Although this
was a property already known to belong to the centre of oscillation,
it had never hitherto been practically applied to determine the
exact length of a pendulum vibrating seconds; it was, therefore,
highly creditable to his ingenuity, and claims the same order of
merit as an original invention. In this, as well as in Kater's
laborious inquiries respecting a standard of weights and measures,
even where his conclusions have not escaped all the chances of
LESLIE. 77
error, he has led the way to the still more delicate researches which
have followed.
Captain Kater also instituted a series of experiments as to the
best kind of steel and shape for compass needles ; it resulted in the
adoption of the shear clock-spring steel, and the pierced rhombus
form, in the proportion of five inches in length to two in width. In
the year 1831 he received the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical
Society, for the construction of his floating collimator, an instru-
ment for ascertaining the accurate zero or level points of divided
astronomical instruments. The optical principle upon which it
depends is a very beautiful one, and the invention of Kater, with
several improvements in point of form, has become the auxiliary of
nearly every observatory in the world, being one of those small but
happy improvements which affect materially the progress of science.
Most of the learned societies in Great Britain and on the Continent
testified at different times their sense of the value of his services,
by enrolling him among their members. The Emperor of Russia
employed him to construct standards for the weights and measures
of his dominions, and was so pleased with the execution of them,
that he presented Kater with the Order of St. Anne and a diamond
snuff-box. The greater part of his publications appeared in the
1 Philosophical Transactions ' of the Royal Society, chiefly between
the years 1813 and 1828.
Captain Kater died from a severe affection of the lungs, at his
residence, York Gate, in the fifty-third year of his age. Athenaeum,
May, 1835. Weld's History of the Royal Society. London, 1848.
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 3, February,
1836. Sixth Dissertation Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eighth Edition.
SIR JOHN LESLIE, F.R.S.E., &c.
Bora April 16, 1766. Died November 3, 1832.
Sir John Leslie, Professor of Natural Philosophy in the University
of Edinburgh, the son of a poor joiner or cabinetmaker, was born at
the village of Largo, in the county of Fife. Although both weak
and sickly as a child, he soon acquired considerable knowledge of
mathematical and physical science, and at the age of eleven at-
tracted the notice of Mr. Oliphant, the minister of the parish, by his
precocious attainments. This gentleman kindly lent young Leslie
some scientific books, and strongly advised him to continue the
study of Latin, for which he had a great aversion, although in after
life he attained considerable proficiency hi that language.
78 LESLIE.
He also became known to Professors Eobison and Stewart, of
Edinburgh, and by their advice was sent, in his thirteenth year, to
the University of St. Andrew's, to study mathematics under Pro-
fessor Vilant. Here, at the end of the first session, his abilities
procured him the second prize, and likewise attracted the notice of
the Earl of Kinnoull, then Chancellor of the University, who under-
took to defray the expenses of his education, provided that he would
enter the Church. Leslie prosecuted his studies at this university
during six sessions, and became about this time acquainted with
Playfair and Dr. Small.
In 1783-4 he quitted St. Andrews and went to Edinburgh, where,
though he formally entered the Divinity Hall, he contrived to de-
vote his first session to the sciences, particularly chemistry; in
fact, Leslie seems early to have relinquished all thoughts of the
Church a resolution hastened by the death of his patron, the Earl
of Kinnoull, shortly after his removal to Edinburgh. While engaged
at the university, he also acted as tutor to Mr. Douglas, afterwards
Lord Reston, the nephew of Dr. Adam Smith, and he thus became
known to that philosopher, who treated him kindly, and occasion-
ally favoured him with directions as to his pursuits. Leslie's first
essay, ' On the Resolution of Indeterminate Problems,' was composed
about this time, and read to the Royal Society of Edinburgh by
Mr. Playfair, in 1788, and published in their ' Transactions' for
1790.
In 1788, he became tutor to two young Americans of the name
of Randolph, and accompanied them to Virginia, where he remained
for about a twelvemonth, duiing which time he visited New York,
Philadelphia, &c. In January 1790, carrying, among other letters
of recommendation, one from Adam Smith, Leslie repaired to London,
with the intention of delivering a course of lectures on natural phi-
losophy ; but finding, to use his own words, that " rational lectures
would not succeed," he employed himself for some time in writing
for the * Monthly Review,' and in other literary occupations.
In April 1790, he became tutor to the younger Wedge woods, of
Etruria, in Staffordshire, who had been his former fellow-students,
and with whom he remained until the close of 1792. Leslie was
likewise employed during this period in experimental investigations,
and in completing a translation of Buffon's ' Natural History of
Birds,' published in 1793, in nine volumes, for which he received a
considerable sum, the foundation of that pecuniary competency
which his industrious and prudent habits enabled him ultimately to
acquire.
During the years 1794-5 he resided at Largo, occupied upon a
long series of hygrometrical experiments, during the course of
which he invented his differential thermometer, the parent, as it
may be called, of his subsequent inventions the hygroscope, pho-
tometer, pyroscope, asthrioscope, and atmometer. Although Leslie
LESLIE. 79
has been accused of having plagiarized this invention either from
Van Helmont, who died in 1644, or from John Christopher Stunnius,
who died sixty years later, he at all events showed, by his skilful
and fruitful employment of the disputed invention, how much he
surpassed, and how little he needed the help of, him whom he is
ungenerously supposed to have robbed of his legitimate honours.
In 1800 he wrote several papers, on different branches of physics,
in Nicholson's ' Philosophical Journal,' which resulted in the publi-
cation at London, in 1804, of his ' Experimental Inquiry into the
Nature and Propagation of Heat.' The originality and boldness of
the peculiar doctrines contained in this work, and the number of
new and important facts disclosed by its ingenious experimental
combinations, rendered it an object of extraordinary interest in the
scientific world. The Koyal Society of London unanimously ad-
judged to its author the Rumford medal ; and although paradoxical
in many of its theories, defective in arrangement, and over ambitious
in style, this work is almost unrivalled in the entire range of physical
science, for its indication of vigorous and inventive genius.
Previous to this period of life, Leslie had appeared twice as a
candidate for an academical chair; first in the University of St.
Andrew's, afterwards in that of Glasgow ; but on both occasions
without success. He now became a candidate for the Mathematical
chair at Edinburgh, vacant through the promotion of Professor
Playfair to the chair of Natural Philosophy. After a severe contest,
during which much party spirit was displayed, owing to his prin-
cipal competitor, Dr. Thomas Macknight, one of the ministers 01
Edinburgh, being supported by the majority of the city clergy,
Leslie was, in March, 1805, elected to the Mathematical chair. He
entered immediately upon his official duties, which he continued to
discharge with zeal and assiduity during the following fourteen
years.
Notwithstanding the labours which these duties entailed upon
him, Leslie continued his experimental inquiries, and in June, 1810,
discovered his beautiful process of artificial congelation, by which
he was enabled to produce ice," and even to freeze mercury at
pleasure. The process consists of a combination of the powers of
rarefaction and absorption, effected by placing a very strong ab-
sorbent under the receiver of an air-pump. This experiment was
performed in London in 1811, before a meeting of some members of
the Royal Society ; and the discovery was announced in the same
year in the 'Memoirs' of the French Institute. He explained his
experiments and views on this subject in 1813, in a volume pub-
lished at Edinburgh, entitled, ' A short Account of Experiments
and Instruments depending on the Relations of Air to Heat and
Moisture.' Closely connected with the subject of this treatise
was an ingenious paper, published in 1818, in the ' Transactions' of
the Royal Society of Edinburgh, under the title, ' On certain Im-
80 LESLIE.
pressions of Cold transmitted from the Higher Atmosphere ; with a
Description of an Instrument to Measure them.' The sethrioscope
was the instrument here alluded to.
In 1819, upon the death of Playfair, Leslie was called to the chair
of Natural Philosophy, when his first care was directed to the ex-
tension of the apparatus required in the more enlarged series of
experiments which he thought necessary for the illustration of the
course. " This, indeed," says his biographer, Mr. Napier, " was an
object of which he never lost sight ; and it is due to him to state,
that, through his exertions, the means of experimental illustration
in the Natural Philosophy class were for the first time made worthy
of the place."
In 1823 he published, chiefly for the use of this class, his l Elements
of Natural Philosophy,' a second edition of which was published in
1829, with corrections and additions. Besides the above-mentioned
works, Leslie wrote the following : ' Elements of Geometry, Geo-
metrical Analysis and Plane Trigonometry,' in 1809 ; ' Observations
on Electrical Theories,' published in 1824, in the ' Edinburgh Philo-
sophical Journal ; ' also many articles in the ' Edinburgh Review ; '
and the articles on Achromatic Glasses; Acoustics; Aeronautics;
Andes ; Angle and Trisection of Angle ; Arithmetic ; Atmometer ;
Barometer ; Barometrical Measurements ; Climate ; Cold and Con-
gelation ; Dew ; Interpolation ; and Meteorology, in the seventh
edition of the ' Encyclopaedia Britannica.'
Early in the year 1832, on the recommendation of Lord Brougham,
then Lord High Chancellor, Leslie was created, along with several
other eminent men of science, a Knight of the Guelphic Order. He
was also a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and in 1820
had been elected a corresponding member of the French Institute.
During the month of October, whilst engaged in superintending
some improvements on his grounds, he caught a severe cold, which
was followed by erysipelas in one of his legs, and his neglect of
this, owing to a contempt for medicine, and great confidence in his
own strength and durability, resulted in his death, at Coates, in the
November following, at the age of sixty-six.
Sir John Leslie has been described as rivalling all his contem-
poraries in that creative faculty which discovers, often by an intuitive
glimpse, the hidden secrets of nature ; but possessing in a less degree
the powers of judgment and reason, being thus often led in his
speculations to results glaringly inconsistent. His exquisite instru-
ments, and his experimental combinations, will, however, ever test
the utility, no less than the originality of his labours, and will
continue to act as aids to farther discovery. Encyclopaedia Britan-
nica, Eighth Edition. Abstract of Memoir of Sir John Leslie, by
Macvey Napier, English Cyclopaedia. London, 1856.
81
NEVIL MASKELYNE, D.D., F.R.S.
MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, ETC.
Born October 6, 1732. Died February 9, 1811.
This most accurate and industrious astronomer was born in
London, and was the son of Mr. Edmund Maskelyne, a gentleman
of respectable family in Wiltshire. At the age of nine Maskelyne
was sent to Westminster school, where he early began to distin-
guish himself, and to display a decided taste for the study of optics
and astronomy.
The great solar eclipse, which occurred in 1748 was, however, the
immediate cause of his directing his attention to these sciences, and
from that period he devoted himself with ardour to the study of
mathematics as subservient to that of astronomy. It is a curious
fact that the same eclipse is said to have produced a similar effect
upon the French astronomer Lalande, who was only three months
older than his English contemporary.
Soon after this Maskelyne entered the University of Cambridge as
a member of Catherine Hall, removing afterwards to Trinity, where
he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts with great credit in 1754,
and proceeded regularly through the succeeding stages of acade-
mical rank in divinity. In 1755 he was ordained to a curacy at
Barnet, and in the following year obtained a fellowship at Trinity.
In the year 1758 he was elected a fellow of the Koyal Society,
previous to which event he had become acquainted with Dr. Bradley,
and had determined to make astronomy the principal pursuit of his
life, feeling that it was perfectly compatible with an enlightened
devotion to the duties of his own profession.
1761 marks the period when Maskelyne commenced his public
career as an astronomer. During that year he was chosen by the
Royal Society to undertake a voyage to the island of St. Helena, for
the purpose of observing the transit of Venus ; and in order to make
the voyage as useful as possible, Maskelyne undertook to make
observations upon the parallax of Sirius. He remained ten months
at St. Helena, but the weather hindered his observing the transit to
advantage, while the inaccuracy of his quadrant, which was of the
same construction as was then usually employed, prevented his
observations on the stars from being as conclusive as he had ex-
Eected. His voyage was, however, of great service to navigation,
y promoting the introduction of lunar observations for ascertaining
the longitude ; and he taught the officers of the ship in which he
was in, the proper use of the instruments as w T ell as the mode of
making the computations.
On his return to England, Maskelyne published, in 1763, his
E 3
82 MASKELYNE.
* British Mariner's Guide,' the earliest of his separate publications,
in which he proposes the adoption of a Nautical Almanac according
to the plan indicated by Lacaille, after his voyage to the Cape of
Good Hope. In the same year he performed a second voyage to the
island of Barbadoes, in order to determine the rates of Harrison's
chronometers. In his report on the results of this voyage Maske-
lyne, while doing justice to the works of this eminent mechanician,
decided in favour of the employment of lunar observations for deter-
mining the longitude, strongly supporting the cause of Professor
Mayer, who had computed lunar tables for this purpose. The
liberality of the British Government, however, bestowed on Harrison
the whole reward that he claimed,* while Maskelyne, having been
appointed to the situation of Astronomer Royal which likewise
made him a member of the Board of Longitude, was instrumental
in procuring a reward of 5,OOOZ. for the family of Professor Mayer,
and a compliment of 300/. for Euler, whose theorems had been em-
ployed in the investigation.
When the merits of Mayer's tables had been fully established, the
Board of Longitude was induced to promote their application to
practical purposes by the annual publication of the Nautical Alma-
nac, which, during the remainder of his life, was arranged and
conducted entirely under Maskelyne's direction.
Maskelyne held the situation of Astronomer Royal for forty-seven
years, during which period he acquired the respect of all Europe, by
the diligence and accuracy of his observations, which he always, if
possible, conducted in person, requiring the aid of only one
assistant.
Up to Maskelyne's time the observations of the Astronomers
Royal had been considered as private property ; Flamsted publish-
ing his own, while Bradley's were very liberally bought of his
family, and afterwards printed by the University of Oxford. Dr.
Maskelyne, on the contrary, obtained leave from the British Govern-
ment to have his observations printed at the public expense under
the direction of the Royal Society, who are the legal visitors of the
observatory, appointed by the royal sign manual; and by thus
causing the observations of the Astronomer Royal to be recorded
publicly, he supplied a great want which had hitherto existed both
in the English and French establishments. He also made several
improvements in the arrangement and employment of the instru-
ments used in the observatory, particularly, by enlarging the slits
through which the light was admitted ; by making the eyeglass of
his transit telescope moveable to the place of each of the wires of
the micrometer ; and above all, by marking the time to tenths of a
second, a refinement which had never been attempted before.
* 20,000?., the reward offered for a chronometer sufficiently exact to correct
the longitude within certain limits required by Act of Parliament.
MAUDSLAY. 83
Maskelyne received his doctor's degree in the year 1777, he also
obtained the rare distinction of being made one of the eight foreign
associates of the French Academy of Science. In consequence of
an unsuccessful attempt made by Bouguer to measure the local
attraction of a mountain in .South America, Maskelyne determined,
in 1772, to ascertain that of Schehallien in Scotland; and this latter
undertaking, together with the determination of the lunar orbit
from observation, and its application to navigation, may be con-
sidered as his most important contributions to the cause of science.
In character Dr. Maskelyne was modest and somewhat timid in
receiving the visits of strangers, but his ordinary conversation was
cheerful and often playful, with a fondness for point and classical
allusion. He inherited a good paternal property, and obtained
considerable preferment from his college ; somewhat late in life he
married the sister and co-heiress of Lady Booth of Northampton-
shire ; his sister was the wife of Robert Lord Clive, and the mother
of the Earl of Powis. Dr. Maskelyne died on the ninth of February,
1811, in his seventy -ninth year, leaving a widow and an only
daughter. Notice sur la vie et les travaux de M. MasTcelyne par
Delambre. London, 1813. Memoir by Dr. T. Young, Encyclopedia
Britannica.
HENRY MAUDSLAY.
Born Aug. 22, 1771. Died Feb. 14, 1831.
This distinguished mechanical engineer was descended from an
eminent Lancashire family, who trace back their origin as far as
the year 1200. His father in early life enlisted in the Royal
Artillery at Norwich, and afterwards became store-keeper at the
Royal Dockyard of Woolwich, where his son Henry was born and
spent his boyhood, acquiring in the dockyard the first rudiments of
that mechanical knowledge which has since made him so justly
celebrated.
After being employed for two years as a ' powder monkey' in the
dockyard, that is, in making and filling cartridges, Maudslay was
placed, at the age of fourteen, in the carpenter's shop. He however
infinitely preferred the blacksmith's shop, availing himself of every
opportunity to escape from his proper place, and steal off to the
smithy. His propensity was in fact so strong that it was thought
better to yield to it, and he 'was accordingly removed there in his
fifteenth year. He now made rapid progress, and soon became so
expert a smith and metal-worker as to attract considerable notice.
84 MAUDSLAY.
Even in after life, when at the head of the well-known firm which
he founded, nothing pleased him more than to set to work upon a
difficult piece of forging and to overcome the difficulties which it
Sesented, which few could do so well as he. The reputation which
audslay acquired here, led to his introduction and ultimate em-
ployment by Bramah, who was at that time engaged in constructing
his celebrated lock.
One of the chief obstacles which Bramah had to contend with in
getting his lock into general use, was, the difficulty he experienced
in having it manufactured with sufficient precision and at such
a price as to render it an article of successful commerce. Mauds-
lay's* ability as a workman and sound mechanical knowledge
was of great service to Bramah in this particular ; the most diffi-
cult and delicate jobs were entrusted to him, and among others he
constructed the identical lock, the picking of which so severely
tested the skill and ability of Mr. Hobbs in the year 1851. He also,
according to the testimony of Mr. J. Nasmyth, supplied Bramah
with the key to the practical success of the hydraulic press, viz.,
the self-tightening leather collar."}*
About the year 1797 Maudslay commenced business on his own
account in Wells Street, Oxford Street, removing a few years after-
wards to Margaret Street, Cavendish Square. Here he matured and
carried out many improvements in tools connected with the me-
chanical arts, bringing into general notice and use planing machines
and the slide rest. So great was the prejudice felt against this last
named important adjunct of a lathe, that on the first introduction of the
slide rest to the engineers of the period, it was received with great
disfavour, and called by one in derision the ' Go Cart.' Maudslay
also directed his attention to the subject of screw cutting. Previous
to his time the tools used for making screws were of the most rude
and inexact kind: each manufacturing establishment made them
after their own fashion, and no system was observed as to the
pitch. Every bolt and nut was a speciality in itself; and to such
an extent was this carried that all bolts and their .corresponding
nuts had to be marked, any mixing of them together causing
endless trouble and confusion. Maudslay changed all this he
brought screw-cutting into a proper system, and laid the foundation
of all that has since been done in this important branch of machine-
construction, and many of those who afterwards became eminent in
this particular branch of manufacture, acquired their first knowledge
of the subject in his employ.^ While residing in Margaret Street
he became acquainted with Sir Isambard (then Mr.) Brunei, who
was in the habit of bringing drawings of small pieces of machinery
* A very interesting account of Maudslay's introduction, &c., to Bramah is
given by Mr. Smiles in his ' Industrial Biography.' London 1863. P. 201-3.
f See ' Memoir of Bramah.'
$ In particular may be mentioned Joseph Clement and Joseph Whitworth.
MAUDSLAY. 85
for him to construct: this attracted Maudslay's attention, and at
last he one day exclaimed to Sir Isambard, " Ah ! I see what you
are thinking of you want machinery for making blocks : " this
so pleased Brunei, that he became more open of communication,
and in the subsequent completion of the beautiful block machinery
afterwards erected at Portsmouth Dockyard, Mr. Brunei derived
great advantage from the sound mechanical knowledge of Maudslay.
The friendship commenced thus was never afterwards shaken, and
when Brunei began the Thames Tunnel, he consulted his old friend
relative to the construction of the shield, as it was termed, under
shelter of which the excavation beneath the bed of the river, and
the brickwork for forming the Tunnel were proceeded with.
In the year 1807 Maudslay took out a patent for improvements
in the steam-engine, by which he much simplified its parts and
secured greater directness of action. His new engine was called
the Pyramidal, from its form, and was the first move towards direct
acting engines. In 1810, finding his business getting too extensive
for his premises in Margaret Street, he removed to the more capa-
cious ones in Westminster Road, Lambeth. Here he for many years
carried on a large business, embracing the manufacture of all kinds
of machinery, but more particularly of marine engines, to the con-
struction and improvement of which he early directed his attention,
foreseeing how important a branch of industry they would even-
tually become ; and it may be interesting to record, that the engines
(24 H. P.) of the ' Regent,' the first steamboat which ran between
London and Margate, were made at this yard in the year 1816.
Mr. Maudslay held for several years the contract for supplying
the Royal Navy with ship tanks, and this led to his making im-
proved machinery for punching and shearing the iron plates used
in their manufacture, reducing the cost of preparing the plates for
receiving the rivets from seven shillings, to ninepence, per Tank.
Mr. Maudslay has been described by his friend Mr. James Nasmyth
as the very beau-ideal of an honest, upright, straightforward, hard-
working intelligent Englishman : he died in his 60th year from a
severe cold which he had caught on his way home from a visit to
France, and was buried in Woolwich churchyard, in a vault he had
caused to be constructed there ; the monument and tablet erected
to his memory were of cast iron, and were made from a design of
his own. Maudslay married when twenty years old Sarah Tindel,
by whom he had four sons and three daughters, of whom now sur-
vive only one daughter, and one son Thomas Henry Maudslay.
From particulars communicated ty members of the present firm of
Maudslay, Sons and Field. Smile's Industrial Biography. London,
1863.
86
PATRICK MILLER.
Born in Scotland 1730.
Died at Dalswinton House, near Dumfries, 1815.
Patrick Miller, of Dalswinton, was originally a banker, and ulti-
mately became possessed of considerable independent property. At
different periods of his life he embarked in many schemes of great
public utility. He made considerable improvements in artillery
and naval architecture, and during the course of his various experi-
ments expended upwards of thirty thousand pounds. One of the
immediate results of his experiments in the first-named science was
the invention of the well-known carronade ; while in the course of his
experiments in naval architecture, he constructed double and triple
vessels, and was the first to practically apply the present form of
the paddle-wheels now in ordinary use to their propulsion. Having
satisfied himself of the usefulness of his researches in this respect,
by many costly experiments undertaken at his own expense, Mr.
Miller published at Edinburgh, in 1787, a book in English and French,
containing a full account of them, and sent a copy of his work to
every sovereign in Europe, and also to the American States, inas-
much as he considered that his inventions ought to be the property
of the human kind.* The paddle-wheels in these experiments (un-
dertaken in the years 1786-7) were turned by manual labour, and
on the occasion of a severe contest between one of his double boats
and a Custom-house boat, reckoned to be a fast sailer, the want
of a more powerful force to- turn the wheels was greatly felt. Mr.
James Taylor, at that time a tutor in Mr. Miller's family, suggested
steam power, and ultimately introduced Miller to Win. Symington,
with whose aid Mr. Miller commenced and carried out those ex-
periments (in the years 1788-89) which have justly entitled him to
the honour of being the first to originate the present system of
steam navigation.f
It is much to be regretted that since the deaths of Mr. Miller and
Mr. Symington, statements have been made in which the entire
merit of first establishing steam navigation is claimed, on the one
hand, for Miller, by his eldest son, in a paper published in the
'Edinburgh Philosophical Journal' for July 1825 ; and on the other
for Symington, by Richard Bowie, in his pamphlet published in
1833 ; whereas these two gentlemen appear to be inseparably con-
nected with the first introduction of this grand application of steam.
As far as it is possible to reconcile the conflicting statements, the
* See ' Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland,' by Sir John Dalrymple,
Bart.
f For fuller account of Miller and Symington's experiments see ' Memoir of
Symington.'
MURDOCK. 87
facts may be briefly stated thus. Patrick Miller was the first to
successfully propel vessels by paddle-wheels moved by manual
labour. He then, in conjunction with William Symington, applied
steam to move these paddle-wheels, and constructed two steam-
boats, which were publicly tried, on the Forth and Clyde Canal,
in the years 1788-89. Although these trials triumphantly proved
the practicability of steam navigation, further improvements were
required before a really successful steam-boat could be said to have
been constructed. At this point, unfortunately, Mr. Miller, having
already spent large sums of money in his experiments, let the
matter drop ; but Symington, about ten years afterwards, under
the patronage of Lord Dundas, succeeding in constructing 'The
Charlotte Dundas, 1 a steam-boat which, for the first time, combined
together those improvements which constitute the present system
of steam navigation. In the narrative written by Patrick Miller,
Jun., a good deal of praise, in regard to this matter, is given to
James Taylor, before referred to, who is considered by some as
having a just claim to participate in the honour awarded to Miller
and Symington. Mr. Taylor's merits, however, appear chiefly to
consist in having suggested, upon the occasion of a race between
one of Miller's boats and a Custom House boat, that they only re-
quired the help of a steam-engine to beat their antagonists ; also,
in having introduced Symington, whose steam-carriage had ren-
dered him famous, to the notice of Mr. Miller ; and although Taylor
assisted in the subsequent experiments, he seems to have con-
tributed little to their practical success. Narrative of Facts relative
to Invention and Practice of Steam Navigation, &c., by Patrick Miller,
Jun., l Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,' Vol. 13, July 1825.
Narrative by R. Bowie, proving William Symington the Inventor of
Steam Land Carriage Locomotion and of Steam Navigation. London,
1833. Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam Engine. London, 1829.
Descriptive Catalogue of the Museum of the Commissioners of Patents.
WILLIAM MUBDOCK.
Born 1754. Died November 15, 1839.
William Murdock was bom at Bellow Mill, near Old Cumnock,
Ayrshire, where his father carried on the business of a millwright
and miller, and likewise possessed a farm on the estate of the Bos-
well family of Auchinleck. His mother's maiden name was Bruce,
and she used to boast of being lineally descended from Robert
Bruce, of Scottish History. Little is known of Murdock's life prior
88 MURDOCK.
to his coming to England, and joining, in the year 1777. Boulton
and Watt's establishment at Soho, at that time in its infancy. He
must, however, have had some celebrity in his native country, as
he was employed to build a bridge over the river Nith, in Dum-
frieshire, a very handsome structure, and still in existence. His
talents were soon appreciated at Soho, particularly by James Watt,
with whom he continued on terms of the closest friendship until
Mr. Watt's death in 1819. After remaining two years at Soho,
Murdock was appointed by Messrs. Boulton and Watt to superintend
the erection, and undertake the general charge, of their new steam-
engines in Cornwall, where he erected the first engine, in that part
of the country, with a separate condenser. He continued to live in
the district for the space of nineteen years, giving great satisfaction
to the mining interest ; so much so, that when it became known
that he was about to return to Soho, 1000Z. a-year was offered him
to remain in Cornwall. During his residence there Murdock con-
trived and executed a model locomotive, which, as early as the year
1784, he was in the habit of showing to his friends in working
order, and drawing a small waggon round a room in his house at
Redruth. He used to tell a story, that while making experiments
with this engine, he one night determined to test its powers on a
level road leading from his house to the church, which was situated
about a mile distant from the town ; this road was bounded on each
side by high edges, and well suited for the purpose. Murdock ac-
cordingly sallied out, and placing his engine on the ground, lit
the fire, or rather lamp, under the boiler ; after a few minutes oif
started the locomotive with the inventor full chase after it ; after
continuing the pursuit for a short distance, he heard cries as of a
person in great distress ; the night was too dark to perceive objects
afar off, but on going on, he found that the sounds proceeded from
the clergyman of the parish, who had set out for the town on busi-
ness, and being met on this lonely road by the fiery monster, had
taken it for the Evil One in person. This model locomotive was
exhibited before a meeting of the Institution of Mechanical En-
gineers in 1850, sixty-six years after the date of its construction.
Mr. Murdock is, however, better knov/n to the public by his ap-
plication of the light of coal gas to general purposes. Although
this gas had been well known, and obtained both naturally and
artificially more than half a century before his time, no attempt had
as yet been made to turn the discovery to any useful account. In
the year 1792 Murdock first employed coal gas for the purpose of
lighting his house and offices at Redruth ; he made it serve also as
a lantern, by attaching a bladder with a tube mouthpiece under the
bottom of a glass shade, which contrivance used to light him across
the moors when returning home at night from the mining engines
he was erecting in different parts of the district. After various
experiments which proved the economy and convenience of light
MURDOCK. 89
so obtained, he perfected his apparatus and made a public exhibi-
tion of it by lighting up the front of Boulton and Watt's manufac-
tory at Soho, on the occasion of the general illumination for the
peace of Amiens, in 1802. He subsequently lighted up some cotton
mills at Manchester, beginning with Messrs. Phillips and Lee's, and
published a paper on the subject in the ' Philosophical Transactions'
of 1808, for which the Royal Society presented him with the Rum-
ford gold medal.
In 1798 Murdock returned to take up his permanent residence at
Soho, superintending the machinery there, and occasionally the
erection of engines at a distance, among which may be mentioned
those of the New River Head, Lambeth, Chelsea, Southwark, East
London, West Middlesex, and other waterworks. In the following
year he took out a patent for improvements in boring cylinders and
in the manufacture of steam casings ; this patent also included the
double D slide valve and a rotary engine. Amongst other inven-
tions and discoveries of Murdock's are : a plan for boring stone
pipes for water, and cutting columns out of solid blocks of stone
(for which he took a patent in 1810) ; a pneumatic lift working by
compressed air ; and a cast iron cement, which he was led to dis-
cover by the accidental observance of some iron borings and sal-
ammoniac, which had got mixed in his tool-chest and rusted a
sword blade nearly through. He also made use of compressed air
to ring the bells in his house ; a plan which so pleased Sir Walter
Scott, to whom it had been described, that he had his house at
Abbotsford fitted up in a similar manner. Murdock likewise dis-
covered a substitute for isinglass, and when in London for the
purpose of explaining to the brewers the nature of his discovery,
occupied very handsome apartments. Being, however, at all times
absorbed in whatever subject he had in hand, he little respected the
splendour of his drawing-room, but proceeded with his experiments
as if in the laboratory at Soho, quite unconscious of the mischief he
was doing. This resulted in his abrupt dismissal from the apart-
ments by the enraged landlady, who one morning, on calling in to
receive orders, was horrified at seeing all her magnificent paper-
hangings covered with wet fish skins hung up to dry, and actually
caught him in the act of pinning up a cod's skin to undergo the
same process.
In the year 1815, while Mr. Murdock was fitting up an apparatus
of his own invention for heating the water of the baths at Leaming-
ton, a ponderous cast-iron plate fell upon his leg above the ankle,
nearly severing it in two. This severe accident laid him up for a
long time, and he never entirely recovered from the effects of it.
During the latter years of iris life Murdock's faculties, both cor-
pereal and mental, experienced a gradual decay, causing him to
live in complete retirement. He died in 1839, aged eighty-five
years, and his remains were buried in Handsworth Church, near to
those of Boulton and James Watt.
90 MYLNE.
Mr. Murdock married in the year 1785 the daughter of Captain
Paynter, of Redruth, Cornwall, who died at the early age of twenty-
four, having had four children. From a Paper read by Mr. William
Buckle, of Soho, before a meeting of the Institution of Mechanical
Engineers, October 23, 1850.
ROBERT MYLNE.
Born January 4, 1733. Died May 5, 1811.
Eobert Mylne, the architect of Blackfriars Bridge, was born at
Edinburgh. His father was an architect, and magistrate of the
city; and his family, it has been ascertained, held the office of
Master Masons to the Kings of Scotland for a period of five hundred
years, until the union of the crowns of England and Scotland.
On arriving at man's estate, Mylne travelled for improvement ;
and his enthusiastic prosecution of his art soon brought him into
notice. In 1758 he became a candidate for the honours of the
Academy of St. Luke at Rome, and the chief prize in the highest
class of architecture was awarded to him ; being the first instance
of a native of Great Britain obtaining that honour.
Mylne resided at Rome during a space of five years, and on his
return to England executed a design for Blackfriars Bridge, which
was selected from among twenty others. This bridge was com-
menced in 1760 ; and on the occasion of the laying of the foundation-
stone by the Lord Mayor, among other medals deposited in the
stone was a silver one, the memorial of the young architect's first
triumph, viz., the medal (one of two) given him by the Academy at
Rome. The bridge was completed in 1769 ; the arches are elliptical
in shape, and were the first instances in England in which the form
of an ellipse was substituted for a semicircle. The total cost of the
bridge itself, exclusive of the approaches, amounted to 152,840Z.
Mylne's reputation was now established, and his services were
employed in the erection or improvement of many edifices through-
out the United Kingdom. He received at the hands of the Arch-
bishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, and the Lord Mayor,
the office of Surveyor of St. Paul's Cathedral ; and while holding
this appointment, suggested the famous inscription to Sir Christopher
Wren ' Si monumentum quoeris circumspiceS He also held the office
of Clerk of the Works at Greenwich Hospital for fifteen years, and
was Engineer to the New River Water Works from the year 1762
until his death, in 1811, when he was succeeded by his son.
Towards the close of the eighteenth century, he became acquainted
with Mr. John Rennie, whose celebrity as an engineer was then ap-
NASMYTH. 91
preaching its height ; and the two became from that time inseparable
friends.* Mr. Mylne was also an intimate friend of Dr. Johnson,
their acquaintance having originated out of a controversy as to the
form of the arch for Blackfriars Bridge.
Mylne was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, by the side of his
illustrious predecessor, Sir Christopher Wren. Gateshead Observer,
October 20, 1860. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
ALEXANDER NASMYTH.
Born September 7, 1758. Died April 10, 1840.
Alexander Nasmyth, the distinguished Scotch landscape painter,
and known also as a man of science, was born at Edinburgh. He
came early in life to London, where he was for some time the pupil
of Allen Ramsay, painter to George III. He resided afterwards in
Rome for several years, during which time he studied portrait,
history, and landscape painting.
From Rome, Nasmyth returned to Edinburgh, where he settled as
a portrait painter, and executed his well-known painting of Robert
Burns the most authentic likeness of this great poet. Having,
however, a decided taste for landscape painting, he ultimately con-
fined himself to this branch of art ; but much of his time was occu-
pied in teaching, in which he was very successful. His landscapes,
which are very numerous, were, many of them, reminiscences of
Italian scenery, and although wanting in originality and vigour,
possess so much beauty and grace as to have caused their author to
acquire the name of the ' Scottish Claude.'
Mr. Nasmyth was a favourite in society, and was the leading
teacher in art of the highest classes in Scotland ; during his later
years being commonly looked up to as the patriarch of Scottish art.
He not only took much interest in the proceedings of the artistic
societies of Edinburgh, but often raised an influential voice in respect
to the alterations making in that city ; and was one of the three
successful competitors between whom the first prize offered for the
best plan for laying out and building the New Town of Edinburgh
was equally divided.
Mr. Nasmyth spent much of his time in scientific experiments,
and was 'the inventor of ' bow and string bridges,' and of a method
of driving the screw-propellers of vessels by direct action, in front
of the rudder. Much of his leisure time was spent in a workshop
* Mechanics 1 Magazine,, September 20, 1861.
92 PLAYFAIR.
which he had fitted up for himself, and which proved the nursery of
the early mechanical genius of the present James Nasmyth, the
celebrated engineer.
Soon after his return from Italy, Alexander Nasmyth married the
sister of Sir James Foulis of Woodhall Colinton, by whom he had a
family of three sons and five daughters, all of whom inherited more
or less their father's talents, while the eldest, Patrick, has acquired
a separate renown of no inconsiderable extent, for the beauty of his
landscapes.
Alexander Nasmyth died in York Place, Edinburgh, at the age of
eighty-three, and was interred in the West Church burying-ground
of that city. English Cyclopaedia. London, 1857. Catalogue of
Gallery of Portraits of Inventors, <&c. } in the South Kensington Mu-
seum.
JOHN PLAYFAIR, F.R.S. L. and E.
PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
Born March 10, 1748. Died July 19, 1819 .
John Playfair, a mathematician and philosopher of great eminence
and celebrity, was born at Benvie in Forfarshire, and was the eldest
son of the Rev. James Playfair, the minister of that place. Playfair
resided at home, under the domestic tuition of his father, until the
age of fourteen, when he entered the University of St. Andrew's,
where he became almost immediately distinguished, not merely for
his singular proficiency in mathematical learning, but also for the
extent of his general knowledge, the clearness of his judgment, and
the dignity and propriety of his conduct. A strong proof of his
capabilities at this time is given by the fact, that when Dr. Wilkie,
the professor of natural philosophy, was prevented by indisposition
from delivering the regular lectures, he used generally to delegate
the task of instruction to his youthful pupil, Playfair.
In 1769 Playfair removed to Edinburgh, and while residing there
became acquainted with Adam Smith, Drs. Robertson, Matthew
Stewart, Black, and Hutton, with all of whom he continued on terms
of the utmost cordiality during the whole period of their lives.
During the course of the year 1772, the death of his father
suddenly devolved upon Playfair the burden of supporting his family,
and compelled him in a measure to seek a livelihood by entering the
Church. Although he had been educated with a view to his enter-
ing this profession, for which he was in every way qualified, his
PLAYFAIR. 93
decided predilection for science had hitherto made him hesitate
about engaging in a vocation, the duties of which, he felt, if con-
scientiously discharged, would necessarily interfere greatly with
the studies he was loath to abandon. In this emergency, however,
he considered himself no longer entitled to indulge in these predi-
lections, and therefore made an application, which proved successful,
to Lord Gray, the patron, for a presentation to the livings of Liff
and Benvie, which had been previously held by his father. From
this period until 1782, he was constantly resident at Liff, occupied
almost exclusively with the pastoral duties of his office, and with
the education of his younger brothers.
In the year 1779 Playfair contributed to the 'Transactions' of the
Royal Society of London a paper on the ' Arithmetic of Impossible
Quantities,' which exhibits, within a very small compass, a striking
example of the rare and admirable talent of detaching the sound
spirit of science from what may be termed its mysticism. In the
year 1782 he was induced by very advantageous offers to resign his
charge, and to superintend the education of Ferguson of Raith, and
his brother Sir Ronald ; an arrangement which restored him in a
great measure to the literary and scientific society of Edinburgh,
and enabled him to visit London, where he was gratified by a
personal introduction to several of the most eminent cultivators of
science in that city.
Playfair was received into the University of Edinburgh during
the course of the year 1785, and, in consequence of an arrangement
made between Dr. Adam Ferguson and Mr. Dugald Stewart, was
appointed joint-professor of mathematics with Dr. Ferguson, whose
delicate state of health prevented him from discharging the active
duties of the professorship ; Mr. Stewart filling the chair of moral
philosophy, previously held by Dr. Ferguson.
Previous to this, like Leslie, Playfair had been twice a candidate
for a similar honour, but unsuccessfully. On the first occasion,
when only eighteen years old, he had offered himself, with the
approbation of his instructors at St. Andrew's, as candidate for the
professorship of mathematics in Marischal College, Aberdeen, and
had sustained with much credit a competitive examination which
lasted eleven days, and embraced nearly the whole range of the
exact sciences. Out of six competitors, two only were judged to
have surpassed him the Rev. Dr. Trail, who was appointed to the
office, and Dr. Hamilton, who afterwards succeeded to and long
filled it with much reputation.
In 1788, Playfair published, in the 'Transactions' of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh, a biographical account of Dr. Matthew
Stewart, which also contains a singularly clear and interesting
account of the labours of Dr. Simson in the restoration of ancient
geometiy. In this year likewise appeared his paper ' On the Causes
which affect the accuracy of Barometrical Measurements,' which is
94 PLAYFAIR.
written with all the perspicuity, caution, and sagacity, that con-
stitute the great excellence and the great difficulty of such disqui-
sitions, where scientific principles are employed to give precision to
physical observations. In 1790 appeared, in the same ' Transactions,'
a paper of still greater interest and delicacy, ' On the Astronomy of
the Brahmins,' the publication of which attracted very general
attention, both in Europe and in Asia, and gave rise to much dis-
cussion and research. This was followed in 1794 by a learned and
very beautiful treatise on the l Origin and Investigation of Porisms,'
in which the obscure nature of the very comprehensive and indefi-
nite theorems to which this name was applied by the ancient
geometers, is explained with the most lucid simplicity.
In 1797 he composed a sequel to his first paper on the Indian
astronomy, in the shape of ' Observations on the Trigonometrical
Tables of the Brahmins,' and also a masterly collection of ' Theorems
on the Figure of the Earth.' During the course of the last-men-
tioned year, his friend Dr. James Hutton died ; and Playfair, having
undertaken to draw up a biographical account of him for the Royal
Society, was led to study the doctor's ingenious but crude specula-
tions on the ' Theory of the Earth,' and afterwards to lend them the
assistance of his own powerful pen, in his * Illustrations of the Hut-
tonian Theory.' This work, upon which he bestowed more time
and labour than on any of his other productions, did not appear
until 1802 ; and whatever opinion may be formed of the truth or
soundness of Dr. Button's speculations, it is impossible to doubt
that Playfair's illustration of that theory must always be ranked
amongst the most brilliant and powerful productions of philoso-
phical genius. Its merits have been universally acknowledged, even
by those not convinced by its reasonings, and have extorted, even
from the fastidious critics of France, the acknowledgment that
" Mr. Playfair writes as well as BufFon, and reasons incomparably
better."
In 1805 he quitted the chair of mathematics to succeed Professor
Robison in that of natural philosophy. In the contest which ensued
upon the appointment of Leslie as his successor in this chair, he
took a very active part ; and amongst the heaviest blows which
Leslie's opponents had to sustain, were those that parted from the
hand of Mr. Playfair. In 1807 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal
Society, to which learned body he very soon afterwards presented
his ' Account of the Lithological Survey of Schehallien ; ' this was
the result of his investigations during the period of Dr. Maskelyne's
visit to Schehallien, to measure the attraction of that mountain, on
which occasion Playfair shared the shelter of this distinguished
astronomer's tent on the side of the mountain, and contracted with
him a friendship which lasted during the remainder of their lives.
In 1809 he contributed to the * Edinburgh Transactions' an ex-
cellent paper on ' Solids of the Greatest Attraction,' and in 1812,
PLAYFAIK. 95
another, on the 'Progress of Heat in Spherical Bodies.' In 1814 he
published, in two volumes octavo, for the use of his class, an
elementary work of great value, under the title of ' Outlines of
Natural Philosophy.' About the same time he drew up for the
' Encyclopaedia Britannica' an introductory ' Dissertation on the
Progress of Mathematical and Physical Science,' a treatise distin-
guished for the soundness of judgment, beauty of writing, and ex-
tent of knowledge displayed in it. In 1815, Playfair wrote for the
Royal Society of Edinburgh a very interesting memoir of his
distinguished predecessor, Dr. Robison. In the course of the same
year he undertook, at the age of sixty-eight, a long journey through
France and Switzerland into Italy, and did not return for a period
of nearly eighteen months, during which time his principal atten-
tion was directed to the mineralogical and geological phenomena
of the different regions which he visited. On his return from this
expedition, he was occupied in drawing up a memoir on the ' Naval
Tactics of Clerk of Eldin,' which was published after his death in
the ' Philosophical Transactions.'
Playfair had for several years suffered from a recurrence at
different times of a painful affection of the bladder, which appeared
with increased severity in the early part of 1819, but was so far got
under as to enable him to complete his course of lectures in the
spring. It returned, however, in a still more distressing form in
the summer, and at last put a period to his life on the 19th of July.
Though suffering great pain during the last part of his confinement,
he retained not only his intellectual faculties quite unimpaired, but
also the serenity and mildness of his spirit, occupying himself until
within a few days of his death in correcting the proof-sheets of the
' Dissertation' before noticed.
Besides the previously mentioned works, Playfair was a frequent
contributor to the * Edinburgh Review,' and also wrote the articles
1 JEpinus' and ' Physical Astronomy,' in the ' Encyclopaedia Britan-
nica.' Francis Jeffrey, of whose elaborate and elegant memoir the
above is but a brief summary, speaks of Playfair as being " one of
the most learned mathematicians of the age, and among the first, if
not the very first, who introduced the beautiful discoveries of the
later Continental geometers to the knowledge of his countrymen,
and gave their just value and true place in the scheme of European
knowledge, to those important improvements by which the whole
aspect of abstract science has been renovated since the days of our
illustrious Newton ;" also, " as possessing in the highest degree
all the characteristics both of a fine and powerful understanding, at
once penetrating and vigilant, but more distinguished perhaps for
the caution and sureness of its march than for the brilliancy or
rapidity of its movements ; and guided and adorned through all its
progress by the most genuine enthusiasm for all that is grand, and
the justest taste for all that is beautiful." Memoir of John Playfair^
ly Lord Jeffrey. Encyclopedia Britannica.
96
JOHN RENNIE, F.R.S. L. and E., &c.
Born June 7, 1761. Died October 4, 1821.
John Eennie was born at Phantassie, in the parish of Prestonkirk,
in the county of East Lothian. His father was a highly respect-
able farmer, who died in 1766, leaving a widow and nine children,
of whom John was the youngest. He acquired the first rudiments
of his education at the village school, which was situated on the
opposite side of a brook. To cross this at certain seasons of the
year it was necessary to make use of a boat, which was kept at the
workshop of Andrew Meikle, an ingenious mechanic well known in
Scotland as the inventor of the threshing machine. Young Rennie,
having thus frequent occasion to pass through Meikle's workshop,
became deeply interested in the various mechanical operations that
were in progress, and a great pail of his leisure and holiday time
was spent therein. During the evening he employed himself in
imitating the machines which had particularly attracted his atten-
tion, and when only ten years old succeeded in constructing a
model of a steam-engine, a windmill, and a pile-driving machine.
At twelve years of age he left the Preston school and entered the
service of Mr. Meikle for a space of two years, at the end of which
time, finding that a constant application to manual labour retarded
the progress of his intellectual faculties, he determined to place
himself under the tuition of Mr. Gibson, an eminent mathematical
master at Dunbar. Here Young Rennie attained such proficiency
in his studies, that when, two or three years afterwards, Mr. Gibson
was appointed master to the public academy at Perth, he was able
to undertake the temporary management of the Dunbar school.
While at this school he attracted the especial notice of Mr. David
Lock, who, in describing a visit to Dunbar, makes particular men-
tion of him as one likely to prove an honour to his country.* On
leaving Mr. Gibson, Rennie returned to Mr. Meikle, continuing
more or less with that ingenious man for the next two or three
years. j- His first essay in practical mechanics was the repairing of
a corn mill in his native village, and he erected two or three others
before he had reached the age of eighteen. While occupied in these
works Rennie took care at the same time to attend to his other
studies, managing occasionally to visit Edinburgh, where he entered
himself as a student at the University, and attended the lectures of
* Lock's Essays on tlie Trade and Commerce, Manufactories and Fisheries, of
Scotland, 1779. 3 vols.
f According to an article published in the Mechanics' Magazine, Sept. 20,
1861, Mr. Rennie appears likewise to have attended the collegiate academy at
Perth. The above brief account of his early life is given on the authority of a
Memoir furnished by Mr. George Eennie, F.K.S., and published in the Ency-
clopaedia Britannica.
BENNIE. 97
Professors Robison and Black. With the former gentleman he
gradually formed an intimate acquaintance, and was by him intro-
duced to Messrs. Boulton and Watt, of Soho, with whom he re-
mained during the space of twelve months ; it being their wish to
have engaged his services for a longer period, but Rennie, conscious
of his own powers, determined to make the capital the theatre of
his future efforts. His first practical essay at millwright work in
England was the rolling mills at Soho, which were entirely re-
modelled and rebuilt under his direction.
In 1784 he established himself in London, and commenced work
by the erection of the Albion Mills near Blackfriars Bridge, Boulton
and Watt, who had the direction of the steam-engines, having, in
accordance with the advice of Professors Robison and Black, en-
trusted to him the execution of the millwork. Mr. Watt, in his
notes to Professor Robison's account of the steam-engine, says that
" in the construction of the millwork and machinery, they derived
most valuable assistance from that able mechanician and engineer,
Mr. John Rennie, then just entering into business, who assisted in
placing them, and under whose direction they were executed." He
also adds that the machinery, which used to be made of wood, was
here made of cast iron, and considers that this was the commence-
ment of that system of millwork which has proved so beneficial to
this country. After executing this undertaking, Rennie was em-
ployed on the flour mills at Wandsworth, and the rolling and tritu-
rating mills at the Mint. His mills, and particularly his water
wheels, were regarded as models of perfection, while in all hydraulic
works he was the worthy successor of Smeaton. From this time
until his comparatively early death in 1821, Rennie was constantly
employed on various large and splendid undertakings, among which
his bridges occupy an important place. Of these structures the
finest is the Waterloo Bridge over the Thames, begun in 1809 and
finished in 1817. It is built of Aberdeen granite, and consists of
nine equal semi-elliptical arches of 20 feet span, with a level road-
way 45 feet wide from outside to outside of parapet, which adds
greatly to its beauty. This bridge was opened to the public by the
Prince Regent, who offered at the time to confer upon Mr. Rennie
the honour of knighthood ; this offer, however, he declined. London
Bridge, which he designed but did not live to execute, was finished
by his sons, Mr. George and Sir John Rennie. It is built of the
finest blue and white granite from Scotland and Devonshire, and
consists of five semi-elliptical arches, two of 130, two of 140, and the
centre one of 152^ ft. span, being perhaps the largest elliptical arch
ever attempted. The beautiful stone bridge over the Tweed at
Kelso, and those at Musselburgh and New Galloway, were also de-
signed by him. When speaking of the first-named of these bridges,
Mr. Rennie used often playfully to declare, that he considered him-
self a benefactor to his country, inasmuch as one of his earliest
P
98 RENNIE.
public works was to build a bridge across the Tweed ! The iron
bridges which he executed are, the one at Boston, over the Witham,
with a span of 100 feet ; and the noble bridge at Southwark, over
the Thames, begun in 1815 and opened in 1819. The latter consists
of three circular arches of equal curvature, the centre one having a
span of 240, and the other two of 210 feet. The total weight of
iron in the structure was 5780 tons, and the entire cost, including
approaches, &c., 800,000/.
The improvement of harbours and the construction of docks
occupied much of Mr. Rennie's attention, and in these operations
his diving-bell apparatus was of peculiar value. Smeaton was the
first who used the diving-bell effectually for building with stone
under water ; the machine he employed for that purpose was, how-
ever, very defective, and could only be used in certain situations.
But Rennie, by improvements in the instrument itself, and in the
machinery by which its movements could be regulated,* was enabled
to carry on masonry, and the foundations of sea-walls, piers, and
quays, as well under water as above it. He first employed his
apparatus in 1813, in building the East Pierhead at Ramsgate, the
foundations of which were 17 feet below low water at spring tides.
It was afterwards used in founding the pierheads and outer walls of
the harbours at Holyhead, Howth, and Sheerness, and other works
under his direction. Amongst the numerous wet docks introduced
at Liverpool in 17 16, and since constructed at almost all the prin-
cipal sea-ports in the kingdom, Mr. Rennie executed the London
Docks, and those at Leith, Dublin, Hull, and Greenock, and also
the East and West India Docks, in conjunction with Jessop and
Ralph Walker. He also constructed the harbours of Queensferry,
Berwick, Howth, Holyhead, and that at Kingston, the largest
attempted in this country. At the low water of spring tide, the
depth of this harbour was 26 feet, while the area enclosed amounted
to 250 acres. The breakwater at Plymouth for protecting the
Sound from the swell of the sea was likewise designed by him and
Mr. Whitby, and was the first and largest example of a detached
breakwater in this country. One of the most useful works executed
by Mr. Rennie was the drainage of the great Fen district bordering
upon the rivers Trent, Witham, New Welland, and Ouse, and ex-
tending 60 miles in length by 25 in breadth. In the carrying out
of this great work, by which many hundreds of square miles were
rendered productive, and the salubrity of the district improved, he
was assisted by Mr. Telford and his son, Sir John Rennie. The
chief canals of which he was engineer are the Kennet, Avon, Crinan,
Rochdale, and Lancaster. The naval dockyards at Portsmouth,
Plymouth, Chatham, and Sheerness, also attest his skill as an engi-
* By the invention and employment of what is now well known as the tra-
velling-crane.
RONALDS. 99
neer. The latter was a mere quicksand 40 feet deep, mixed with
mud and the wrecks of old ships ; the whole of which was excavated,
and a magnificent basin constructed with a surrounding wall of
granite, with which three large and commodious dry docks com-
municated. Several magnificent works of great public utility were
proposed to the government by Mr. Rennie but never executed.
The most remarkable of these is his design for a great naval arsenal
on the Thames at Northfleet, intended as a substitute for the im-
perfect naval establishments on the river. It was to consist of six
capacious basins, with an area of 600 acres within the walls, and to
comprehend machinery for every operation connected with the naval
science. The estimated cost of this noble plan was eight millions,
which might have amounted to ten or eleven millions, but would
even then have been a measure of economy compared with the
vast sums expended on the old establishments on the Thames and
Medway.
Before closing the present brief account of this celebrated engi-
neer's life and works, his lighthouse on the Bell Rock must not be
passed by without notice. Like the Eddystone, it was built of
stone ; commenced in 1806, and finished in 1811, it still remains an
enduring monument of the skill of its architect.
Until within a few years of his death Mr. Rennie enjoyed robust
health, but he was cut off in the sixty-first year of his age after a
few days' illness. He was buried in St. Paul's Cathedral, his re-
mains being interred near to those of Sir Christopher Wren. Ency-
clopedia Britannica. North British Review, Feb., 1861. Mechanics'
Magazine, September 20 and November 22, 1861.
FRANCIS RONALDS, F.R.S.
Francis Ronalds was born in London, in the year 1788. From a
very early period in life he devoted himself to the advancement of
electrical science, a course he has consistently pursued during a
large portion of his life, which has not yet we are glad to be able to
state drawn to its close. He is the inventor of an electric telegraph,
electrical machine, electrometer, a new mode of electrical insulation,
a pendulum doubler, an electric clock, several meteorological and
magnetical instruments and other mechanical contrivances. The
year 1816, however, marked Mr. Ronald's great achievement in the
advancement of electric telegraphs. During that year he was the
first to demonstrate that they could be practically and unerringly
applied to the passage of messages through a long distance. Well
F 2
100 RONALDS.
aware of the difficulties arising from imperfect insulation, which
had baffled his predecessors, Mr. Ronalds secured the success of his
apparatus both by employing better means of insulation than had
hitherto been adopted, and also by making use of a form of apparatus
which should of itself be capable of supplying any loss of electricity
which might arise from defects in the insulation.* Mr. Ronalds
placed his telegraph wire in glass tubes surrounded by wooden
troughs lined with pitch, which were placed in a trench dug in his
garden at Hammersmith. He also suspended eight miles of wire
by silken cords from a wooden frame erected on his lawn, through
which he was enabled to successfully pass messages except in wet
weather, the cords not being protected from the wet.
Mr. Ronald's peculiar form of apparatus may be thus briefly de-
scribed : At two stations were placed two clocks, with a dial with
20 letters placed on the arbour of the second-hand ; in front of each
of these dials was placed a screen with a small orifice cut in it so
that, as the dial revolved, only one letter could be seen at a time.
The clocks were made to go isochronously, and were started at the
same instant with the same letter appearing on the dial through
the orifices of each of the screens, both dials, therefore, as they
revolved, would of course continue to show similar letters. This
formed the readable index of his telegraph ; means of communica-
tion between the two stations were produced in the following
manner : connected with each end of the telegraph wire, and placed
in front of the clocks, were two pith ball electrometers, upon which
a constant stream of electricity, produced from an ordinary frictional
machine, operated and consequently kept in a state of divergence,
except when a letter on the dial was to be denoted ; the electricity
was then partially discharged by breaking the connection, the pith
balls in a measure collapsed, and the distant observer was thereby in-
formed to note down the letter then visible through the orifice on the
screen. In this way letter after letter might be denoted and intel-
legence of any kind conveyed. All that was absolutely required for
the success of Mr. Ronald's telegraph was, that the clocks should
go isochronously during the time intelligence was being transmitted,
for, by a preconcerted arrangement, both clocks might be easily
started at the same letter upon a given signal. The attention of
the distant observer was called by the explosion of gas by means of
an electric spark. In 1823, Mr. Ronalds published a full description
of his telegraph, in a work entitled, ' Descriptions of an Electrical
Telegraph, and of some other Electrical Apparatus.'
In 1825, Mr. Ronalds invented a perspective tracing instrument,
to facilitate drawing from nature or from plans and elevations, an
account of which he published in 1828 in a work entitled, ' Mecha-
* This peculiarity of Mr. Ronalds' apparatus is stated in full by Mr. Highton,
C.E., in his work on the ' Telegraph,' page 50. London, John Weale.
RONALDS. 101
nical Perspective.' With this machine he was enabled some years
afterwards (in 1835), assisted by Dr. Blair, to procure exact per-
spective projections taken from given noted stations, of the Celtic
remains at Carnac in Brittany. The result of these researches was
published by Mr. Ronalds and Dr. Blair in 1836, and was entitled,
' Sketches at Carnac ; or, Notes concerning the present state of the
Celtic Antiquities in that and some of the adjoining Communes.'
In connection with this tracing apparatus, he likewise contrived a
hexipod staff used for a support, and which has been much employed
for the support of instruments requiring great steadiness, such as
telescopes, theodolites, cameras, &c. In the year 1843 he became
the first and honorary director of the Kew Observatory, and while
occupying this office he supplied the observatory with various new
contrivances, for which he received a government reward from the
special service fund, and a small pension from the civil list. The
most considerable of these contrivances were his atmospheric elec-
trical conductor and its appendages, adopted at the Greenwich, the
Madrid, and the Bombay magnetic observatories ; his photo-baro-
graph, and two photo -thermographs, adopted at the Radcliff obser-
vatory, Oxford; his photo-electrograph, and three photo-magneto-
graphs. Besides the writings above-mentioned, Mr. Ronalds is the
author of an article in the Philosophical Magazine of 1814, entitled,
* On Electro-galvanic Agency, employed as a moving power, with
descriptions of a Galvanic Clock ; ' and other articles in the same
journal, detailing his original experiments to illustrate the relations
of quantity and intensity in the electric pile. He also wrote four
Reports on the Kew observatory, which were fully illustrated and
printed in the reports of the British Association for the years 1845-
50-51 and 52 ; and one paper in the Philosophical Transactions on
' Photographic Self-registering Meteorological and Magnetical In-
struments,' written in 1846 and printed in the year following. In
1856 Mr. Ronalds published in French, at Paris, a summary of these
reports, with some additions, entitled, ' Descriptions de quelques
Instruments Meteorologiques et Magnetiques,' intended to explain
his instruments at the French exhibition.
Mr. Ronalds is now (April 1864) residing at Battle in Sussex,
and during the latter years of life has spent much time and part of
his small pension, in collecting and collating an electric library,
which might be conveniently available for the advancement of his
favourite science, and prove worthy of presentation or bequest to
some British public institution, so as to form the nucleus of one
which might approximate possibly to a complete electrical library.
From particulars derived from authentic sources.
102
COUNT RUMFORD (SIR BENJAMIN THOMPSON),
LL.D., V.P.R.S.,
MEMBER OP THE ROYAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, ETC.
Born March 26, 1753. Died Aug. 21, 1814.
Benjamin Thompson, the founder of the Royal Institution, and
more generally known by the title of Count Rumford, which he
afterwards acquired, was born at Woburn in Massachussets. His
ancestors appear to have been among the earliest colonists of this
district, and in all probability came originally from England.
Thompson's father died while his son was a mere infant, and two
or three years afterwards his mother married a second husband,
Josiah Pierce, also a resident at Woburn. As soon as young
Thompson was able to learn his letters he was sent to the school of
his native town, kept by a Mr. John Fowle, where he remained
until his eleventh year, when he joined the school of a Mr. Hill at
Medford. Here Thompson made such advances in mathematics
and astronomy as to be able to calculate eclipses. At the age of
thirteen he was bound apprentice to Mr. John Appleby, a respecta-
ble merchant in Salem, the second town in point of size in Massa-
chussets. His occupations with Mr. Appleby were principally those
of a clerk in the counting house, but he appears to have had sufficient
leisure to extend his reading in scientific subjects, and also to in-
dulge a taste, he began to exhibit, for designing and engraving.
At this time he was likewise occupied with a contrivance for solving
the famous problem of perpetual motion, but was ultimately made
to see the fallacy of his expectations, by the arguments of an old
friend and schoolfellow, Loammi Baldwin, who induced him to
attempt ^something more practicable though less magnificent.
At this period, 1767, the differences between Great Britain and
her American colonies were beginning to assume a serious aspect,
and there ensued such a stagnation of trade at Salem and other
towns, that Mr. Appleby, having no further occasion for the services
of a clerk, was glad to give up to young Thompson his indentures,
and allow him to return to Woburn. For the next two or three
years Thompson's course of life seems to have been wavering and
undecided. At one time he appears to have had thoughts of enter-
ing the medical profession, for he remained during some months
under the tuition of Dr. Hay, a physician in Woburn, and entered
zealously upon the study of anatomy and physiology.
In 1770, however, he resumed his mercantile avocations in the
capacity of a clerk at a dry goods store at Boston, kept by a Mr.
Capen, and was thus engaged during the famous riots which took
place in that town, on the attempt to land a cargo of tea from a
British vessel, contrary to a resolution of the colonists against
RUMFORD. 103
admitting British goods. These disturbances caused Mr. Capen's
business to decline as Mr. Appleby's had formerly done, and
Thompson was again obliged to return to Woburn. He now
seriously turned his attention to the acquisition of scientific know-
ledge, and in company with his friend Baldwin attended a course of
lectures on experimental philosophy delivered at Harvard College,
instituting at the same time many experiments of his own, some of
which proved the germs of valuable conclusions published in after
life. In particular may be mentioned a course of experiments which
he began in order to ascertain and measure the projectile force of
gunpo\vder.
Thompson, though still only in his seventeenth year, had now
acquired a certain amount of reputation ; he was also endowed with
much natural grace and many personal advantages, which subse-
quently proved the means of gaining him access to the fir^t circles
in Europe.
Towards the close of the year 1770 he was invited by Colonel
Timothy Walker, one of the most important residents in the village
of Rumford, now Concord, in New Hampshire, to take charge of an
Academy in that place. Two years later, at the age of twenty, he
married Mrs. Rolfe, a colonel's widow possessed of a considerable
fortune. After his marriage Thompson took his place as one of the
wealthiest inhabitants of the district in which he resided, mixing
with the best society the colony afforded. Among others he made
the acquaintance of the governor John Wentworth, who, wishing to
attach to the British party so influential a colonist, gave Thompson
the commission of major in a regiment of the New Hampshire
Militia, in which a vacancy had occurred. This act of attention,
while gratifying to Thompson, procured him much ill-will from the
officers already in the service, and over whose head he had been
promoted.
From this period he began to be unpopular in his native country.
He was represented as a friend of Great Britain, and an enemy to
the interests of the colonies. The public hatred of him at length
rose to such a height, that he only escaped by flight from the
ignominy of being tarred and feathered in the open streets. Leaving
his wife and an infant daughter, Thomas first took refuge in his
native town of Woburn, and then proceeded to Charlestown where
he remained for several months. From Charlestown he went to
Boston, at which place he was well received by General Gage and
the officers of the British army at that time in garrison at Boston.
Returning in the spring of 1775 to Woburn, he again ran the risk of
being tarred and feathered, but was saved by the interference of his
friend Baldwin.
The commencement of open hostilities between the Colonists and
the British troops in May, 1775, made Thompson's position still
more critical, and finding that he could not overcome the prejudice
104 RUMFORD.
felt against him, he came to the desperate resolution of quitting his
native country, and leaving his wife and child. To effect this he
first escaped to Boston, where he remained, with his friend General
Gage, until the evacuation of the town by the British troops, when
he embarked on board the Scarborough, and ? set sail for England,
with despatches from General Gage to Lord George Germain, the
British Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs.
Although Thompson arrived in England the bearer of gloomy
tidings, and sustaining the equivocal character of a deserter from
the American cause, he soon showed that he was a man capable of
commanding his fortune anywhere. The capacity in which he had
come over introduced him to various public men who were both
struck by his abilities and charmed by his manners. But a short
time elapsed after his arrival before he was offered a post in the
Colonial Office, and four years after, in 1780, was raised by his
patron Lord Germain to the post of under secretary for the colonies,
an instance of rapid promotion which, considering the circumstances
in which the subject of it stood, is almost unexampled.
The income and consequence which Thompson derived from this
office gave him admission to the highest metropolitan circles, and
he had thus opportunities not only of becoming known, but also of
exercising his inventive mind in many pursuits not immediately
connected with his official duties. Fertility of resources, and a
disposition to propose improvements in all departments, appear to
have been his most striking characteristics, and it was probably
this ready genius for practical reform in everything which came
under his notice, that recommended him so much to public men.
While engaged generally in a variety of matters, Thompson was at
the same time following out certain specific lines of scientific inves-
tigation. His experiments on the heat caused by friction, deduced
from the boring of cannon, are among the best we possess.
In 1777 he made some curious and interesting experiments on
the strength of solid bodies, which were, however, never published.
In 1778 he employed himself in further experiments on the strength
of gunpowder and the velocity of military projectiles ; and these
were followed up by a cruise of some months in the Channel fleet,
where he proposed to repeat his experiments on a larger scale. He
communicated the result of his researches on this subject, in several
papers, to the ' Philosophical Transactions ' of the Royal Society,
of which he became a member in the last-mentioned year.
On the retirement of Lord George Germain from office, Thompson
was sent out to New York in the year 1781, with the royal com-
mission of major, afterwards changed to that of lieutenant-colonel,
charged with the task of organizing an efficient regiment of dra-
goons out of the broken and disjointed native cavalry regiments
which had been fighting on the royalist side. This regiment was,
however, of no avail ; peace was concluded between Great Britain
RUMFOED. 105
and the United States, and Colonel Thompson on his return to
England obtained leave of absence to travel on the Continent. In
crossing from England to France, it happened that he had as a
fellow-traveller the celebrated historian Gibbon, who, in some sub-
sequent correspondence, spoke of him as " the soldier, philosopher,
statesman Thompson."
While on his way to Vienna, Thompson attended a review of the
garrison of Strasbourg, and, attracting general attention by his
superb English horse and uniform of colonel of dragoons, became
introduced to the notice of Prince Maximilian, nephew and pre-
sumptive heir of the Elector of Bavaria. This prince was agreeably
impressed by the manners and address of Thompson, and furnished
him with letters of introduction to his uncle, the Bavarian Elector.
When Thompson arrived at Munich (so great seems to have been
his power of conciliating favour), he was offered, on his first inter-
view with the elector, an important situation at court, if he would
take up his residence there. After a little delay, Thompson accepted
this offer, conditional upon receiving permission from his Britannic
Majesty. Proceeding to London to obtain the required consent, he
was very favourably received by George III., who conferred on him
the honour of knighthood, and allowed him to retain his title of
lieutenant-colonel, together with the half-pay attached to it.
Towards the close of the year 1784, Sir Benjamin Thompson, at
the age of thirty-one, took up his residence at Munich, and filled
the posts of aide-de-camp and chamberlain to the Elector ; being
thus connected both with the military and civil service of the
Bavarian dominions. Into these twin branches of government he
soon introduced many important and salutary reforms; he re-
organized the Bavarian army, and introduced many improvements
into the art of agriculture as practised in that part of Europe ; he
also took wise and effectual measures for the suppression of men-
dicancy, and for the ameliorization of the condition of the poor at
Munich, introducing among them some excellent plans for the
economization of Tood and fuel.
While investigating this latter subject, Sir Benjamin paid par-
ticular attention to the construction of grates and fireplaces, and to
the scientific properties of light and heat. He so improved the
methods of heating apartments and of cooking food, as to produce
a saving in the precious element of heat varying from one-half to
seven-eighths of the fuel previously consumed ; so that it was wittily
said, that he would never rest satisfied until he had cooked his
dinner with his neighbours' smoke. To him also is the honour due
of being the first to explain the manner in which heat is propagated
in fluids. In requital of these important services to the Bavarian
state, Thompson was decorated with two orders of Polish knight-
hood ; he also received the appointments of member of the Council
of State and lieutenant-general in the army, was created com-
F 3
106 RUMFORD.
mander-in-chief of the general staff, minister of war, and superin-
tendent of the police of the electorate, and was finally, in 1790,
raised to the dignity of Count of the Holy Roman Empire, by the
title of Count Rumford, in memory of the American village where
he had formerly officiated as schoolmaster. The scientific part of
the community also showed their esteem for him, by electing him a
member of the Academies of Munich and Manheim ; and in 1787,
when on a visit to Prussia, he was chosen a member of the Academy
of Sciences at Berlin.
When the advance of the French army under Moreau compelled
the Elector to quit his capital, Count Rumford was for a short time
placed at the head of the Regency, and in this capacity succeeded
in the arduous task of freeing the Bavarian state from foreign in-
vasion. This important service increased Rumford's reputation
with the Elector and the people, and he was permitted to settle
one-half of the pension which he e,njoyed on his daughter, to be
paid during her lifetime.
In the year 1798, the Elector appointed him his ambassador to
the court of Great Britain ; but on arriving in London, Rumford,
much to his mortification, found that, as a British subject he could
not hold that office. Shortly after this, in 1799, his friend and
patron the Elector Charles Theodore died. Deeply grieved by the
loss he had sustained, Rumford contemplated returning to his native
country, in compliance with a formal invitation which he had re-
ceived from the United States government. He was, however, led
to change this design, and remain for several years in London,
during which period he devoted the greatest portion of his time to
the interests of the Royal Institution, of which he may be considered
the founder. The objects of this institution, now one of the recog-
nised scientific establishments of the world, and which can boast of
having given employment to such men as Young, Davy, Brande,
and Faraday, were "to diffuse the knowledge and facilitate the
general introduction of useful mechanical inventions and improve-
ments, and to teach by courses of philosophical lectures and ex-
periments the application of science to the useful purposes of life."
Such an institution was precisely the one which Rumford was quali-
fied to superintend ; and in its early history, the influence of his
peculiar habits of thought is discernible, in the choice of subjects
for investigation by the members. Rumford's name will ever be
connected with the progress of science in England, from the estab-
lishment of this institution, and also from the foundation by him of
a perpetual medal and prize in the gift of the Royal Society, for the
reward of discoveries connected with light and heat.
During the latter portion of his life, Count Rumford, retaining an
income of 12001. a year from the Bavarian court, resided chiefly at
Auteuil, a small villa near Paris. Here he was married again to
the widow of the eminent French chemist Lavoisier, his former wife
SMITH. 107
having died in 1792. Rumford's death took place at Auteuil, on
the 21st of August, 1814, in the sixty-second year of his age. His
only daughter by his first wife inherited the title of Countess of
Rumford, with the continuation of her father's Bavarian pension.
She married Cuvier the naturalist, and survived until a few years
ago, forming a link between the age of Lavoisier and those of the
middle of the nineteenth century. Chambers' Miscellany, No. 161.
Encyclopedia, Britannica, eighth edition. Voyage de trois mois en
Angleterre, en Ecosse, &c., par Marc-Auguste Pictet, F.R.S., &c.
Geneva, 1802.
DANIEL RUTHERFORD, M.D.
Born November 3, 1749. Died November 15, 1819.
Daniel Rutherford was born at Edinburgh and educated at the
University of his native city. He took his degree of M.D. in 1772,
and in the Thesis which he published upon this occasion, entitled
' De Aere Fixo,' he pointed out for the first time a new gaseous
substance, since distinguished by the name of Azote or Nitrogen.
On the 6th of May, 1777, he was admitted a Fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians, and in a paper on Nitre, read before the
Philosophical Society in 1778, he described, under the name of Vital
Air, what is now called Oxygen gas.
On the death of Dr. John Hope in 1786, Rutherford was elected
Professor of Botany and Keeper of the Botanical Gardens at Edin-
burgh, a duty which he discharged until the time of his death, in
1819, at the age of seventy. Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. 3.
May 1820.
WILLIAM SMITH, LL.D.
Born March 23, 1769. Died August 28, 1839.
William Smith, the ' Father of English Geology,' was born at
Churchill, a village in Oxfordshire. His father died when he was
eight years old, and his mother marrying again, William was brought
up under the care of his uncle, to part of whose property he was
heir. From this kinsman, who had little sympathy with his nephew's
108 SMITH.
early displayed taste for collecting specimens of the various stones
in the neighbourhood, young Smith with difficulty obtained money
for the purchase of a few books fit to instruct a boy in the rudi-
ments of geometry and surveying. He, however, continued to
prosecute these studies without instruction or sympathy, but still
with ardour and success until the year 1787, when, having attained
the age of eighteen, and being tolerably versed in the geometry
and calculations at that time thought sufficient for engineers and
surveyors, he became assistant to Mr. Edward Webb, pf Stow-on-
the-Wold, who had been appointed to make a complete survey of
the parish of Churchill. Being speedily entrusted with the manage-
ment of all the ordinary business of a surveyor, Mr. Smith traversed
in continual activity the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire,
and Warwickshire, carefully noticing all the varieties of soil over
which he passed, and comparing them with the general aspect and
character of the country. Between the years 1791 and 1793, he
also made minute subterraneous surveys of the High Littleton
collieries, which afforded him an opportunity of confirming views
previously conceived as to the regularity in formation of the different
strata composing the earth's crust. At this period the services of
civil engineers were in great request, and the duties entrusted to
them were such as Mr. Smith was well qualified to perform. Several
gentlemen in the neighbourhood interested themselves in forward-
ing his professional career, and he obtained an engagement to make
surveys and levels for a proposed line of canal in Somersetshire.
In the course of these operations, Smith discovered that the strata
lying above coal were not laid horizontally, but inclined in one
direction viz., to the eastward; resembling on a large scale the
ordinary appearance of superposed slices of bread and butter. This
fact he had previously imagined to be the case, and it was now
proved to be true.
In 1794 the Canal Bill on which he was engaged received the
sanction of Parliament, and one of the first steps taken by the com-
mittee of management was to depute two of their members to
accompany Mr. Smith, their engineer, on a tour of investigation as
to the construction and management of other navigations in England
and Wales. This journey extended altogether through 900 miles of
country, and occupied the space of one or two months ; the party
reached Newcastle by one route, and returned by another, through
Shropshire and Wales to Bath. During the whole tour Mr. Smith
seized every opportunity of observing all local peculiarities as to
the aspect and structure of the country passed through, and was
able to verify on a large scale his pre-conceived generalizations
regarding a settled order of succession, continuity of range at the
surface, and general declination eastward of the different strata.
During the next six years he was engaged in setting out and super-
intending the works on the Somersetshire coal canal ; being able,
SMITH. 109
from the knowledge he had acquired, to inform the contractors what
would be the nature of the ground to be cut through, and what
parts of the canal would require particular care to be kept water-
tight. He also discovered, daring the formation of this work, that
each stratum contained organised fossils peculiar to itself, by ex-
amination of which, it might in cases otherwise doubtful be recog-
nised and discriminated from others like it, but in a different part of
the series. This fact was subsequently still further investigated by
him, and he proved that whatever stratum was found in any part of
England, the same remains would be found in it and no other.
Mr. Smith was now (1795) twenty-six years old, and at this
period removed from the village of High Littleton to Bath, in the
vicinity of which city he shortly afterwards purchased a small but
beautiful estate. In the following year he first contemplated pub-
lishing his discoveries in geology, but it was not until the year
1799, after his engagement with the Coal Canal Company had ceased,
that he made public his intention of publishing a work on the Stra-
tification of Britain, and prosecuting an actual survey of the Geolo-
gical structure of England and Wales. About this time he became
acquainted with the Rev. Benjamin Richardson and the Rev. Jos.
Townsend, two gentlemen thoroughly competent to estimate the
truth and value of his views, and who, in conjunction with him,
drew up a tabular statement of the order of the strata, with their
imbedded organic remains, in the vicinity of Bath. Copies of this
document were extensively distributed, and it remained for a long
period the type and authority for the descriptions and order of the
superposition of the strata near Bath. The original document, in
Mr. Richardson's handwriting, drawn up from Smith's dictation,
was presented to the Geological Society in 1831. Mr. Smith now
turned all his energies to the prosecution of his profession, and the
tracing out the courses of the strata through districts as remote
from Bath as his means would permit. In 1799 an unusual amount
of rain prevailed, producing in the neighbourhood of Bath an extra-
ordinary phenomenon. Vast mounds of earth, displaced by the
augmented force of the springs and the direction of water into new
channels below the surface, were sliding down the sides of the hills,
bearing away with them houses, trees, lawns, and fields. To remedy
such disasters and prevent their recurrence was exactly what Smith
had learnt from Geology, and many operations of this kind were
placed under his care and successfully accomplished. His reputation
for success in draining on new principles became established, carry-
ing him into Gloucestershire, the Isle of Purbeck, Wiltshire, &c.,
and for the next few years he was almost daily occupied in various
parts of the country, first in draining land, and' secondly in irriga-
ting it when drained. In 1801 he accomplished the effectual drainage
of Prisley Bog, a work which had often been attempted before,
but without success. Mr. Smith thoroughly deprived the bog of its
110 SMITH.
stagnant water, and converted this hitherto worthless waste into
valuable meadows, by conducting a running stream over its surface.
For the performance of this undertaking he received in 1805 the
medal of the Society of Arts. Another great work, on which he
was engaged more or less during the space of nine years (1800-1809),
was the draining of the marsh lands in East Norfolk, between
Yarmouth and Happisburgh. These lands were continually liable
to be flooded by inundations from the German Ocean, which poured
in through breaches in the sand-hills lining the coast, and forming a
natural barrier against these inroads. Mr. Smith at once saw that the
first thing to be done, to prove an effectual remedy, must be the stop-
ping out the sea from the whole region of marsh land. This he accom-
plished by filling up the vast breaches (amounting altogether to one
mile in length) with artificial embankments made of pebbles and
sand as like as possible to the natural barriers thrown up by the
sea. This simple and effective plan, requiring almost nothing but
labour for its accomplishment, entirely succeeded ; and the sea now
being effectually kept out, he was able to suggest to the proprietors
proper methods for draining and improving the marshes.
In 1806 Mr. Smith's first published work appeared, being entitled,
1 A Treatise on the Construction and Management of Watermeadows.'
Several years previous to this he had been repeatedly urged by his
friends (among whom he now counted Francis, Duke of Bedford,
Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Crawshaw, Thomas W. Coke, of Norfolk, and
the Rev. B. Richardson, before mentioned) to put in force his inten-
tion of publishing his discoveries. Many difficulties had, however,
occurred; his means were continually exhausted by his scientific
investigations; and an attempt, first made in 1801, to publish by
subscription a work on the natural order of the strata of England
and Wales, failed, partially from the deaths of his patrons the Duke
of Bedford and Mr. Crawshaw, and ultimately from his proposed
publisher, Debrett, falling into difficulties.
From this period until late in life, Mr. Smith continued unceas-
ingly his professional occupations. In 1809 he began to execute the
Ouse navigation in Sussex ; in 1810 he restored the hot springs of
Bath, which had failed; in 1811 he examined into the causes of
leakage on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and reported on trials for
coals in Buckinghamshire ; and in 1812-1814 executed the Minsmere
drainage in Suffolk. During these and a hundred other engagements
of a like nature, which furnished him with the means and occasion
for incessant travelling, Mr. Smith lost no opportunity of commit-
ting to paper the result of the day's observations on the direction,
dip, and aspect of the rocks he passed over during his various
journies. In 1812, receiving proposals from Mr. Gary to publish his
map of the strata of England and Wales, Mr. Smith recommenced
his efforts to produce the great work on which he had been occupied
for the space of twenty years. This map was at length published
SMITH. Ill
on the 1st of August, 1815, being dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks,
and he received from the Society of Arts the premium of 50., which
had long been offered for a work of this description. The fame of its
author as a great original discoverer in English geology was now
secured, but it brought Mr. Smith little pecuniary benefit. Geology
had kept him poor all his life by consuming his professional gains ;
and an unfortunate speculation, which he at this time entered into,
entirely failed, and compelled him to sell the property at Bath which
he had purchased in 1798. A load of debt still remained to be dis-
charged, and in order to liquidate this he proposed selling the
valuable geological collection he had been making during his past
life. This collection, of which the number of species was 693, and
of specimens 2657, was purchased by Government for the British
Museum for a total sum of 7001. In 1818 Mr. Smith's claims on
public notice were fairly and fully advocated by Dr. Fitton, and it
was chiefly from the favourable light in which this gentleman placed
his long and solitary labours, that public interest for him was stimu-
lated, and the Geological Society, who had hitherto passed him
over, was at length roused to an impartial estimate of the value of
his works. This resulted in the passing of a resolution in February,
1831, " That the first Wollaston medal be given to Mr. William
Smith, in consideration of his being a great original discoverer in
English Geology ; and especially for his having been the first in
this country to discover and to teach the identification of strata,
and to determine their succession by means of their imbedded
fossils." The following year he received from the Crown a pension
of 100Z. a-year. Previous to this, however, the state of Mr. Smith's
finances compelled him to be unceasingly occupied in various pro-
fessional engagements ; and on one of these occasions, being en-
gaged by Colonel Braddyll to make a general mining survey of
some estates belonging to that gentleman, he drew the Colonel's
attention to the great probability of there being coal at an attain-
able depth on part of his property situated at Haswell, in Durham.
This ultimately led to the foundation of the magnificent works,
called the South Hetton Colliery, which rival the greatest establish-
ments of the Lambtons, Vanes, and Russels.
During the last few years of his life Mr. Smith lived principally
at Scarborough, where, unfettered by any but temporary engage-
ments, he devoted his mind to a review of the circumstances of his
life, and the arrangement of his observations and opinions. In
1835 he received the degree of LL.D., which was conferred on him
by the members of Trinity College, Dublin. Between the years
1837 and 1838 he was appointed by Government to join Sir Charles
Barry and Sir Henry De la Beche in making a tour through a great
part of England and Wales, to select the most suitable stone for
building the Houses of Parliament. The stone ultimately selected
for this purpose was the firm yellow granular magnesian limestone,
112 STANHOPE.
of Bolsover Moor, in Derbyshire. This was the last scientific work
on which Dr. Smith was engaged; a cold caught the following
year brought on diarrhoea, which terminated fatally. He died on
the 28th of August, in his seventy-first year, and was buried at
Northampton, at the west end of the church of All Saints, in which,
at the suggestion of Dr. Buckland, a tablet was erected to his
memory, the expense of which was defrayed by a subscription
among geologists. Memoirs of William Smith, LL.D., by his nephew,
John Phillips, F.R.S., F.G.S. London, 1844.
EARL STANHOPE, F.K.S.
Born August 3, 1753. Died December 17, 1816.
Charles Stanhope, third earl of that name, was born at Chevening
in Kent, and was sent at a very early period to Eton ; but at the
age of ten he removed with his family to Geneva, where he was
placed under the tuition of M. Le Sage, a well-known man of letters
in that place. There can be but little doubt that the whole political
career of Earl Stanhope was deeply influenced by the circumstance
of his receiving his early education in this republican city ; and to
this may be ascribed the extreme views which he entertained in
after life respecting civil liberty and other points affecting the wel-
fare of great communities.
While acquiring these sentiments, Lord Stanhope was at the
same time pursuing a course of training which subsequently made
him so remarkable, as a man of science and letters. Natural phi-
losophy was his chief study ; and the knowledge which he acquired
of this subject was decisively shewn by his gaining, at the early
age of eighteen, a prize offered by the Stockholm Society of Arts
for the best essay, written in French, on the pendulum ; and this
essay was the more remarkable, as being the fruit not only of mere
reading, but of numerous original experiments, performed by him in
person.
Shortly after attaining his majority, Lord Stanhope, together
with his family, left Geneva amidst the regrets of the whole popu-
lation, while crowds of poor people assembled to take a last look on
the noble English residents who had long been their generous bene-
factors. On reaching England, the family rank and influence of the
young nobleman speedily procured him a seat in the House of
Commons, which he occupied until his succession to the Stanhope
title called him to the Upper House of Parliament. Here it was
that he became famous as a politician. Honesty and straight-
STANHOPE. 113
forwardness were the grand features of his statesmanship; his
views, however, although now entertained by even moderate poli-
ticians, were at that time considered extreme, and subsequently led
to a separation of the earl from his family.
But it is chiefly as a man of science, and as an inventor in the
field of practical mechanics, that Earl Stanhope has rendered himself
celebrated. Shortly after leaving the Continent, about the year
1775, he turned his attention to devising some means whereby for-
geries in coins and bank-notes might be prevented ; this resulted in
his publishing a pamphlet on that subject, in which various pro-
cesses calculated to prevent forgeries on the mint are recommended.
In the 'Philosophical Transactions 1 for 1778, Lord Stanhope
gives a full account of experiments performed by him, on a large
scale, in presence of the Lord Mayor and members of the Royal
Society, showing that wood could be rendered fireproof, by coating
it with a species of stucco or plaster of his own invention. The
practical efficiency of this was still more decisively shown by a fire
which broke out in the earl's mansion at Chevening. Having had
occasion to rebuild this some time previously, Earl Stanhope had
taken care to make use of his new discovery ; a portion of the offices,
however, remained unsecured, and here the fire originated ; but on
reaching the protected portion, it was at once arrested, and the
mansion saved from destruction.
Among other works of Lord Stanhope which attracted most at-
tention at that time are his experiments on electricity, his improve-
ments in shipbuilding and navigation, a calculating machine, and
the Stanhope printing-press, which to this day bears his name. He
has also been called the inventor of stereotype printing, and had at
all events the merit of greatly improving this most important pro-
cess, and of introducing it into general use. The application of
steam to navigation was another favourite study of Earl Stanhope ;
and, in concert with him, Fulton the American entered into an ex-
tensive series of experiments to prove its practicability. Although
unsuccessful in this last pursuit, canal navigation owes much to the
earl ; the value of his improvements in canal -locks being felt to this
day throughout the whole land. He lived in constant pursuit of
these philosophical enquiries till the age of sixty-three, when he
died of dropsy, at his seat in Kent.
Lord Stanhope was essentially a practical man, of a firm, upright,
and independent character ; and it is related of him," that when ad-
vising his children to pursue some useful calling, he remarked of
himself, that " Charles Stanhope, as a carpenter, blacksmith, or mill-
wright, could in any countiy, or at any time, preserve his inde-
pendence, and bring up his family to honest and industrious courses,
without soliciting either the bounty of friends or the charity of
strangers." He merits the grateful remembrance of posterity, not
only for the practical results of his genius, but for the indirect in-
114 SYMINGTON.
fluence of his noble example exerted on others, and for the generous
patronage he bestowed on many poorer fellow-labourers in the same
great field. Chambers' Edinburgh Journal, No. 392, August 3, 1839.
Stuart's Anecdotes of the Steam-Engine. London, 1829.
WILLIAM SYMINGTON.*
Born in 1763. Died March 22, 1831.
William Symington, claimant conjointly with Patrick Miller to
the honour of originating the present system of steam navigation,
was a native of Leadhills, in the county of Lanark, Scotland. He
was originally destined for the church, but an early predilection for
mechanical philosophy led him to abandon his theological studies,
and pursue with ardour those connected with his favourite science.
His genius soon attracted the notice, and secured the patronage of
Gilbert Meason, a gentleman at that time connected with the
Wanlock Head lead mines. Before completing his twenty-first
year, Mr. Symington made several improvements on the steam-
engine, for which he took out patents, and continued for some time
to construct and introduce engines on his principle, in various parts
of England and Scotland.
In the year 1784, the idea first occurred to him that steam might
be advantageously employed for the propulsion of carriages ; and
in 1786 he succeeded in producing a working model of a steam-
carriage, which he submitted to the inspection of the professors and
other scientific gentlemen in Edinburgh. Although this steam-
carriage afforded proofs of considerable capability, it was never
proceeded further with, on account of the state of the roads in
Scotland at that period, and the difficulty of procuring fuel and
water.
In the meanwhile Patrick Miller, a gentleman of property residing
on his estate at Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire, had for some time been
engaged in making various experiments for the improvement of
naval architecture, and had constructed a double or twin-boat, with
paddle-wheels, to be moved by manual labour. At this point Miller
was informed by Mr. James Taylor, a tutor in his family, of Syming-
ton's model steam-carriage, and they both called at Mr. Meason's
house in Edinburgh to see it. During the course of conversation
with Symington, the practicability of advantageously employing
steam for the purposes of navigation was talked about, and it was
ultimately arranged that Symington should endeavour to construct
* See also Patrick Miller.
SYMINGTON. 115
a steam-engine to be fitted on board Miller's twin-boat, and capable
of moving the paddle-wheels. This was accomplished in the autumn
of 1788, when a trial was made, in the presence of Mr. Miller and
various others, of so satisfactory a nature, that it was immediately
determined to commence another experiment, upon a larger scale.
It may, however, be satisfactory to state here, that this, the parent
engine of steam navigation, after enduring many vicissitudes, was
ultimately rescued from destruction by Mr. Bennet Woodcroft, and
contributed by him for exhibition in the South Kensington Museum.
In the month of October 1789, a second exemplification of the
practicability of steam navigation was afforded by Miller and
Symington, on the Forth and Clyde Inland Navigation Canal, in
the presence of many hundreds of spectators ; the boat proceeding
along at the rate of nearly six miles an hour. In this instance the
machinery was constructed at the Carron Works, under the direc-
tion of Symington, and placed on board a boat which had been used
in Miller's previous experiments. Unfortunately, Mr. Miller now
withdrew from the concern ; he had already expended nearly thirty
thousand pounds on various experiments, and he determined to
devote his time to the improvement of the Dalswinton estate.
Symington's pecuniary resources were insufficient to enable him
unaided to pursue his experiments, and he was compelled to desist,
and turn his attention to the fulfilment of engagements with the
Wanlock Head company, for constructing machinery on a large
scale. An interval of ten years thus elapsed, at the end of which
time Mr. Symington secured the patronage of Thomas, Lord Dundas
of Kerse, under whose auspices another series of experiments were
commenced, in January 1801, at the cost of 7000Z.; but they placed
beyond the possibility of doubt the practicability of steam naviga-
tion. Symington had availed himself of the improvements made in
the steam-engine by Watt and others, and he now constructed an
improved marine engine, with boat and paddle-wheel after the plan
at present adopted. This boat, called the 'Charlotte Dundas,'*
was the first practical steamboat; and for the novel combination
of the parts, Symington obtained a patent on the 14th October, 1801.
The vessel made her first voyage in March 1803, on the Forth and
Clyde Canal, and proceeded upwards of nineteen miles, drawing
after her two laden vessels, each of seventy tons burden, although
it blew so strong a gale right ahead, that no other vessel in the
canal attempted to move to windward during that day. There
were on board on this occasion Lord Dundas, the Hon. Captain
George Dundas, R.N., and Archibald Spiers of Elderslee, together
with several other gentlemen of their acquaintance.
Miller's boat had proved a practical steam-boat, but in the
' Charlotte Dundas ' Symington had the undoubted merit of having
* Named in honour of Lord Dundas's daughter, Lady Milton.
116 SYMINGTON.
combined together for the first time those improvements which con-
stitute the present system of steam navigation. Although Henry
Bell and Fulton the American are both claimants for the above
honour, their inventions did not appear until some years afterwards,
Fulton establishing his steamboat at New York in 1807, and Bell
establishing one on the Clyde in 1811 ;* undoubted proof also exists
that both these gentlemen were well acquainted with the result of
Miller of Dalswinton's experiments, the ' Charlotte Dundas,' and
must have derived considerable advantage from such knowledge.
After the successful experiment with the ' Charlotte Dundas,' a
proposal was made to the canal proprietors to substitute steam-tugs
in place of horses, but it was rejected on the ground that the undu-
lation created in the water by the paddle-wheels might wash away
the banks. Lord Dundas then introduced Symington to the notice
of the Duke of Bridgewater, who, although at first averse to the
project, ultimately gave Symington an order to build eight boats on
his principle. On this Mr. Symington returned to Scotland full of
hopes for the future, but these were suddenly frustrated by the
death of the Duke. His resources were now exhausted, and, unable
any longer to struggle against his misfortunes, Mr. Symington was
obliged, although with great reluctance, to lay up his boat in a
creek of the canal near Barnsford draw-bridge, where it remained
for many years exposed to the view of the public.
Shortly after Bell's steamboat, the 'Comet,' had begun plying
upon the Clyde, notice was sent by Symington, not only to Bell,
but to all other proprietors following his example, that by so doing
they were invading his right ; and legal advice having been taken,f
an action for damages was commenced. Before, however, the cause
was settled, Mr. Symington's patent expired ; and although he had
given directions to institute an application to have it renewed, this
was most unaccountably neglected to be done, and he saw his hopes
expire, being reduced to much and severe distress through want of
money a state in which he continued more or less during the re-
mainder of his life.
When in his last illness, the ruling passion of his life was strongly
exhibited. At one time the irregular form of his bedroom occa-
sioned him so much uneasiness, that, being slightly delirious, he
requested his son to reduce it to a square ; while his last act was
an imitation of winding-up and adjusting a newly-invented chrono-
meter, which he had lately completed. Stuarfs Anecdotes of the
Steam-Engine. London, 1829. Narrative by R. Bowie, proving W.
Symington the Inventor of Steam Land- Carriage Locomotion and of
Steam Navigation. London, 1833. Descriptive Catalogue of the
Museum of the Commissioners of Patents.
* The 'Comet.'
f John Clerk (Lord Eldin) pronounced the patent to be correctly drawn up,
and that no doubt existed of Mr. Symington's right to recover damages from its
invaders.
117
THOMAS TELFORD, F.R.S., L. and E., &c.
Born August 9, 1757. Died September 2, 1834.
The life of Thomas Telford adds another striking instance to
those on record of men who, from the force of natural talent, un-
aided save by uprightness and persevering industry, have raised
themselves from the low estate in which they were born, and taken
their stand among the master-spirits of their age. Telford was
born in the parish of Westerkirk, in the pastoral district of Esk-
dale in Dumfriesshire. His father, who followed the occupation
of a shepherd, died while his son was yet an infant, and the orphan
boy was thus left to the care of his mother, whose maiden name
was Janet Jackson, and for whom her son always cherished an
affectionate regard, being in the habit, in after life, of writing letters
to her in printed characters, in order that she might be able to read
them without assistance.
Young Telford received the rudiments of education at the parish
school of Westerkirk, and during the summer season was employed
by his uncle as a shepherd boy. This occupation left him abundant
leisure, of which he made diligent use in studying the books fur-
nished by his village friends. At the age of fourteen he was appren-
ticed to a stone mason in the neighbouring town of Langholm, and
for several years was employed, chiefly in his native district, in the
construction of plain bridges, farm buildings, simple village churches
and manses, and other works of a similar nature, such as are usually
performed by a country mason in a district where there is little
occasion for the higher departments of his art.
These operations afforded, however, good opportunities for obtain-
ing practical knowledge, and Telford himself has expressed his
sense of the value of this humble training, observing, that " as there
is not sufficient employment to produce a division of labour in
building, the young practitioner is under the necessity of making
himself acquainted with every detail in procuring, preparing, and
employing every kind of material, whether it be the produce of the
forest, the quarry, or the forge ; and this necessity, although un-
favourable to the dexterity of the individual workman, Who earns
his livelihood by expertness in one operation, is of singular advan-
tage to the future architect and engineer, whose professional excel-
lence must rest on the adaptation of materials, and a confirmed
habit of discrimination and judicious superintendance."
When Telford had completed his apprenticeship as a stonemason,
he remained for some time at Langholm working as a journeyman,
his wages being eighteenpence per diem.* The first bridge masonry
* Smiles's * Lives of the Engineers.' London, 1861.
118 TELFORD.
on which he was engaged was the erection of a structure over the
Esk at Langholm to connect the old with the new town. Mr. Smiles,
in his ' Lives of the Engineers,' tells a good story in connection
with this bridge. Telford's master, one Thompson, was bound by
contract to maintain it for a period of seven years. Not long after
the completion of the structure an unusually high flood swept along
the valley, and Thompson's wife, Tibby, knowing the terms of her
husband's contract, was in a state of great alarm lest the fabric
should be carried away by the torrent. In her distress she thought
of Telford, and calling out, " Oh, we'll be ruined we'll be ruined !
where's Tammy Telfer where's Tammy ? send in search of him."
When he came running up, Tibby exclaimed, " Oh, Tammy,
they're been on the brig and they say it's shaking ! It'll be doon."
" Never you heed them, Tibby," said Telford, clapping her on the
shoulder, " there's nae fear o' the brig I like it a' the better that it
shakes ; it proves it's weel put thegither." Tibby's fears were not,
however, so easily allayed, and asserting that she heard the brig
" rumlin," she ran up and set her back against it to keep it from
falling. Whether Tibby's zealous support to the bridge in this
instance was of any avail or no, Telford's opinion of the soundness
of the structure has been proved by its withstanding the storms of
nearly a century.
At this early period of his life, Telford was remarkable for his
elastic spirits and good humour, and in his native district of Eskdale
was long remembered as ' laughing Tarn.' His favourite pursuits
were not as yet scientific but literary, and he acquired some dis-
tinction as a poet. He wrote in the homely style of Ramsay and
Ferguson, and used to contribute small pieces to Ruddiman's
* Weekly Magazine,' under the signature of ' Eskdale Tarn.' One
of his compositions, entitled ' Eskdale,' a short poem descriptive of
the scenes of his early years, appeared in a provincial miscellany,
and was subsequently reprinted at Shrewsbury, at the request of
his friends, and ultimately inserted in the appendix to his life.
Another pleasing fragment of his composition is given at the end of
the first volume of Dr. Currie's ' Life and Works of Burns,' pub-
lished at Liverpool in 1800 ; it is an extract from a poetical epistle
sent by Telford, when at Shrewsbury, to the Ayreshire poet, recom-
mending him to take up other subjects of a serious nature, similar
to the < Cottar's Saturday Night.'
At the age of twenty-three Telford at length quitted Eskdale,
and visited Edinburgh with a view to obtain better employment.
The splendid improvements then in progress in that city enlarged
his field of observation, and enabled him to contemplate architecture
as applied to the object of magnificence as well as utility ; and he
seems at this time to have devoted much attention both to the
scientific study of architecture and to drawing.
After remaining in Edinburgh two years, he removed to London,
TELFORD. 119
where he obtained employment upon the quadrangle of Somerset
House, then erecting by Sir William Chambers, an engagement in
which he states that he obtained much practical information.
After this, in 1784, he was engaged to superintend the erection
of a house for the resident commissioner at Portsmouth Dockyard,
and for the next three years was occupied upon various buildings
in this dockyard, which gave him good opportunities of becoming
well acquainted with the construction of graving-docks, wharf
walls, and other similar engineering works. Two or three years
previous to this, Telford's good character and promising talent had
secured for him the friendship of two families resident in his native
district, the Pasleys and the Johnstones, and to their influence
his early employment on important works is in some measure to be
attributed.
In 1787, having completed his engagements at Portsmouth, he
was invited by Sir William Pulteney (a member of the Johnstone
family) to take the superintendence of some alterations to be made
in Shrewsbury Castle. Telford consequently removed to Shrews-
bury, where he was employed to erect a new jail, completed in
1793, and was afterwards appointed county surveyor, in which
office (retained by him until death) he had to design, and oversee
the construction of, bridges and similar works. The first bridge
which he designed and built was that over the Severn at Mont-fort,
consisting of three elliptical stone arches, one of fifty-eight, and the
others of fifty-five feet span. His next was the iron bridge over the
Severn at Buildwas, which was the third iron bridge ever erected
in Great Britain, the first being the Colebrookdale in Shropshire,
built in the years 1777-9, and the second the Wearmouth,* erected
.between the years 1793-6. Telford's bridge over the Severn was
erected in 1796, and consisted of a single arch of 130 feet span,
formed of five cast iron ribs, and having a rise of only 14 feet ; the
width of the platform is 18 feet, and the total weight of iron in the
bridge about 174 tons ; it was constructed by the Coalbrookdale Iron-
masters at a cost of 6,034Z. Forty smaller bridges were erected in
Shropshire under Telford's direction.
The first great undertaking, upon which Mr. Telford (in conjunc-
tion with Mr. Jessop) was engaged, was the Ellesmere Canal, a
series of navigations intended to unite the Severn, the Dee, and the
Mersey, and extending altogether to a length of nearly one hundred
and twenty miles. From the date of this engagement, about 1793,
Telford directed his attention almost entirely to civil engineering.
In the execution of the immense aqueducts, required on this work,
which cross the valleys of the Ceroig or Chirk, and of the Dee, at
an elevation of 70 and 120 feet respectively, cast iron was first
introduced as a material for forming the water-troughs of the canal,
* Originally designed by Thomas Paine.
120 TELFORD.
in place of the usual puddled clay confined in masonry, a practice
which involved great expense, and some danger in times of frost,
from the expansion of the moist clay. In the locks of this canal
Telford also introduced cast iron framing in place of timber ; and in
one instance, where the lock was formed in a quicksand, he made
every part of the above material.
The Caledonial Canal, of which Mr. Jessop was consulting en-
gineer, was another of Mr. Telford's principal works. This canal
was opened throughout its course in the year 1823, and it forms a
noble monument of the skill of the engineer. The locks are stated
by Telford to be the largest ever constructed at that time, being
40 feet wide, and from 170 to 180 feet long. Of other canals con-
structed wholly or partially under his superintendance, it is suffi-
cient to mention the Glasgow, Paisley, and Androssan ; the Maccles-
field ; the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction ; the Gloucester and
Berkeley; the Birmingham, which was completely remodelled by
him and adapted to the conduct of a very extensive traffic, and the
Weaver navigation in Cheshire. On the Continent he likewise
superintended the construction of the Gotha Canal in Sweden, a
navigation of about 125 English miles, of which 55 are artificial
canal. From the Lake Wener at one extremity, this navigation
rises 162 feet to the summit level, and falls 370 feet to the Baltic at
the other ; the rise and fall are effected by fifty-six locks, and the
canal is 42 feet wide at the bottom and 10 feet deep. Upon its
completion Telford received a Swedish order of knighthood, and as
a farther mark of the royal approbation, received the King of
Sweden's portrait set in diamonds.
The works executed by Telford under the Commissioners "of
Highland Roads and Bridges are of great importance. The practical
operations under this commission, appointed in 1803, embraced
about a thousand miles of new road, with nearly 1,200 new bridges,
which caused the whole of Scotland, from its southern boundary
near Carlisle, to the northern extremity of Caithness, and from
Aberdeenshire on the east, to the Argyleshire islands on the west,
to be intersected by roads ; and its largest rivers and even inferior
streams to be crossed by bridges. The execution of this under-
taking occupied a period of twenty-five years, and all was done
under the sole direction of Telford. The great road from London to
Holyhead remains, perhaps, one of the most perfect specimens of
his skill as an engineer ; the improvements in it were executed by
him, under another Parliamentary Commission appointed in 1815,
and Telford himself appears to have regarded this work with pecu-
liar satisfaction.
The Menai suspension bridge is, however, unquestionably one of
the noblest monuments of Mr. Telford's fame, and it may be said to
have inaugurated the era of the extensive introduction of wrought
TELFORD. 121
iron into great permanent structures exposed to heavy strains.*
This bridge was commenced in 1819, and opened for traffic in 1826.
The distance between the two piers is 550 feet, and the whole road-
way, which is carried over four arches on the one side, and three on
the other, has a length of 1000 feet, and a breadth of 30 feet. The
total cost of the work was 120,000?.
Mr. Telford also built many other bridges of considerable size,
and executed some important harbour works at Aberdeen and
Dundee ; but his most striking performance of this latter class is
the St. Katharine Docks, London. One of his latest engagements
was the survey of Dover harbour, undertaken in January, 1834, at
the request of the Duke of Wellington, (as Warden of the Cinque
Ports,) with a view to the adoption of measures to check the accu-
mulation of shingle at the entrance.
During the course of his life Mr. Telford taught himself Latin,
French, and German, so as to be able to read those languages with
fluency, and to be able to converse freely in French. He is likewise
said to have been well acquainted with algebra, but to have placed
more reliance upon experiment, than on mathematical investigation.
He contributed to the 'Edinburgh Encyclopaedia' the articles
' Architecture,' ' Bridge Building,' and ' Canal Making.' Besides the
above, he wrote an account of his own life, giving elaborate de-
scriptions of his various professional undertakings. (Life of Thomas
Telford, written by himself. Edited by John Rickman. London,
1833, 4to.)
Although Telford was not connected with the Institution of Civil
Engineers at its formation, he accepted their invitation in 1820, and
became their President ; and from that time he was unremitting in
his attention to the duties of the office, having become by his
partial retirement from business, a pretty regular resident in the
metropolis.
Telford was possessed of a robust frame, and till he had reached
the age of seventy, had never been visited with any serious illness.
While at Cambridge, in the year 1827, he was afflicted with a severe
and dangerous disorder; and although he gradually recovered a
certain degree of health, he never regained his former vigour. He
died a few years afterwards at his house in Abingdon Street, West-
minster, having completed the seventy- seventh year of his age.
His remains were deposited in Westminster Abbey, where there is
a statue erected to his memory. Encyclopaedia Britannica. English
Cyclopaedia.
* Sixth Dissertation, by Dr. J. D. Forbes, F.K.S. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Eighth Edition.
122
CHARLES TENNANT.
Born May 3, 1768. Died October 1, 1838.
Charles Tennant, the founder of the celebrated chemical works at
St. Rollox, Glasgow, was born at Ochiltree, Ayrshire. His father,
John Tennant, was factor or steward to the Countess of Glencairn,
and also rented a farm on her estate, in the culture of which he dis-
played great practical and scientific ability. John Tennant married
twice ; after the death of his first wife, by whom he had two sons
and one daughter, he married, in the year 1757, Margaret McLure,
who, in the course of time, brought him a numerous family of six
sons and seven daughters. John Tennant's second wife possessed
very superior abilities, which she earnestly directed to the education
and advancement of her family, ultimately having the satisfaction
of seeing all her children turn out men of energy and success in life.
Charles Tennant, the subject of our memoir, was the fifth son ; he
received his early education at home, afterwards attending the
parish school of Ochiltree. When still very young, Charles left
home and went to Kilbarhan, with the intention of learning the
manufacture of silk. After remaining at this place a short time,
Tennant removed to Wellmeadow bleachfield, where he studied the
methods of bleaching at that time in use, and ultimately went to
Darnly (the place from which the unfortunate husband of Mary,
Queen of Scots, took his title), and established there an extensive
bleachfield, taking into partnership with him Mr. Cochrane of
Paisley. Mr. Tennant now devoted himself to the study of che-
mistry, feeling that the process of bleaching could only be effected
by true chemical agency, whatever might be the particular method
or operation, and that, therefore, the bleacher must in the first case
look to the chemist for the discovery of more potent agents to
effect his object. Before Mr. Tennant's time the operation of
bleaching was of a very tedious and expensive nature. The cloth
was steeped in alkaline lye, which was called * bucking.' The sub-
sequent process of bleaching was done by exposure on the grass,
called ' crofting;' these operations were repeated five or six times,
and extended over a period of eight or ten weeks. In the year
1787 an important change took place, in consequence of the dis-
covery, by Mr. Scheele, of Sweden, of chlorine, which was used as a
substitute for exposure to the atmosphere. The repeated experi-
ments of Berthollet added considerably to the facts already known,
while the practical effects of these discoveries were still more fully
shown by Mr. Watt, and Dr. Henry of Manchester. In 1798 Mr.
Tennant made his first great discovery, viz., a method of making
saturated chloride of lime, an article which was found to answer
perfectly all the purposes required by the bleacher. This invention,
TENNANT. 123
for which he took out a patent, consisted in the substitution of lime
for potash. His patent right was, however, resisted by certain of
the bleachers of Lancashire, and was set aside by the verdict of a
jury, on the grounds that the patent included a mode of ' bucking'
with quicklime and water, which was not a new invention ; and
because one part of the patent was not new, the whole of the claim
must be set aside. By this decision the use of liquid chloride of
lime in bleaching was thrown open to all ; and through an unfortu-
nate error of expression in describing his process, Mr. Tennant was
deprived of the fruits of a laborious investigation extending over a
period of several years. This subsequently caused a strong feeling
of sympathy to be manifested for him by many of the bleachers of
Lancashire, who, as an expression of their grateful acknowledgment,
presented him with a service of plate, which he accepted. Mr.
Tennant, however, in accordance with the character of his original
design, determined to press onward with his discoveries, and to
bring, if possible, his first invention to a still more practical issue.
He therefore adopted a new method, and at length completed and
secured by patent a process for impregnating quicklime in a dry-
state with chlorine, which proved perfectly successful ; this, his
second patent, remained uncontested, and he lived to secure a large
pecuniary reward.
Mr. Tennant's discoveries, together with the introduction of soda-
ash or ' British soda,' in place of potash, greatly facilitated and
cheapened the process of bleaching, while the introduction of me-
chanical appliances and the power of the steam-engine superseded
the previous laborious operations by hand. The result has been
that the same amount of bleaching is now performed in as many
days as was formerly performed in weeks, while the price has been
reduced from 7s. 6d. (1803) to 6d. (1861) for a piece of cloth of
28 yards.
In the year 1800 Mr. Tennant removed from Darnly to St. Eollox,
Glasgow, where he commenced business as a large manufacturing
chemist, taking into partnership Mr. Charles Mackintosh, Mr. Wil-
liam Cowper, and Mr. James Knox. During the remainder of his
life Mr. Tennant devoted himself with energy to the forwarding of
his business, and ultimately caused his manufactory to become the
largest and most extensive of its kind in Europe. He also took
considerable interest in the politics of the day. His principles were
those of an intelligent and liberal-minded reformer, and he was long
looked up to as one of the leading men of his party, although the
least tainted by mere party spirit or selfishness. Mr. Tennant was
likewise conspicuous in his promotion of many public undertakings.
He took a deep interest in the furtherance of the railway system ;
the Garnkirk and Glasgow Railway may be said to owe its origin
and completion almost entirely to him, while his invincible industry
and perseverance contributed greatly towards the establishment of
G 2
124 THOMSON.
the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway. He was a great friend of
George Stephenson's, and was present with him at the opening of
the Liverpool and Manchester Railroad when the unfortunate
accident occurred which resulted in the melancholy death of Mr.
Huskisson.
Mr. Tennant died rather suddenly, in his seventy-first year, at his
house in Abercrombie Place, Glasgow. He was possessed of a con-
stitutional nervousness, rather remarkable in one of a large and
healthy frame, allied to a peculiar sensitiveness to the beautiful.
In after life he would often talk with pleasure of his youthful
reminiscences of the poet Burns, who was at 'that time on terms of
considerable intimacy with his family. Mr. Tennant was an earnest
and indefatigable promoter of economical and educational improve-
ment ; an uncompromising friend of civil and religious liberty ;
while his own inborn energy of character and clear intellect placed
him among the foremost of those men who, by uniting science to
manufactures, have at once extended their fields of action, and
entitled their occupations to be classed among the ranks of the
liberal professions. The Progress of Science and Art as developed in
the Bleaching of Cotton, by Henry Ashworth, Paper read before the
British Association at Manchester, September 5, 1861 ; and, Parti-
culars communicated by the Family.
THOMAS THOMSON, M.D., F.E.S.
Born April 12, 1773. Died July 2, 1852.
Dr. Thomas Thomson, Regius Professor of Chemistry in the
University of Glasgow, who exercised a remarkable influence in the
development and extension of the science of chemistry during the
present age, was born at Crieff, in Perthshire. He received his early
education at the parish school of that place, and after remaining for
a time under the care of Dr. Doig, of Stirling, went to the Univer-
sity of St. Andrews, where he remained for a period of three years.
Thomson entered upon his medical studies at the University of
Edinburgh, and during the session of 1795-96 attended the lectures
of the celebrated Dr. Black, who first awoke in him the latent taste
for that science of which he was destined to become so bright an
ornament. In 1796 he became connected with the Encyclopaedia
Britannica, for an early edition of which he wrote the articles
Chemistry, Mineralogy, Vegetable Substances, Animal Substances,
and Dyeing Substances, &c. These articles formed the basis of his
THOMSON. 125
system of chemistry, which he published at Edinburgh in the year
1804, in four volumes, and afterwards greatly enlarged and im-
proved as the demand for the book increased. Dr. Thomson com-
menced delivering a series of lectures on chemistry at Edinburgh in
1800, which were continued with increasing popularity until 1810.
Meanwhile he invented the system of chemical symbols now gene-
rally adopted by all men of science (with variations as the time
demands), and without which chemical language would be unintel-
ligible. He was also the first to open a laboratory in Great Britain
for practical manipulation in chemistry. In 1810 he published his
' Elements of Chemistry,' and in 1812 visited Sweden, and on his
return wrote a description of that country. The following year to
this Dr. Thomson started in London the ' Annals of Philosophy,' a
scientific journal, which he continued to edit until the year 1822,
and which a few years afterwards was merged in the ' Philosophical
Magazine.' He also about this time conducted for the Board of
Excise a series of investigations on brewing, which formed the basis
of Scottish legislation on that subject.
In the year 1817 Thomson was elected lecturer on chemistry in
the University of Glasgow, and in the following year received the
title of Professor. This chair he held until his death, being assisted
in his latter years by his nephew and son-in-law, Dr. R. D. Thomson.
When Dalton had worked out his grand discovery of the Atomic
Theory, he communicated the result of his researches to Thomson,
who at once perceived the value and importance of the discovery,
and in the year 1807 was the first to publish it to the world. He
gave a sketch of this grand theory in the third edition of his
' System of Chemistry ;' and we are chiefly indebted to the labours
of Professor Thomson, conjointly with Dr. Henry of Manchester,
and Dr. Wollaston, for luminous views on this important subject.
In 1825 Dr. Thomson wrote, in two volumes, ' An Attempt to Es-
tablish the First Principles of Chemistry by Experiment.' In 1830-31
he published his l History of Chemistry,' a work which has been
described as a masterpiece of learning and research. In 1836
appeared his * Outlines of Mineralogy and Geology ;' and in 1849
he issued his last work, ' On Brewing and Distillation.'
Thomson performed in science, and its history and literature, a
very great amount of valuable labour, and acquired a distinguished
reputation both as an original discoverer, and as a practical teacher
of his favourite science. He died in 1852, at the age of seventy-
nine, and has left behind him a son who bears his name, now (1860)
superintendent of the East India Company's Botanic Gardens at
Calcutta, and one of the most distinguished scientific botanists of
the day. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eighth Edition. English Cyclo-
pwdia. London, 1858.
126
RICHARD TREVITHICK.
Born April 13, 1771. Died April 22, 1833.
Richard Trevithick, inventor of the first high pressure steam-
engine, and the first steam-carriage used in England, was born in
the parish of Illogan, in Cornwall. He was the son of a purser of
the mines in the district, and although he received but little early
education, his talents were great in his own special subject, me-
chanics. When a boy he had no taste for school exercises, and
being an only son, was allowed by his parents to do much as he
pleased ; so that most of his time was passed either in strolling over
the mines amidst which he lived, or in working out schemes which
had already begun to fill his youthful imagination, seated under a
hedge, with a slate in his hand. Trevithick was a pupil of William
Bull, an engineer practising at that time in Cornwall, employed in
erecting Watt's engines, and who afterwards accompanied Trevi-
thick to South America. When he had attained the age of twenty-
one, Trevithick was appointed engineer to several mines, a more
responsible situation than the one held by his father, who, on hearing
of his son's appointment, expressed great surprise, and even consi-
dered it his duty to remonstrate with the gentlemen who had
proposed the appointment. About this period (in 1792) he was also
employed to test one of Hornblower's engines, and even before this,
had, with the assistance of William Bull, constructed several engines
which did not come under Watt's patent. Trevithick's duties, as
engineer, at this time, frequently required him to visit Mr. Harvey's
iron foundry at Hayle, who was in the habit of inviting him to his
house ; this ultimately resulted in his becoming attached to Mr.
Harvey's daughter, to whom he was married on the 7th of Novem-
ber, 1797. After his marriage Trevithick lived at Plane-an-quary
in Redruth for a few months, then at Camborne for ten years.
From about 1808 to 1810 he resided in London; but after his un-
fortunate failure in attempting to tunnel the Thames, returned to
Penponds in the parish of Camborne, where he lived for five or six
years, at the house of his mother, afterwards living at Penzance,
from which town he sailed for Peru on the 20th October, 1816.
While residing at Camborne, Trevithick influenced perhaps by the
success of Murdock's model steam-carriage, determined to build one
adapted to ordinary road traffic. One Andrew Vivian supplied the
pecuniary means and joined him in the project, for which, on its
completion, a patent was taken out in 1802, and in the same year a
small one was erected at Marazion, which was worked by steam of
at least thirty pounds on the square inch above atmospheric pres-
sure.* Their steam-carriage presented the appearance of an ordi-
* The specification of this patent gives likewise the first mention (we believe)
TREVITHICK. 127
nary stage-coach on four wheels, having one horizontal cylinder,
which, together with the boiler and fire-box, were placed at the
back of the hind axle. Mr. Michael Williams, late M.P. for Corn-
wall, in a letter to Mr. E. Watkins, dated the 5th of January, 1853,
mentions having been present at the first trial of Trevithick's loco-
motive, and says " the experiments made on the public road close
by Camborne were perfectly successful, and although many im-
provements in the details of such description of engines have been
since effected, the leading principles of construction and arrange-
ment are continued, I believe, with little alteration in the magnificent
railroad engines of the present day." After making several satis-
factory trials in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, Trevithick and
Vivian exhibited their invention publicly in London, first at Lord's
Cricket-ground, and afterwards on the spot of ground now occupied
by Euston Square.* At this latter place, however, Trevithick, in-
fluenced by some curious whirn, suddenly closed the exhibition on
the second day, leaving hundreds waiting outside in a state of great
wrath. Mrs. Humblestone, an old inhabitant of London, who at
that period used to keep a shop near to the present Pantheon,
Oxford Street, relates that she well remembers witnessing a public
trial of Trevithick's steam-carriage. On this occasion the shops
were shut, no horses or carriages were allowed in the streets, and
the roofs of the houses in the neighbourhood were crowded with
people, who hurraed and waived their handkerchiefs as the ' steam
monster ' was seen coming along Oxford Street at a rapid pace.f
Two years afterwards Trevithick constructed the first successful
railway locomotive, which was used on the Merthyr Tydvil Railway
in the year 1804. This engine had an eight-inch cylinder, of four
feet six inches stroke, placed horizontally as at present, and working
on a cranked axle ; while, in order to secure a continuous rotatory
motion, a fly-wheel was placed on the end of the axle. When we
add to this, that the fly-wheel was furnished with a break, that the
boiler had a safety-valve or a fusible plug beyond the reach of the
engineer, and that the patent includes the production of a more
equable rotatory motion k ' by causing the piston rods of two cylin-
ders to work on the said axis by means of cranks at a quarter of a
turn asunder " it is scarcely too much to say that nothing material
was added to the design of the locomotive until the invention of the
on record of oscillating engines. Sir John Eennie, F.K.S., in his address to the
Institution of Civil Engineers, in 1846, mentions the following passage:
" Even the objection of extra friction, however, if tenable, is obviated by the
vibrating cylinder described in Trevithick and Vivian's patent, in 1 802 ; patented
by Whitty in 1813, and by Manby in 1821, by whom the first engines of the
kind were constructed."
* An eye-witness, who is still living, relates that on one of these trials he saw
Trevithick's steam-carriage proceeding at the rate of twelve miles an hour.
f Mrs. Humblestone (1861) is now eighty-one years of age, and is residing in
the neighbourhood of Edgware Koad.
128 TREVITHICK.
tubular boiler in 1829.* On the occasion of its first trial, on the
21st of February, 1804, this engine drew carriages containing ten
tons of bar iron for a distance of nine miles, at the rate of five miles
an hour. The specification of the patent for Trevithick's steam-
carriage mentions a plan for causing the wheels, in certain cases, to
take a stronger hold of the ground by means of sundry rough pro-
jections, but it also adds that, in general, the ordinary structure or
.figure of the external surface of these wheels will be found to answer the
intended purpose, which appears to have been the case in the above-
mentioned engine.f After making a few experiments with his
engine, Trevithick forsook the locomotive for other projects of his
versatile genius, and this great invention was left to be perfected
and carried into general use by George Stephenson.
In the year 1809 Trevithick commenced an attempt at tunnelling
under the Thames. It was the second time that this difficult un-
dertaking had been tried, Ralph Dodd having been the first of the
unsuccessful borers. When a large sum of money had been raised
by subscriptions Trevithick commenced boring at Rotherhithe, and
in order to save both labour and expense, kept very near to the
bottom of the river ; but notwithstanding the increased difficulties
which he had to encounter on this account, he actually carried the
tunnel through a distance of 1011 feet, and within 100 feet of the
proposed terminus. At this point an unfortunate dispute arose
between him and the surveyor appointed to verify his work, the
surveyor asserting that the tunnel had been run a foot or two on
one side. This reflection on his skill as an engineer excited Trevi-
thick's Cornish blood, and he is said to have adopted the absurd
expedient of making a hole in the roof of the tunnel at low water,
and thrusting through a series of jointed rods, which were to be
received by a man in a boat, and then observed from the shore. In
the execution of this scheme, delays ensued in fitting the rods toge-
ther, and at length so much water made its way through the gulley
formed by the opening in the roof, that retreat became necessary ;
Trevithick, with an inborn courage, refused to go first, but sent the
men before him, and his life nearly fell a sacrifice to his devotion :
as he made his escape on the other side, the water rose with him
to his neck, owing to the tunnel following the curve of the bed of
the river, which necessarily caused the water to congregate towards
one part. The work was thus ended almost at the point of its suc-
* Sixth Dissertation, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eighth Edition.
j- See Practical Treatise on Railroads, &c., by Luke Hebert, London, 1837.
Pages 21-4. Mr. Francis Trevithick, who has spent considerable time in ascer-
taining the facts regarding his father's first locomotive, states that he has no
doubt the wheels of this engine were not in any way roughed : that he has often
conversed with those who made and worked the engine ; that he has their copies
of the original drawings ; and that in all these cases he never heard or saw any-
thing which indicated that the wheels were roughed.
TREVITHICK. 129
cessful completion, being at once a melancholy monument of his
folly and his skill.
After this unfortunate failure, Trevithick commenced many
schemes; among others, his attention was directed towards the
introduction of iron tanks and buoys into the Royal Navy. On first
representing the importance of this to the Admiralty, the objection
was raised, that perhaps, in the case of the tanks, iron would be
prejudicial to the water, and consequently to the health of the
crews ; Trevithick was therefore requested to consult Abernethy
upon the subject, which he accordingly did, and received for his
answer the following characteristic reply: "That the Admiralty
ought to have known better than to have sent you to me with such
a question." He likewise, about this period, contributed largely to
the improvement and better working of the Cornish engines, and to
him the merit is due of introducing into these engines the system of
high-pressure steam, and of inventing in the year 1804 the cylin-
drical wrought iron boiler, (now known as the Cornish boiler,) in
which he placed the tire inside instead of outside, as had been the
practice before his time.
Trevithick also appears to have been among, if not the very first
to employ the expansive principle of steam. In the year 1811-12
he erected a single-acting engine of 25 inches cylinder at Hull-
Prosper in Gwithian, with a cylindrical boiler, in which the steam
was more than 40 Ibs. on the square inch above atmospheric pres-
sure ; and the engine was so loaded that it worked full seven-eighths
of the stroke expansively. In this he seems to have preceded
Woolf by several years. It is also stated by Mr. Gordon in his
' Treatise on Elementary Locomotion,' that Trevithick was the first
to turn the eduction-pipe into the chimney of the locomotive to
increase the draught.*
We now come to the most romantic and stirring period of Tre-
vithick's career. In 1811 M. Uville*, a Swiss gentleman at that time
living in Lima, came to England to see if he could procure ma-
chinery for clearing the silver mines, in the Peruvian mountains, of
water. Watt's condensing engines were, however, of too ponderous
a nature to be transported over the Cordilleras on the backs of the
feeble llamas, and Uville was about to give the matter up in despair,
when, on the eve of his departure from this country, he chanced to
see a small working model of Trevithick's engine in a shop window
near Fitzroy Square. This model he carried out with him to Lima,
and had the satisfaction of seeing it work successfully on the high
ridge of the Sierra de Pasco. Uville" now returned to England to
procure more engines of the same kind, but he was a second time
almost forced to give the matter up ; for Boulton and Watt, the
* Phil. Mag. and Annals of Philosophy, August, 1831, in a letter to Richard
Taylor, F.S.A., by W. Jory Kenwood, F.GKS.
G 3
130 TREVITHICK.
most distinguished engineers of their time, assured him that it was
impossible to make engines of sufficient power and yet small enough
to be carried over the Andes. Fortunately, however, IlviHe" at this
point met with Trevithick himself, and was enabled to make such
arrangements with him as resulted in the embarkation, during Sep-
tember 1814, of three engineers and nine of Trevithick's engines.
On landing at Peru, lIviHe* and his charge were received with a
royal salute, and in due time the engines, which had been simplified
to the greatest extent, and so divided as to form adequate loads for
the weakly llama, were safely carried over precipices where a stone
may be thrown for a league. An engine was soon erected at Lauri-
cocha, in the province of Tarma, which successfully drained the
shaft of the Santa Eosa mine, and enabled working operations to be
recommenced. During the year 1816 Trevithick, hearing of this
success, gave up family and fortune and embarked for South Ame-
rica. On landing he was received with the highest honours ; all
Lima was in a state of excitement, which rose to a still greater
pitch, when it was found that his engines, by clearing the mines of
water, had doubled their produce and increased the coining ma-
chinery sixfold. Trevithick was created a marquis and grandee of
old Spain, and the lord warden of the mines proposed to raise a
silver statue in his honour. All went well until the revolutioa
broke out, when the Cornish engineer found himself placed in a very
disagreeable position between the two parties. The patriots kept
him in the mountains in a kind of honourable captivity, while the
royalists ruined his property and mutilated his engines. Trevithick,
never very patient, soon determined to end this, and, after incurring
many hardships and dangers, succeeded in making his escape from
the oppressive love and veneration of the mountain patriots. On
their way back Trevithick and his companions encountered many
perils ; they had to shoot monkeys for subsistence, their clothes
were almost always wet through owing to it being the rainy
season of the year; they had also to ford rivers, and in many
cases make their own roads by cutting down the underwood and
other obstacles which impeded their progress. On one occasion
Trevithick nearly lost his life ; in attempting to swim across a river
he became involved in a kind of whirlpool caused by some sunken
rocks, and notwithstanding all his efforts he was utterly unable to
swim beyond its influence, which kept carrying him round and
round ; fortunately just as his strength was giving way a companion,
who had cut down a tall sappling, succeeded in stretching it out to
his assistance, and thus drew him to land. Ultimately, after a long
interval, Trevithick arrived at Cartagena, on the gulf of Darien,
almost in a state of utter destitution. Here he was met by the late
Robert Stephenson, who, having just received a remittance from
home, lent half to his brother engineer to help him on his way to
England, where he arrived on the 9th of October, 1827, bringing
TREVITHICK. 131
back a pair of spurs and a few old coins, the sole remnants of the
colossal fortune made, 'but not realized,' in the Peruvian mines.
Before this occurred, however, Trevithick had visited various parts
of the West coast of South America ; part of this time he was in
the company of Earl Dundonald (then Lord Cochrane), but the last
four years of this period were spent by him at Costa Rica, in the
countries now so well known as the route of the Nicaraguan transit
and the scene of General Walker's filibuster warfare, where he pro-
jected mines and devised many magnificent schemes, but realized
no permanent good for himself. Among other things, having disco-
vered some valuable mineral deposits, he obtained from the govern-
ment a grant of the land which contained them, and on his return to
England succeeded, by his representations (which were confirmed by
a Scotchman of the name of Gerard, who had been his companion),
in organizing a company for sinking the necessary mines. Before,
however, active operations were commenced, Trevithick one day
entered the new company's offices to arrange finally about his own
interest in the concern. A cheque for 7000Z. was at once offered him
as purchase-money for his land in Southern America. This however
was not what he had wanted, and without giving a thought to the
largeness of the sum offered, he indignantly threw back the cheque
across the table and walked out of the office.* After this the com-
pany broke up, and Trevithick never realized a penny-piece from
his really valuable possessions in that country.
After his return from America but little is known of Trevithick ;
late in life he commenced a petition to Parliament, in which he asks
for some grant or remuneration for his services to the country, by
reason of the superiority of his machinery, stating that from the
use of his engines the saving to the Cornish mines alone amounted
to 100,OOOZ. per annum ; but before presenting this petition, he met
with a monied partner, who supplied him with the means of perfect-
ing his never-ceasing inventions. This was all Trevithick wanted,
and the petition was consequently laid aside. Thus assisted he
obtained a patent in 1831 for an improved steam engine ; and ano-
ther in the same year for a method or apparatus for heating apart-
ments ; and a third on the 22nd of September, 1832, for improve-
ments on the steam engine, and in the application of steam power
to navigation and locomotion. This was the last patent he took
out ; he died at Dartford in Kent during the following year, at the
age of sixty-two.
Trevithick, by his marriage with Miss Jane Harvey, had four eons
and two daughters, all of whom are still living. His manners were
* The late Michael "Williams, M.P. for West Cornwall, was present during
this transaction, and afterwards remonstrated with Trevithick on his folly.
The cheque offered to him has been stated by one gentleman to have been for a
far larger sum.
132 TROUGHTON.
blunt and unassuming, but yet possessed a certain kind of fascina-
tion which generally secured for him, in whatever society he might
be, an eager and attentive auditory. In person he was tall and
strongly made, being six feet two inches in height, and broad in
proportion, and to this day stories of his extraordinary feats of
strength are told among the miners 0f Cornwall. His life remains
a record of constant but brilliant failures, and that from no inherent
defect in his inventions, but solely from the absence in his character
of that perseverance and worldly prudence necessary to bring every
new undertaking to a successful commercial issue. Contributions to
the Biography of R. Trevithiclc, by R. Edmunds, Jun., Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal, October, 1859. The Land's End District, &c.,
with Brief Memoir of Ric. Trevithick, by R. Edmunds. London and
Penzance, 1862.^ the Year Round, August 4, I860. And other
particulars taken from original and authentic sources.
EDWARD TROUGHTON, F.R.A.S,
Born October, 1753. Died June 12, 1835.
Edward Troughton, the first astronomical instrument maker of
our day, was born in the parish of Corney, on the south-west coast
of Cumberland, and was the third son of a small farmer. An uncle
of the same name, and his eldest brother John were settled in London
as mathematical instrument makers ; and as his second brother was
apprenticed to the same business, Edward was designed to be a
farmer, continuing to be his father's assistant till the age of seven-
teen.
The death of his younger brother, however, altered Edward's
destination, and caused him to be placed with his brother John, at
that time a chamber master, employed chiefly in dividing and en-
graving for the trade, and the higher branches of the art. Under
the instruction of John, who was an excellent workman, Troughton
made very rapid progress,, and at the end of his time was taken into
partnership.
About the year 1782 the Troughtons established themselves in
Fleet Street, where they commenced an independant business and
soon rose into eminence. After the death of his brother John,
Edward alone continued the business until the year 1826, when
increasing age and dislike to routine employment, induced him to
take Mr. William Simms as his partner and successor.
The instruments which facilitate navigation were peculiarly ob-
TROUGHTON. 133
jects of interest to Mr. Troughton, and long after his infirmities
were an effectual bar to the applications of his most esteemed
friends, he exerted himself to supply the seamen with well adjusted
and accurate sextants. " Your fancies," he would say, " may wait;
their necessities cannot."
In 1778 he took out a patent for the double framed sextant, a
construction which, combining firmness and lightness, yet admitted
of a considerable radius in this invaluable instrument. After trying
and rejecting the repeating reflecting circle of Borda, Mr. Troughton,
in 1796, hit upon one of his happiest constructions, the British re-
flecting circle, as he delighted to call it, an instrument which iu
right hands is capable of wonderful accuracy. It is a characteristic
trait of Mr. Troughton, that in order to bring his favourite circle
into general use, he reduced its price far below the usual profits of
trade ; and if he had succeeded in his attempt, he might have been
ruined by his success, for his sextants were by far the most gainful
article of his business.
With the same earnestness to promote the interests of navigation,
he invented the dip sector (afterwards re-invented by Dr. Wollaston),
and expended time, money, and ingenuity to no inconsiderable
amount, in attempting to perfect the marine top for producing a
true horizontal reflecting surface at sea. The marine barometer,
the snuff-box sextant, and the portable universal dial, owe to him
all their elegance, and much of their accuracy. Where others in-
vented or sketched he perfected.
In the ordinary physical apparatus Troughton made considerable
improvement in the construction of the balance, and of the moun-
tain barometer. In the same class may be mentioned the form
given to the compensated mercurial pendulum ; his pyrometer, by
which some very valuable expansions have been determined; the
apparatus by which Sir George Shuckburgh attempted to ascertain
the standard of weight and measure ; and that apparatus which, in
the hands of Francis Baily, has given an invariable simple seconds
pendulum. In the ordinary geodesical instruments Mr. Troughton
greatly improved the surveying level and staff, and reduced them
both in weight and price, with increased convenience and accuracy.
It is, however, in the construction of astronomical instruments that
this great mechanician particularly excelled ; here he reigned with-
out a rival. His portable astronomical quadrants are models of
strength and lightness, while the repeating circle of Borda, an
instrument which he disliked, first received its beauty and accuracy
from his hands.
The ordinary reading micrometer, and the position micrometer,
commonly employed in the measurement of double stars, were
greatly improved by him in simplicity and brought to perfection ;
and he first applied the former to dividing, though in circles and
scales it had already been used in reading off.
134 WATSON.
Mr. Troughton's larger works, such as his equatorial instruments,
circles, transits, &c., are as well known in the astronomical world
as those of Wren in the architectural ; they are too numerous to
mention here, and are distributed in various parts of the world.
The gigantic zenith tube at Greenwich was about the last work on
which he was engaged, and he had just time to finish it before his
strength failed. The only astronomical instrument which is not
greatly indebted to Mr. Troughton is the telescope, and he was de-
terred from making any attempt in this branch of his art by the
curious physical defect of colour blindness, which existed in many
members of his family. Like Dalton he could not distinguish
colours, and had little idea of them, except generally as they con-
veyed the impression of greater or less light. The ripe cherry and
its leaf were to him of one hue, only to be distinguished by their
form. With this defect in his vision he never attempted any expe-
riments in which colour was concerned ; and it is difficult to see
how he could have done so with success.
The most remarkable of Troughton's writings are, ' An account
of a method of dividing astronomical and other instruments by
ocular inspection,' &c. Phil. Trans., 1809, which was awarded with
the Copley medal ; ' A comparison of the repeating circle of Borda,
with the altitude and Azimuth Circle ' Memoirs E. Ast. Soc. ; and
several articles in Brewster's ' Edinburgh Cyclopedia,' such as
* Circle,' ' Graduations,' &c.
In the year 1825 Mr. Troughton paid a visit to Paris, and in 1830
he received an honorary gold medal from the King of Denmark.
During the latter portion of his life he became almost entirely deaf,
only hearing by the aid of a powerful trumpet. He died at his
house in Fleet Street, June 12, 1835, in the eighty-second year of
his age, and was buried at the Cemetery, Kensal Green. Me
Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 3, February, 1836.
RICHARD WATSON, BISHOP OF LLANDAFF,
D.D., F.R.S., &c.
Born August, 1737. Died June 4, 1816.
Eichard Watson, celebrated both as an able theologian, and as a
professor of chemistry, was born at Haversham, near Kendal in
Westmoreland. His ancestors had been farmers of their own estates
for several generations, and his father, a younger son, was for forty
years the head master of the Grammar-school at Haversham, but
WATSON. 135
had resigned his duties about the period of the birth of his son
Richard. Young Watson received his education at this school, and
about a year after his father's death, in 1753, was sent on an exhi-
bition of 501. belonging to the school, to Trinity College, Cambridge,
where he was admitted as a sizar on the 3rd of November, 1754.
All he had, besides his exhibition, to carry him through college,
was a sum of 3001. which his father had left him, but he set bravely
to work, to make his way to independence by hard study and hard
living ; his dress is said at first to have been a coarse mottled West-
moreland coat, and blue yarn stockings.
In May, 1757, he obtained a scholarship, and in the September
following, while still only a junior soph, he began to take pupils,
continuing to be employed, first as private, then as a college tutor,
until in October, 1767, he became one of the head tutors of Trinity
College. Meanwhile Watson had taken his degree of B.A. in
January, 1759, being classed as second wrangler, which he seems to
have considered, and not without reason, as the place of honour for
the year ; the senior wrangler, who was a member of St. John's,
having, as it was generally believed, been unfairly preferred to him.
In October, 1760, he was elected a fellow of his college, and in
November, 1764, on the death of Dr. Hadley, he was unanimously
elected by the senate to the professorship of chemistry, although at
that time he knew nothing of the science. Watson did not, how-
ever, disappoint the confidence that was placed by others in his
abilities. With the assistance of an operator, whom he immediately
sent for from Paris, and by shutting himself up in his laboratory, he
acquired such an acquaintance with his new subject, as to enable
him in about fourteen months to read his first course of lectures,
which were honoured with a numerous attendance, and proved
highly successful. Other courses followed which were equally well
received ; and, in 1768, he printed a synopsis of the principles of the
science, under the title of ' Institutiones Metallurgies.'
Watson was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1769, and
for some years afterwards contributed many chemical papers to the
' Philosophical Transactions.' In 1771 he published ' An Essay on
the Subjects of Chemistry, and their General Divisions.' In 1781 he
published two volumes 12mo. of 'Chemical Essays;' a third ap-
peared in 1782 ; and a fourth in 1786 completed the work, which
has often been reprinted, and was long very popular. In connection
with his chemical professorship, Watson obtained from Government,
by proper representations, a salary of 1001. for himself, and for all
future professors. He also paid some attention to theoretical and
practical anatomy, as having a certain relation to the science of
chemistry.
In October, 1771, on the death of Dr. Rutherforth, he unexpectedly
obtained the lucrative and important office of Regius Professor of
Divinity, and in that capacity, held the Rectory of Somersham in
136 WATSON.
Huntingdonshire. At this time he had neither taken his degree of
B.D. or D.D., and by his own account, seems to have known little
more of theological learning than he did of chemistry seven years
before. Yet such was his good fortune, or the reputation that he
had established, for carrying an object whenever he took it in hand,
that no other candidate appeared for the professorship, while his
eloquence and ingenuity supplied the want of deeper erudition, and
attracted as numerous audiences to the exercises in the schools at
which he presided, as had ever attended his chemical lectures.
Watson himself, in the anecdotes of his life, gives the following
account of this circumstance : " I was not, when Dr. Rutherforth
died, either Bachelor or Doctor in Divinity, and without being one
of them I could not become a candidate for the Professorship. This
puzzled me for a moment, I had only seven days to transact the
business in, but by hard travelling, and some adroitness, I accom-
plished my purpose, obtained the King's mandate for a Doctor's
degree, and was created Doctor on the day previous to that ap-
pointed for the examination of the candidates. Thus did I, by hard
and incessant labour for seventeen years, attain at the age of thirty-
four, the first office for honour in the University ; and, exclusive of
the mastership of Trinity College, I have made it the first for profit ;
I found the Professorship not worth quite 330Z., and it is now worth
1000Z. at least."
Watson's clerical preferment after this was very rapid. In 1773,
through the influence of the Duke of Grafton, he obtained possession
of a sinecure rectory in North Wales, which he was enabled to ex-
change during the course of the following year for a prebend in the
Church of Ely. In 1780 he succeeded Dr. Plumtree as archdeacon
of that diocese ; the same year he was presented to the Rectory of
Northwold in Norfolk, and in the beginning of the year following,
received another much more valuable living, the Rectory of Knap-
toft in Leicestershire, from the hands of the Duke of Rutland, who
had been his pupil at the University. Lastly, in July, 1782, he was
promoted to the bishopric of Llandaff, by the Prime Minister of that
period Lord Shelburne, who hoped thereby both to gratify the Duke
of Rutland, and also to secure an active partisan.
Watson, however, proved a very unmanageable bishop, and
during the course of his political career was singularly free and
independent in his sentiments. One of his first acts was to publish
in 1783, ' A Letter to Archbishop Cornwallis on the Church Revenues,
recommending an equalization of the Bishoprics.' This he did in
spite of all that could be said to make him see that it would em-
barrass the Government, and at the same time do nothing to forward
his own object. And so he continued to take his own way, and was
very soon left to do so, without any party or person seeking either
to guide or stop him.
In 1783 Bishop Watson had married the eldest daughter of Edward
WATT. 137
Wilson of Dalham Tower in Westmoreland. In the year 1789 he
retired from politics and betook himself to an estate which he had
at Calgarth, on the banks of Winandermere, occupying himself in
educating his family, and in agricultural improvements, especially
planting, for which he received a medal from the Society of Arts in
1789.
Previous to this, in 1786, his friend and former pupil, Mr. Luther,
of Ongar in Essex, had left him an estate which he sold for more
than 20,000?. Bishop Watson died on the 4th of June, 1816, in his
seventy-ninth year. His writings are very numerous and miscella-
neous in their character ; some of the more well known are : an
' Apology for Christianity,' written in 1776 in answer to Gibbon ; a
' Collection of Theological Tracts, selected from various Authors,
for the use of the Younger Students in the University,' in six
volumes 8vo., 1785 ; ' Apology for the Bible, in a series of Letters
addressed to Thomas Paine,' 1796 ; and, ' An Address to the People
of Great Britain,' which went through fourteen editions, 1798.
One of the best practical results of his chemical studies was the
suggestion which he made to the Duke of Richmond, at that time
Master of the Ordnance, respecting the preparation of charcoal for
gunpowder, by burning the wood in close vessels, a process very
materially improving the quality of the powder, and which is now
generally adopted. Anecdotes of the Life of Richard Watson, Bishop
of Llandaff, written ly himself. London, 1817. Memoir by Dr.
Thomas Young, Encyclopaedia Britannica. English Cyclopaedia.
JAMES WATT, LL.D., F.R.S. L. and E,, &c.
MEMBER OF THE FRENCH INSTITUTE.
Born at Greenock on the Clyde, 1736. Died August 25, 1819.
To James Watt, philosopher, mechanician, and civil engineer,
whose genius perfected the control of one of the greatest revealed
powers yet given to man, may well be applied the saying of Wel-
lington, " That which makes a great general makes a great artist,
the power and the determination to overcome difficulties." Born
with a sickly temperament, and prevented thereby from attending
school, or indulging in the usual healthy play of children, Watt, un-
assisted by others, devoted his time to study, and in retirement and
reflection laid the foundation of knowledge destined to bear such
ample fruit. In addition to mere book knowledge, he early exhibited
a partiality for mechanical contrivances and operations, and this
138 WATT.
determined him to commence his career as a mathematical instru-
ment maker. For this purpose he set out for Glasgow in 1754, but
owing to the limited resources of the town at that period, he finally
decided on going to London, where, after great difficulty, he was
apprenticed for a twelvemonth to an instrument maker in Finch
Lane. At the end of his apprenticeship Watt, having become en-
feebled from over attention to work, repaired to Greenock to recruit
his health, and ultimately returned to Glasgow, where he was estab-
lished by the authorities, within the precincts of the college as
mathematical instrument maker to the University. In process of
time Watt's shop became a favourite resort for professors as well as
students, and he counted among his visitors Professor Simson, Drs.
Black, Dick, and Moor;* but his most intimate friend, and the one
most closely connected with his after life, was John Robison, a
student at Glasgow, afterwards Professor of Natural Philosophy at
Edinburgh University, to whom the honour is due of having first
directed Watt's attention to the steam-engine. The event which
actually led to the commencement of his invaluable discoveries on
this subject, was the entrusting to him the repair of a small model
of Newcomen's engine, which the college possessed. In his endea-
vours to put this engine into working order, Watt was led to in-
vestigate thoroughly the properties of steam upon which its action
depended ; and ultimately in the spring of 1765, after many trials
and untiring perseverance, he arrived at the great and simple idea
of a separate condenser, into which the steam expanded ; thereby
preventing that wasteful expenditure of heat, which was the neces-
sary result of the old plan of condensing the steam in the working
cylinder, by admitting a jet of cold water directly under the piston.
In addition to this Watt surrounded the cylinder with a second
casing to be filled with the surplus steam, for the purpose of pre-
venting radiation of heat, and closed in the top (which in Newco-
men's engine had been left open for the sake of the pressure of the
atmosphere upon the piston) by putting a cover on, with a hole and
stuffing box for the piston rod to slide through ; a plan which en-
abled steam pressure to be used in place of atmospheric. Newcomen's
* During his residence at Glasgow, a Mason's Lodge were desirous of pos-
sessing an organ, and Watt was asked to build it. He was totally destitute of a
musical ear, and could not distinguish one note from the other, but he neverthe-
less accepted the offer ; for having studied the philosophical theory of music, he
found that science would be a substitute for want of ear. He commenced by
building a small one for Dr. Black, and then proceeded to the large one, in the
building of which he devised a number of novel expedients, such as indicators
and regulators of the strength of the blast, with various contrivances for im-
proving the efficiency of the stops. The qualities of this organ when finished
are said to have elicited the surprise and admiration of musicians. During
this period of his life Watt used likewise to construct and repair guitars, flutes,
and violins, and had the same success as with his organ. Quarterly Revieie,
October, 1858.
WATT. 139
engine, at this time used only for pumping out water in mines, thus
became a true steam-engine of immense power, capable of being
worked with economy, and of being turned to the various uses to
which science has since applied it. For these great improvements
a patent, dated January 5, 1769, was taken out by Watt and Dr.
Roebuck, the founder of the Carron iron works, with whom Watt
had become acquainted. Little, however, was done for some years
in manufacturing engines on a large scale ; Roebuck fell into diffi-
culties, while Watt, harassed, depressed in spirits, and in want of
money, was forced to obtain employment as a civil engineer and
land-surveyor. Among the many works that he was engaged on in
this capacity may be mentioned : the Crinan Canal, afterwards com-
pleted by Rennie ; the deepening of the river Clyde ; improvements
in the harbours of Ayr, Port Glasgow, and Greenock ; the building
of bridges at Hamilton and Rutherglen ; and lastly, surveying and
estimating a line of canal between Fort William and Inverness,
which was subsequently executed by Telford on a larger scale than
was then proposed, under the name of the Caledonian Canal. In the
latter half of the year 1773 Roebuck's affairs came to a crisis ; and
Watt, through the agency of Dr. Small, having been brought into
relation with Mr. Boulton, a man possessing an intimate knowledge
of business, with extended views and a liberal spirit of enterprise,
an arrangement was entered into between them, and the firm of
Boulton and Watt established at Soho. This was the turning point
in Watt's fortunes ; under the vigorous management of Boulton, his
great invention at length began to be appreciated, and the saving
of fuel was found to be nearly three-fourths of the quantity consumed
by Newcomen's engine. In 1775 an extension of the original patent
until the year 1800 was obtained. This gave a fresh stimulus to
Watt's fertile brain, and resulted in patents being taken out, between
the years 1781-1785, for the rotatory motion of the sun and planet
wheels (the crank having been pirated by Wasbrough), the expansive
principle of working steam; the double engine; the parallel motion; the
smokeless furnace ; the float to regulate the supply of water into the
boiler ; and the governor. At a later period Watt also invented the
indicator, by means of which the actual horse power of an engine
could be ascertained. This beautiful series of inventions in a measure
may be said to have perfected the machine, and at the present time
the condensing steam engine differs in no material respect from the
engine as Watt left it.
While residing at Birmingham, Mr. Watt's house became the
resort of many learned men. In the meetings of the Lunar Society,
held at Soho House, originated his experiments on water, and be-
tween him and Cavendish is the honour divided of having first pro-
mulgated the theory of its composition. During the dispute which
arose upon this subject, Watt's reply, on a friend regretting that
another should have carried off this honour, is worth recording, as
140 WATT.
showing the modest dignity of his character: "It matters not,"
said he, " whether Cavendish discovered this or I, it is discovered."
In the year 1800 Mr. Watt, having acquired an ample competency,
ceased to take an active part in the business of the firm, and the
remainder of his life was spent in retirement ; but his active mind,
still unwearied, continued to follow its natural bent. On two occa-
sions afterwards, in 1811 and 1812, he gave proofs of the undi-
minished powers of his inventive genius. In the one instance he
was induced, by his grateful recollections of his residence in
Glasgow, to assist the proprietors of the waterworks there with a
plan for supplying the town with better water, by means of a
suction pipe laid across the Clyde to reach to the other side, where
water of a very superior quality might be procured. This pipe was
formed of cast iron, with flexible joints, after the manner of a
lobster's tail, so as to accommodate itself to the bed of the river,
and fully answered the purpose for which it was designed. In the
other instance he was prevailed upon, by the earnest solicitation of
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, to attend a deputation
of the Navy Board, and to give, with his friend Captain Huddart
and Mr. J. Jessop, an opinion upon the works then carrying on at
Sheerness Dockyard, and the further ones projected by Messrs.
Bennie and Whitby. On this occasion he no less gratified the
gentlemen associated with him by the clearness of his general
views, than by his knowledge of the details ; and he received the
thanks of the Admiralty for his services. In 1814 he yielded to the
wishes of his friends, of Dr. Brewster especially, and undertook a
revision of Professor Robison's articles on steam and steam-engines
for an early edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which he en-
riched with valuable notes, containing his own experiments on
steam, and a short history of his principal improvements upon the
engine itself. Among other mechanical contrivances of Mr. Watt's
may be mentioned : a machine for copying letters ; an instrument
for measuring the specific gravity of fluids ; a regulator lamp ; a
plan for heating buildings by steam ; and a contrivance for drying
linen. In his eighty-third year, Mr. Watt was still occupied in
inventing a machine for copying statues, but this remained unfi-
nished, death arrested his hand ; he died in the year 1819, at
Heathfield, in Staffordshire; and thus, full of years and honours,
ended the life of a man who, though born in a secluded village
town, and reared in comparative poverty, was yet enabled, by per-
severing industry and the happy gifts of nature) to contribute so
greatly to the commercial prosperity of the world.
Mr. Watt was elected a member of the Eoyal Society of Edin-
burgh in 1784, of the Royal Society of London in 1785, and a cor-
responding member of the Batavian Society in 1787. In 1806 the
honorary degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by the sponta-
neous and unanimous vote of the Senate of the University of
WATT. 141
Glasgow ; and in 1808 he was elected, first a corresponding, and
afterwards a foreign member of the Institute of France. A few
years before his death it was intimated to him, by a message from
Sir Joseph Banks, that, to use the words of Mr. Muirhead, the
highest honour usually conferred in England on men of literature
and science namely a baronetcy, was open to him, should he desire
it ; but, although Watt felt flattered by this intimation, he deter-
mined, after consulting with his son, to decline the honour.
Five statues have been erected to the memory of this illustrious
man, of which number the one in Westminster Abbey, by Chantrey,
bears on its pedestal the famous inscription by Lord Brougham :
NOT TO PERPETUATE A NAME
WHICH MUST ENDURE WHILE THE PEACEFUL ARTS FLOURISH
BUT TO SHEW
THAT MANKIND HAVE LEARNT TO HONOUR THOSE
WHO BEST DESERVE THEIR GRATITUDE
THE KING
HIS MINISTERS AND MANY OF THE NOBLES
AND COMMONERS OF THIS REALM
RAISED THIS MONUMENT TO
JAMES WATT
WHO DIRECTING THE FORCE OF AN ORIGINAL GENIUS
EARLY EXERCISED IN PHILOSOPHIC RESEARCH
TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF
THE STEAM ENGINE
ENLARGED THE RESOURCES OF HIS COUNTRY
INCREASED THE POWER OF MAN
AND ROSE TO AN EMINENT PLACE
AMONG THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS FOLLOWERS OF SCIENCE
AND THE REAL BENEFACTORS OF THE WORLD
BORN AT GREENOCK MDCCXXXVI
DIED AT HEATHFIELD IN STAFFORDSHIRE MDCCCXIX.
Muirhead's Translation of Arago's Historical Eloge of James Watt.
London, 1839. Memoir, by his son J. Watt } Encyclopaedia Britan-
nica. Quarterly Review t October, 1858.
142
WILLIAM H. WOLLASTON, M.D., P.R.S, &c.
Born August 6, 1766. Died December 22, 1828.
William Hyde Wollaston was born at East Dereham, a village
sixteen miles from Norwich. His father was an astronomer of some
eminence, who in the year 1800 published an extensive catalogue of
the northern circumpolar stars. After a preparatory education,
Wollaston entered at Caius College, Cambridge, where he took the
degree of M.B. in 1787, and that of M.D. in 1793 ; soon afterwards
he became a Tancred Fellow. During his residence at Cambridge,
he devoted himself more to the study of astronomy than any other
science.
On leaving Cambridge in 1789, he settled at Bury St. Edmunds,
and began to practise as a physician, but met with so little success,
that he soon removed to London. Shortly after his arrival, he
became a candidate for the office of Physician to St. George's
Hospital, but was defeated by the election of his principal opponent,
Dr. Pemberton. It is stated that this circumstance had such an
effect on Wollaston, that he declared, in a moment of pique, he
would abandon the profession, and never more write a prescription,
were it for his own father. This statement is, however, contradicted
in a biographical notice of him, contained in the reports of the
Astronomical Society, where it is affirmed that he continued to
practise physic in London to the end of the year 1800, 'when an
accession of fortune determined him to relinquish a profession he
never liked, and to devote himself entirely to science,
On the 9th of May, 1793, Wollaston was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society; and in June, 1797, appeared his first contribution to
the ' Philosophical Transactions,' being a paper ' On Gouty and
Urinary Concretions.' From this period until his decease, Wollaston
was a constant contributor to the ' Transactions,' as well as to
various scientific journals. His papers in the ' Philosophical Trans-
actions ' amount to thirty-nine, and, in addition to strictly chemical
subjects, include memoirs in astronomy, optics, mechanics, acoustics,
mineralogy, crystallography, physiology, and botany.
On the 30th of November, 1804, he was elected Junior Secretary
to the Royal Society ; and on the death of Sir Joseph Banks, in
June, 1820, succeeded him in the President's chair, until the anni-
versary, November 30th of the same year, when he retired in favour
of Sir Humphry Davy, to whom, at the election, he gave the whole
weight of his influence.
In the years 1804-5 Wollaston first made known to the world the
existence of the two metals, palladium and rhodium, which he found
WOLLASTON. 143
were contained in the ore of platinum, associated with osmium and
iridium, two metals discovered about the same time by Mr. Tennant.
In 1809 he showed that the supposed new metal, tantalum, was
identical with columhium, previously discovered by Mr. Hatchett;
and shortly before his death, he transmitted to the Royal Society a
communication, constituting the Bakerian lecture of 1828, in which
he fully describes his ingenius method of rendering platinum mal-
leable. From this invention he is stated to have acquired more
than 30,000?.
Dr. Wollaston's knowledge was more varied, and his tastes less
exclusive, than any other philosopher of his time, except Cavendish ;
but optics and chemistry are the two sciences in which he made the
greatest discoveries. To him we owe the first demonstration of the
identity of galvanism and common electricity, and the first explana-
tion of the cause of the different phenomena exhibited by them.
Dr. Wollaston was accustomed to carry on his experiments in the
greatest seclusion, and with very few instruments ; he was also
endowed with an extreme neatness of hand, and invented the most
ingenious methods of determining the properties and constituents
of very minute quantities of matter. It is related by Dr. Paris (in
his Life of Davy), that a foreign philosopher once calling on Wol-
laston with letters of introduction, expressed a great desire to see
his laboratory. " Certainly," replied Wollaston, and immediately
produced a small tray, containing some glass tubes, a blowpipe,
two or three watch-glasses, a slip of platinum, and a few test-
tubes.
Another anecdote is told of him, that, having been engaged one
day in inspecting a monster galvanic battery constructed by Mr.
Children, he accidentally met, on his way home, a brother chemist,
who knew of Mr. Children's grand machine, and uttered something
about the inconvenience of it being of such an enormous size ; on
this Wollaston seized his friend by the button, led him into a bye
corner, where, taking from his waistcoat pocket a tailor's thimble
which contained a galvanic arrangement, and pouring into it the
contents of a small phial, he astonished his friend by immediately
heating a platinum wire to a white heat. He also produced pla-
tinum wire so extremely fine as to be nearly imperceptible to the
naked eye.
Towards the close of the year 1828, Wollaston became danger-
ously ill with disease of the brain. Feeling his end approaching,
and being unable to write himself, he employed an amanuensis to
write accounts of such of his discoveries and inventions as he was
unwilling should perish with him ; and in this manner some of his
most important papers were communicated to the Eoyal Society.
It is a curious fact, that, in spite of the extensive cerebral disease
under which he laboured, his faculties continued unclouded to the
very last. When almost at the point of death, one of his friends
144 WOLLASTON.
having observed, loud enough for him to hear, that he was uncon-
scious of what was passing around him, Wollaston made a sign for
pencil and paper, and then wrote down some figures, and after
casting up the sum, returned the paper : the amount was found to
be correct.
Dr. Wollaston died on the 22nd of December, 1828, at the age of
sixty-two only a few months before his great scientific contem-
poraries, Sir Humphry Davy and Dr. Thomas Young. He was buried
in Chiselhurst churchyard, Kent. Dr. William Henry* gives the
following summary of his character :
" Dr. Wollaston was endowed with bodily senses of extraordinary
acuteness and accuracy, and with great general vigour of under-
standing. Trained in the discipline of the exact sciences, he had
acquired a powerful command over his attention, and had habitu-
ated himself to the most rigid correctness both of thought and
language. He was sufficiently provided with the resources of the
mathematics, to be enabled to pursue with success profound en-
quiries in mechanical and optical philosophy, the results of which
enabled him to unfold the causes of phenomena not before under-
stood, and to enrich the arts connected with those sciences by the
invention of ingenious and valuable instruments. In chemistry
he was distinguished by the extreme nicety and delicacy of his
observations, by the quickness and precision with which he marked
resemblances and discriminated differences, the sagacity with which
he devised experiments and anticipated their results, and the skill
with which he executed the analysis of fragments of new substances,
often so minute as to be scarcely perceptible by ordinary eyes.
He was remarkable, too, for the caution with which he advanced
from facts to general conclusions ; a caution which, if it sometimes
prevented him from reaching at once the most sublime truths, yet
rendered every step of his ascent a secure station, from which it
was easy to rise to higher and more enlarged inductions." Weld's
History of the Royal Society, with Memoirs of the Presidents. London,
1848. Sketches of the Royal Society, dc., by Sir John Barrow, Bart.j
F.R.S. London, 1849.
* Preface to Elements of Experimental Chemistry, Eleventh Edition.
145
THOMAS YOUNG, M.D., F.R.S., &c.
MEMBER OP THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.
Born June 13, 1773. Died May 10, 1829.
Dr. Thomas Young, celebrated for his universal attainments, was
born at Milverton, in Somersetshire. He was the eldest of ten
children of Thomas and Sarah Young ; his mother was a niece of
Dr. Richard Brocklesby, a physician of considerable eminence in
London. Both of his parents were members of the Society of
Friends, and to the tenets of that sect, which recognizes the imme-
diate influence of a Supreme Intelligence as a guide in the ordinary
conduct of life, Dr. Young was accustomed in after years to attri-
bute, in no slight degree, the formation of those determined habits
of perseverance which gave him the power of effecting any object
upon which he was engaged, and by which he was enabled to work
out his own education almost from infancy, and with little compara-
tive assistance from others. At the age of two years Young could
read with considerable fluency, and before he was four years old had
read the Bible through twice, and also Watts' hymns. He was
likewise from his earliest years in the habit of committing to me-
mory pieces of poetry, in proof of which there exists a memorandum,
written by Young's grandfather, on the margin of a copy of Gold-
smith's ' Deserted Village,' to the effect that his grandson Thomas
had repeated to him the whole poem, with the exception of a word
or two, before he was five years old. In 1780 he was placed at a
boarding-school at Stapleton, near Bristol, and here the deficiency
of the instructor appears to have advanced the studies of the pupil,
as Young now became his own teacher, and used to study by him-
self the last pages of the book taught almost before he had reached
the middle under the eye of the master.
In the year 1782 he became an inmate of the school kept by Mr.
Thompson, at Crompton, in Dorsetshire, remaining there nearly four
years, during which period he rapidly acquired knowledge upon
various subjects. Having commenced the study of botany, he was
led to attempt the construction of a microscope, with the assistance
of an usher in the school of the name of Benjamin Martin, in order
to examine the plants he was in the habit of gathering. In his
endeavours to make the microscope Young found it necessary to
procure a lathe, and for a time everything gave way to a passion
for turning. This was, however, at length succeeded by a desire to
become acquainted with the nature of fluxions, and after reading
through and mastering a treatise upon this subject, he turned his
attention to the study of Hebrew and other Oriental languages.
Ultimately at the age of fourteen Thomas Young was more or less
H
146 YOUNG.
versed in Greek, Latin, French, Italian, Hebrew, Persic, and Arabic,
and in forming the characters of these languages had already
acquired a considerable portion of that beauty and accuracy of pen-
manship which was afterwards so remarkable in his copies of Greek
compositions, as well as those subjects connected with the literature
of ancient Egypt. A story is related of him, that when requested
a few years later, by a friend of Dr. Brocklesby, who presumed
somewhat upon Young's youthful appearance, to exhibit a specimen
of his penmanship, he replied by writing a sentence in his best style
in fourteen different languages.
In 1787 Young was engaged, in conjunction with Mr. Hodgkin, as
? % ivate tutor to Hudson Gurney, grandson of Mr. David Barclay, of
oungsbury, near Ware, in Hertfordshire, and he remained thus
occupied during the space of five years, extending his knowledge
as far as possible. The number of books he read through at that
time was comparatively small, but whatever book he began to read,
he read completely and deliberately through, and it was perhaps
this determination always to master what he might happen to be
engaged on before attempting anything else, which enabled Dr.
Young to attain so great knowledge on such various subjects. He
himself had little faith in any peculiar aptitude being implanted by
nature for any given pursuits. His favourite maxim was, that
whatever one man had done another might do, and that the original
difference between human intellects was much less than it was sup-
posed to be; in this respect he resembled his great predecessor
Newton, and his cotemporary Dalton, both of whom had unbounded
confidence in the powers of patient thought.
In the autumn of 1792 Thomas Young removed to London, in
order to study medicine, which profession he had determined to
adopt, being greatly influenced in his choice by the wishes of his
uncle Dr. Brocklesby. This gentleman had kindly undertaken the
charge of his education, and Young was by him introduced to the
members of the most distinguished literary circles in the metropolis,
including Burke, Drs. Lawrence and Vincent, Sir Joshua Reynolds,
Sir George Baker, and others. In the autumn of 1793 he became a
pupil at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and in October 1794 proceeded
to Edinburgh, still further to prosecute his medical studies. While
residing at Edinburgh Dr. Young mixed largely in society, began
the study of music, took lessons on the flute, and also private lessons
in dancing, and frequently attended performances at the theatre.
From this period he gave up the external characteristics of the
Quakers, and ultimately ceased to belong to their body, although he
practised to the end of his life the general simplicity of their moral
conduct.
During the year 1795 he commenced a tour on the Continent,
staying at the University of Gottingen during nine months, in order
to prosecute his studies and take a doctor's degree. In February,
YOUNG. 147
1797, he came back to England, and was almost immediately after
his return admitted a Fellow -Commoner of Emmanuel College,
Cambridge ; the Master of the College, Dr. Farmer, saying as he
introduced Young to the fellows, " I have brought you a pupil
qualified to read lectures to his tutors."
In December 1797 Young's uncle, Dr. Brocklesby, died, bequeath-
ing to his nephew the sum of 10,000/., besides his house, furniture,
and a choice collection of pictures. Dr. Young was now entirely at
liberty to form his own scheme of life, and he determined to com-
mence practice as a physician, for which purpose, after having
completed his terms of residence at Cambridge, he took a house in
Welbeck Street (No. 48), which he continued to occupy for five-
and-twenty years. His practice as a physician, although respectable,
was never large. He wanted that confidence or assurance which is
so necessary to the successful exercise of the profession. He was
perhaps too deeply informed, and therefore too sensible of the diffi-
culty of arriving at true knowledge in the science of medicine ever
to form a hasty judgment; while his great love of, and adherence
to truth, made him often hesitate where others would have felt no
difficulty in expressing an opinion. It was perhaps a happy circum-
stance for the fame of Dr. Young that this should be the case, as he
was thereby enabled to devote a considerable portion of his time to
those literary and scientific studies in which so few could compete
with him. In 1799 he published his memoir entitled ' Outlines and
Experiments respecting Sound and Light,' which was read before
the Royal Society and printed in their ' Transactions.' Other papers,
' On the Theory of Light and Colours,' followed, which the council
of the Royal Society selected for the Bakerian lectures. In the
year 1801 Dr. Young accepted the office of Professor of Natural
Philosophy at the Royal Institution, which had been established
the year previously. The conducting of the journal of the Institu-
tion was also entrusted to his care, in conjunction with his colleague
Sir Humphry Davy, at that time Professor of Chemistry. Dr. Young
remained at the Royal Institution two years, during which period
he gave a course of lectures on ' Natural and Experimental Philo-
sophy,' . a syllabus of which he published in 1802, announcing for
the first time his great discovery of the general law of the inter-
ference of the undulations of light. His lectures were not, however,
popular ; they embodied too much knowledge to be intelligible to
any considerable portion of his hearers ; and the matter was so
abundant and the style so condensed, that students tolerably versed
in science might have found it extremely difficult to follow him in
his masterly discussions.
Dr. Young had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society as
early as the year 1794, when he had just completed his twenty-first
year; he was now appointed (1802) Foreign Secretary to the same
Society, an office which he held during the remainder of his life,
H 2
148 YOUNG.
and for which he was well qualified by his knowledge of the prin-
cipal languages of Europe.
In 1804 he married Eliza, the daughter of James Primrose Max-
well, of Cavendish Square, and this union is said to have been
attended with uninterrupted happiness ; his wife who survived him
left no children.
In 1807 appeared his most elaborate and valuable work, ' A Course
of Lectures on Natural Philosophy and the Mechanical Arts,' being
the embodiment of the sixty lectures delivered while at the Royal
Institution, together with the labour of three more years occupied
in further arranging and improving them. This work comprises a
complete system of natural and mechanical philosophy, drawn from
original sources, and is distinguished not only by the extent of its
learning and the accuracy of its statements, but by the beauty and
originality of the theoretical principles. It also contains a disqui-
sition upon the doctrine of interference in the undulatory theory of
light mentioned before, the general law of which he thus enunciates :
" When two undulations from different origins coincide, either per-
fectly or very nearly in direction, their joint effect is a combination
of the motions belonging to each."* Sir John Herschel, speaking
of this discovery, says that it alone " would have sufficed to have
placed its author in the highest rank of scientific immortality, even
were his other almost innumerable claims to such a distinction dis-
regarded." Amongst other laborious and difficult matters of in-
vestigation, Dr. Young made the first and most important steps in
reading the Egyptian Hieroglyphics, in which he preceded Cham-
pollion ; and he afterwards, in 1823, published a work on this
subject, under the title of ' An Account of some recent Discoveries
in Hieroglyphical Literature and Egyptian Antiquities ; including
the author's original Alphabet as extended by Mr. Champollion ;
with a Translation of five unpublished Greek and Egyptian Manu-
scripts.' In the year 1808 Dr. Young was admitted a fellow of the
College of Physicians, and in 1810 was elected physician to St.
George's Hospital, a situation which he retained for the remainder
of his life. In 1813 he published ' An Introduction to Medical
Literature, including a system of practical Nosology intended as a
guide to Students and as an Assistant to Practitioners.' In 1816
Dr. Young was appointed Secretary to the Commission empowered
to ascertain the length of the second's pendulum, and thereby
establish an uniform system of weights and measures. Two years
subsequent to this he became secretary to the Board of Longitude,
and on the dissolution of that body, became sole conductor of the
' Nautical Almanac.' Dr. Young at various times contributed
eighteen articles to the ' Quarterly Review,' of which nine were on
scientific subjects the rest on medicine, languages, and criticism.
* Life of Thomas Young, M.D., <&c., by George Peacock, page 143.
YOUNG. 149
Between 1816 and 1823 he wrote sixty-three articles for the
1 Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica,' Sixth Edition, of
which forty-six were biographical. In the year 1821 he made a
short tour in Italy with his wife, and, in August 1827, was elected
one of the eight Foreign associates of the Academy of Sciences at
Paris, in the place of Volta, who died in 1826 ; the other competitors
for this honour being the astronomers Bessel and Olbers, Brown
the botanist, Blumenback, Leopold, Von Buch, Dalton, and Plana
the mathematician.
Dr. Young's course of life, considered apart from the variety of
his occupations, was remarkably uniform. He resided in London
from November to June, and at Worthing from July to the end of
October, continuing this regular change of residence for fourteen
successive years. In the year 1826 he removed from his house in
Welbeck Street, where he had resided for a quarter of a century, to
another in Park Square, which had been built under his own direc-
tions, and fitted up with great elegance and taste. He continued
to live here for the remainder of his life. During the month of
February, 1829, he began to suffer from what he considered repeated
attacks of asthma. His health gradually got worse, but though
thus under the pressure of severe illness, nothing could be more
striking than the entire calmness and composure of his mind, or
could surpass the kindness of his affections to all around him. In
the very last stage of his complaint, in an interview with Mr.
Gurney, his perfect self-possession was displayed in the most re-
markable manner. After some information concerning his affairs,
and some instructions concerning the hieroglyphical papers in his
hands, he said, that perfectly aware of his situation, he had taken
the sacrament of the Church on the day preceding ; that whether
he should ever partially recover, or whether he were rapidly taken
off, he could patiently and contentedly await the issue. His illness
continued, with some slight variations, until the morning of the
10th of May, when he expired without a struggle, having hardly
completed his fifty-sixth year. The disease proved to be an ossi-
fication of the aorta, the large arterial trunk proceeding from the
left ventricle of the heart. It must have been in progress for many
years, and every appearance indicated an advance of age, not
brought on probably by the natural course of time, nor even by
constitutional formation, but by unwearied and incessant labour of
mind from the earliest days of infancy. His remains were deposited
in the vault of his wife's family, in the church of Farnborough, in
Kent. Life of Thomas Young, M.D., &c., by Dr. George Peacock,
Dean of Ely. London, 1855. Memoir by Dr. D. Irving, Encyclo-
paedia Britannica, Eighth Edition. English Cyclopaedia. London,
1858.
APPENDIX.
JOSEPH BLACK, M.D.
PROFESSOR OP THE UNIVERSITIES OF EDINBURGH AND GLASGOW.
Bora 1728.* Died November 26, 1799.
Dr. Joseph Black was born at Bourdeaux, where his father, a
native of Belfast but of Scotch descent, was settled as a wine
merchant ; and being a man of engaging disposition and extensive
information was much esteemed by his friends, among whom he
reckoned Montesquieu, at that time one of the presidents of the
court of justice in the province where Mr. Black resided. At the
age of twelve Joseph Black was sent to a school at Belfast, where
he remained for some years. In 1746 he was removed to the College
at Glasgow and ever afterwards lived in Scotland, which was, pro-
perly speaking, his native country. While at the College of Glasgow
he studied under the celebrated Dr. Cullen, then professor of ana-
tomy and lecturer on chemistry, and in the year 1751 removed to
Edinburgh to complete the course of his medical studies. In the
following year Black made his first great discovery of the cause of
the causticity of lime, a property till then supposed to be due to
the absorption by the lime of some igneous agency. He placed this
question on a scientific basis by ascertaining the chemical difference
between quick -lime and other forms of the carbonate, and first
announced his discovery in a Latin Thesis upon the occasion of his
taking his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 1754. It was not, how-
ever, given in its fullest details until the year afterwards, when he
published his celebrated work entitled, ' Experiments on Magnesia,
Quick-lime, and other alkaline substances;' a work which Lord
Brougham describes as being incontestably the most beautiful
example of strict inductive investigation since the ' Optics ' of Sir
Isaac Newton. In 1754, as has been mentioned, Black took his
medical degree at Edinburgh ; in 1756 he was appointed to succeed
Dr. Cullen as professor of anatomy and lecturer on chemistry in the
University of Glasgow. Soon after, however, he exchanged this for
the professorship of medicine at the same university, as being more
congenial to his tastes. Dr. Black continued at the University of
* Lord Brougham gives the date of Dr. Black's birth as 1721. Lives of
Philosophers. Third Edition, 1855.
BLACK. 151
Glasgow for the next ten years, and it was during this period,
between the years 1759 and 1763, that he brought to maturity his
speculations concerning heat, which had occupied his attention from
the very first commencement of his philosophical investigations.
His two great discoveries were the doctrines of * Latent Heat,' and
4 Specific Heat.' The theory of ' Latent' Heat, which mainly urged
Watt to the adoption of improved arrangements in the steam-
engine, may be briefly described as the absorption of heat by bodies
passing from the solid to the fluid state, and from the fluid to the
aeriform, the heat having no effect on surrounding bodies (being,
therefore, insensible to the hand or thermometer), and only by its
absorption maintaining the body in the state which it has assumed,
and which it retains until the absorbed heat is given out and has
become again sensible, when the state of the body is changed back
again from fluid to solid, from aeriform to fluid.
The doctrine of ' Specific Heat,' or as it was called by Dr. Black
the capacity of bodies for heat, is summed up in the facts, that
different bodies contain different quantities of heat in the same bulk
or weight; and different quantities of heat are required to raise
different bodies to the same sensible temperature. Thus it was
found that a pound of gold being heated to 150 and added to a
pound of water at 50 the temperature of both became not 100, the
mean between the two but 55, the gold losing 95 and the water
gaining 5, because the capacity of water for heat is 19 times that
of gold. So twice as much heat is required to raise water to any
given point of sensible heat as to raise mercury, the volumes of the
two fluids compared being equal. The true doctrine of combustion,
calcination of metals, and respiration of animals, which Lavoisier
deduced from the experiments of Priestly and Scheele upon oxygen
gas, and of Cavendish on hydrogen gas, was founded mainly upon
the doctrines of latent and specific heat ; and it was thus the sin-
gular felicity of Black to have furnished both the pillars upon which
modern chemistry reposes.
In 1766 Black succeeded Dr. Cullen in the professorship of che-
mistry at the University of Edinburgh, and in the new scene on
which he entered his talents became more conspicuously and more
extensively useful. Dr. Robison thus characterises him as a lecturer
" He became one of the principal ornaments of the university, his
lectures were attended by an audience which continued increasing
from year to year ; his personal appearance and manners were those
of a gentleman, and peculiarly pleasing. His voice in lecturing was
low but fine, and his articulation so distinct that he was perfectly
well heard by an audience consisting of several hundreds. His
discourse was so plain and perspicuous, his illustration by experi-
ment so apposite, that his sentiments on any subject never could be
mistaken even by the most illiterate." Dr. Black continued to
lecture at the University of Edinburgh for thirty years ; he then
152 CORT.
retired and died three years afterwards, in 1799. His health, never
robust, was precarious at all times from a weakness in the bronchia
and chest, but he prolonged life by a system of strictest abstinence,
frequently subsisting for days together on watergruel and diluted
milk. He was never married. He lived in a select circle of friends,
the most illustrious men of the times in science and in letters ;
Watt, Hutton, Hume, Robertson, Smith ; and afterwards with the
succeeding generation of Scottish worthies, Robison, Playfair, and
Stewart. He was extremely averse to publication, contemning the
impatience with which so many men of science hurry to the press,
often while their speculations are crude and their inquiries not
finished. He never published any work himself with the exception
of his { Experiments on Magnesia, &c.,' and two papers, one in the
'London Philosophical Transactions' for 1775 on the Freezing of
boiled Water; the other in the second vol. of the ' Edinburgh Trans-
actions,' on the Iceland Hot Springs.
Dr. Black expired in the seventy-first year of his age, without any
convulsion, shock, or stupor to announce or retard the approach of
death. Being at table with his usual fare, some bread, a few prunes,
and a measured quantity of milk diluted with water, and having the
cup in his hand when the last stroke of the pulse was given, he set
it down on his knees, which were joined together, and kept it steady
with his hand in the manner of a person perfectly at his ease ; and
in this attitude he expired without a drop being spilt or a feature in
his countenance changed. His servant coming in saw him in this
posture and left the room, supposing him asleep. On returning soon
after, he saw him sitting as before and found that he had expired.
Brougham's Lives of Philosophers. London and Glasgow, 1855.
Encyclopaedia, Britannica, Eighth Edition.
RICHARD CORT.
Born 1740. Died 1800.
The sad history of this great inventor, who has been well sur-
named " The Father of the iron trade," is comparatively soon told.
Although his discoveries in the manufacture of iron were so impor-
tant as to have been one of the chief causes in the establishment of
our modern engineering, little is known of the life of the unfortunate
inventor. He was born in 1740 at Lancaster, where his father
carried on the trade of a builder and brickmaker. In 1765, at the
age of twenty-five, he was engaged in the carrying on of the busi-
ness of a navy agent in Surrey Street, Strand, in which he is said to
CORT. 153
have realized considerable profits. v While conducting this business
Cort became aware of the inferiority of British iron in comparison
with that of foreign countries, and entered on a series of experiments
with the object of improving its manufacture. In 1775 he relin-
quished his business as a navy agent and took a lease of some
premises at Fonltey, near Fareham, where he erected a forge and
an iron-mill. He afterwards took into partnership Samuel Jellicoe,
son of Adam Jellicoe, then deputy-paymaster of seamen's wages, a
connection which ultimately proved the cause of all Cort's subse-
quent misfortunes. Ford in 1747, Dr. Koebuck in 1762, the brothers
Cranege in 1766, and Peter Onions, of Merthyr Tydvil, in 1783, had
all introduced valuable additions to the then known processes of iron
manufacture. In 1783-4 Cort took out his two patents which, while
combining the inventions of his predecessors, specified so many
valuable improvements of an original character, that they estab-
lished a new era in the history of iron manufacture, and raised it to
the highest state of prosperity. Mr. Truran,* in speaking of Cort,
remarks " The mode of piling iron to form large pieces, as described
in his inventions, is the one at use in the present day." " The me-
thod of puddling iron now in use is the same as that patented by
Henry Cort. There has been no essential departure from his pro-
cess. Iron bottoms have been substituted for sand and by building
the furnace somewhat larger, a second charge of cast-iron is intro-
duced and partially heated during the finishing operations in the
first, as conducted at the present day. All that has been done in
the last seventy-three years has been in the way of adding to and
perfecting Cort's furnaces, as experience has from time to time
suggested." Cort's method of passing the piled wedged-shaped
bars of iron through grooved rollers has been spoken of by another
competent authority as of " high philosophical interest, being
scarcely less than the discovery of a new mechanical power in
reversing the action of the wedge, by the application of force to
four surfaces so as to elongate the mass instead of applying force to
a mass to divide the four surfaces." The principal iron masters
soon heard of the success of Cort's new inventions, and visited his
foundry for the purpose of examining his process, and of employing
it at their own works if satisfied with the result. Among the first
to try it were Richard Crawshaw of Cyfartha, Samuel Homfray of
Penydarran (both in South Wales), and William Reynolds of Coal-
brookdale. The two first-named at once entered into a contract to
work under Cort's patents at 105. a ton royalty ; and the quality of
the iron manufactured by the new process was found to be so supe-
rior to other kinds, that the Admiralty directed it, in 1787, to be
used for the anchors and other iron-work in the ships of the Royal
Navy. The merits of the invention were now generally conceded,
* Mechanics' Magazine, vol. v. (new series), page 276.
154 CORT.
and numerous contracts for licenses were entered into with Cort
and his partner, by the manufacturers of bar-iron throughout the
country, and licenses were taken at royalties estimated to yield
27,500lL to the owners of the patent. Cort himself made arrange-
ments for carrying on the manufacture on a largs scale, and with
that object entered upon the possession of a wharf at Gosport
belonging to Adam Jellicoe, his partner's father, where he succeeded
in obtaining considerable government orders for iron made under
his patents. This period, apparently the crowning point of Cort's
fortunes, was but the commencement of his ruin. In August, 1789,
Adam Jellicoe died, and defalcations were found in his public
accounts to the extent of 39,676. His papers and books were at
once seized by Government, and on examination it was found that
a sum of 54,853Z. was owing to Jellicoe by the Cort partnership for
moneys advanced by him at different times to enable Cort to pursue
his experiments, which were necessarily of a very expensive cha-
racter. Among the sums advanced by Jellicoe to Cort was found
one of 27,500. entrusted to Jellicoe for the payment of seamen
and officers' wages. As Jellicoe had the reputation of being a rich
man, Cort had not the slightest suspicion of the source from which
the advances made to the firm were derived, nor has any conni-
vance whatever on the part of Cort been suggested. The Govern-
ment, however, bound to act with promptitude in such a case, at
once adopted extraordinary measures to recover their money. The
assignments of Cort's patents, which had been made to Jellicoe in
consideration of his advances, were taken possession of, but, strange
to say, Samuel Jellicoe, the son of the defaulter, was put in posses-
sion of the properties at Fonltey and Gosport and continued to
enjoy them, to Cort's exclusion for a period of fourteen years. Not-
withstanding this, the patent rights seem never to have been levied
by the assignees, and the result was that the whole benefit of Cort's
inventions was made over to the ironmasters and to the public,
although there seems little reason to doubt, that had they been duly
levied, the whole of the debt due to the government would have
been paid in the course of a few years. As for Cort himself, on the
death of Jellicoe he left his iron works a ruined man. He subse-
quently made many appeals to Government for the restoration of
his patents, and offered to find security for payment of the debt due
by his firm to the Crown, but in vain. In 1794 an appeal was made
to Mr. Pitt by a number of influential members of parliament, on
behalf of the inventor and his destitute family of twelve children,
when a pension of 2001. was granted to him, which he enjoyed until
the year 1800, when, broken in health and spirit, he died at the age
of sixty. He was buried in Hampstead Church, where a stone
marks the date of his death and is still to be seen ; a few years ago
it was illegible, but it has been restored by his surviving son
Kichard Cort.
IVORY. 155
Mr. Smiles thus concludes a long and interesting account of Cort
in his ' Industrial Biography : ' " Though Cort died in comparative
poverty, he laid the foundations of many gigantic fortunes. He
may be said to have been, in a great measure, the author of our
modern iron aristocracy, who still manufacture after the processes
which he invented or perfected, but for which they never paid him
one shilling of royalty. These men of gigantic fortunes have owed
much, we might almost say everything, to the ruined projector of
' the little mill at Fonltey.' Their wealth has enriched many families
of the older aristocracy, and has been the foundation of several
modern peerages. Yet Henry Cort, the rock from which they were
hewn, is already all but forgotten ; and his surviving children, now
aged and infirm, are dependent for their support upon the slender
pittance,* wrung by repeated entreaty and expostulation, from the
state." Smiles's Industrial Biography. London, 1863. Mechanics'
Magazine, 1859-60-61.
JAMES IVORY, F.R.S., &c.
Bom 1765. Died September 21, 1842.
This distinguished mathematician was born at Dundee and re-
ceived the elements of his education in the public schools of that
town. His father was a watchmaker and intended that his son
should become a clergyman of the church of Scotland, for which
purpose he sent him, when fourteen years old, to the University of
St. Andrews. Here Ivory remained for six years, and had for his
fellow student, Mr. (afterwards Sir John) Leslie, with whom, at the
end of the above period he removed to the University of Edinburgh,
where he remained one year to complete the course of study re-
quired as a qualification for admission into the church of Scotland.
Circumstances, however, seem to have prevented Ivory from carry-
ing out the intentions of his father, for, on leaving the university in
1786, he became an assistant teacher in an academy at that time
recently established in Dundee. After remaining at this academy
for three years, Ivory, in company with several others, established
a factory for spinning flax at Douglastown, in Forfarshire. In this
apparently uncongenial occupation he remained for fifteen years
(from 1789 to 1804), but the undertaking proved unsuccessful and
in 1804 the company ceased to exist. Mr. Ivory then obtained the
* After many appeals, a pension of 501. a-year was granted by the Crown to
Richard Cort, the sole surviving son of Henry Cort.
156 IVORY.
appointment to a professorship of mathematics in the Eoyal Military
College at Marlow, in Buckinghamshire (afterwards removed to
Sandhurst), with which establishment he remained until his retire-
ment from public service. This was the most active period of his
life, for while fulfilling assiduously the duties of his professorship he
continued unremittingly his scientific studies. His earliest writings
were three memoirs, which he communicated in the years 1796,
1799, and 1802, to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The first of
these was entitled, 'A New Series for the Rectification of the Ellipse;'
the second, ' A New Method of Resolving Cubic Equations ;' and the
third, ' A New-and Universal Solution of Kepler's Problem ; ' all of
them evincing great analytical skill, as well as originality of thought.
Mr. Ivory contributed fifteen papers to ' The Transactions of the
Royal Society of London,' nearly all of them relating to physical
astronomy, and every one containing mathematical investigations
of the most refined nature. The first, published in the ' Transactions
of 1809,' and entitled, ' On the Attractions of Homogeneous Ellip-
soids,' is his most celebrated paper, in which he completely and
definitely resolved the problem of attraction for every class of ellip-
soidal bodies. Many of Ivory's remaining contributions, ranging
through a period of nearly thirty years, related to the subject of
the attraction of spheroids and the theory of the figure of the Earth,
and some of them are considered masterpieces of anylitical skill.
One of the last subjects which occupied his attention was the pos-
sible equilibrium of a spheroid with three unequal axes when re-
volving about one of the axes, a fact which Jacobi had discovered.
This Ivory demonstrates in the volume for 1838 of the ' Philosophical
Transactions.' The volumes in 1823 and 1838, contain Ivory's
two papers on the ' Theory of Atmospheric Refraction,' a subject
which, next to the Theory of Attractions, engaged most seriously
his attention on account of its great importance in astronomy and
the curious mathematical difficulties which its investigation pre-
sents. For each of these papers he was awarded the Royal medal
by the Society. Of all his contributions to the ' Transactions,' only
one is purely mathematical; this is contained in the volume for
1831, and is entitled, ' On the Theory of Elliptic Transcendants.'
Besides these contributions to the Royal Society, Ivory wrote se-
veral papers in the Philosophical Magazine of 1821-27 ; in Maseres's
* Scriptores Logarithmic! ; ' in Leybourne's ' Mathematical Reposi-
tory;' and in the Supplement to the sixth edition of the Encyclo-
paedia Britannica. In the beginning of 1819 Ivory, finding that his
health began to decline under the great exertions which he made in
carrying on his scientific researches, and performing his duties as
professor, resigned his professorship at Sandhurst and retired into
private life. In consideration, however, of his great merit, the
pension due for the full period of service required by the regulations
was granted to him, although that period had not been completed.
PRIESTLY. 157
After his retirement, Ivory devoted himself entirely to his scientific
researches, living in or near London until his death. In 1814 he
had received the Copley medal for his communications to the Koyal
Society; in 1815 he became a Fellow of the same society. He was
also an honorary fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; an
honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy and of the Cambridge
Philosophical Society ; a corresponding member of the Institute of
France, of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Berlin, and of the
Royal Society of Gottingen.
In the year 1831, in consideration of the great talent displayed
in his investigations, Ivory was recommended by Lord Brougham,
whom he had known in early life, to the notice of the King
(Wm. IV.), who, with the Hanoverian Guelphic Order of Knight-
hood, gave him an annual pension of 300Z., which he enjoyed during
the rest of his life; and in 1839 he received the degree of Doctor in
Laws from the University of St. Andrews.
Mr. Ivory attained the age of seventy-seven before his death ; he
was essentially a self-taught mathematician, and spent most of his
leisure in retirement. He fathomed in private the profoundest
writings of the most learned continental mathematicians, and at a
period when few Englishmen were able to understand those difficult
works ; he even added to their value by many original contributions,
and must always be remembered with special interest when the sin-
gular destitution of higher mathematical talent, which had reigned
in this country for so long a period before his time, is considered.
English Cyclopaedia. London, 1856. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Eighth Edition.
JOSEPH PEIESTLY, LL.D.
Born March 24, 1773. Died February 26, 1804.
Joseph Priestly was the son of a cloth-dresser at Burstal-Field-
head, near Leeds. His family appear to have been in humble
circumstances, and he was taken off their hands after the death of
his mother by his paternal aunt, who sent him to a free school at
Batley. There he learnt something of Greek, Latin, and a little
Hebrew. To this he added some knowledge of other Eastern lan-
guages connected with Biblical literature ; he made a considerable
progress in Syriac and Chaldean, and began to learn Arabic; he
also had a little instruction in mathematics, but in this science he
did not make much proficiency. Indeed his whole education was
exceedingly imperfect, and, excepting in Hebrew and Greek, he
158 PRIESTLY.
never afterwards improved it by any systematic course of study.
Even in chemistry, the science which he best knew, and in which
he made so important a figure, he was only half-taught, so that he
presents one of the memorable examples of knowledge pursued,
science cultivated, and even its bounds extended, by those whose
circumstances made their exertions a continued struggle against
difficulties which only genius like theirs could have overcome.
After studying for some years at the Dissenting Academy founded
by Mr. Coward at Daventry (afterwards transferred to London),
Priestly quitted Daventry and became minister of a congregation
at Needham Market, in Suffolk, where his salary never exceeded
thirty pounds. He had been brought up in the strictest Calvinistic
principles, but he very soon abandoned these, and his tenets con-
tinued in after life to be those of the moderate Unitarians, whose
leading doctrine is the proper humanity of Christ, and who confine
all adoration to one Supreme Being. Priestly's religious opinions
proving distasteful to his congregation at Needham Market, caused
him to remove in 1758 to Nantwich, in Cheshire, where he obtained
a considerable number of pupils, which greatly increased his income
and enabled him by strict frugality to purchase a scanty scientific
apparatus, and commence a study of natural philosophy. In 1761,
Priestly removed to Warrington, where he was chosen to succeed
Dr. Aitken as tutor in the belles lettres at that academy. On settling
at Warrington he married the daughter of Mr. Wilkinson, an iron-
master in Wales, by whom he had several children. His literary
career may be said to have commenced here, and having once begun
to publish, his appeals to the press were incessant and on almost
every subject. The universality and originality of his pursuits may
be judged from his delivering at Warrington a course of lectures on
anatomy, while his published works during the next seven or eight
years comprise : ' The Theory of Language and Universal Gram-
mar,' 1762; 'On Oratory and Criticism,' 1777; 'On History and
General Policy,' 1788 ; ' On the Laws and Constitution of England,'
1772 ; ' On Education,' 1765 ; ' Chart of Biography,' 1765 ; ' Chart of
History,' 1769. During the same period appeared, in 1767, his work
entitled, ' A History of Electricity,' &c., which was so well received
that it went through five editions. This was followed in 1772 by a
1 History of Vision.' In 1767, on account of a dispute with the
Warrington trustees, Priestly removed to Leeds, where he became
minister of the Mill-Hill Chapel, and wrote many controversial
books and pamphlets. In after times he wrote ' Letters to a Phi-
losophical Institution ;' * An Answer to Gibbon ;' ' Disquisitions on
Matter and Spirit ;' l Corruptions of Christianity ;' ' Early Opinions
on Christ ;' * Familiar Letters to the Inhabitants of Birmingham ;'
1 Two different Histories of the Christian Church ;' ' On Education ;'
' Comparison of Heathen and Christian Philosophy ;' ' Doctrine of
Necessity ;' * On the Roman Catholic Claims ;' * On the French Re-
PRIESTLY. 159
volution ;' * On the American War ;' besides twenty volumes of
tracts in favour of Dissenters and their Rights. His general works
fill twenty-five volumes, of which only five or six are on scientific
subjects; his publications being in all 141, of which only seventeen
are scientific. When residing at Leeds Priestly's house immediately
adjoined a brewery, which led him to make experiments upon the
fixed air copiously produced during the process of fermentation.
These experiments resulted in his discovering the important fact
that atmospheric air, after having been corrupted by the respiration
of animals, and by the burning of inflammable bodies, is restored to
salubrity by the vegetation of plants ; and that, if the air is exposed
to a mixture of sulphur and iron-filings, its bulk is diminished be-
tween a fourth and a fifth, and the residue is both lighter than
common air and unfit to support life ; this residue he termed ' phlo-
gistic air,' afterwards called azotic or nitrogen gas.* For these
experiments the Copley medal was awarded to him in 1773 by the
Royal Society. The following year to this, from experiments with
minium or red lead, Priestly made his great and important discovery
of oxygen gas. This was followed by his discovering the gases of
muriatic, sulphuric, and fluoric acids, ammonial gas and nitrous
oxide gas. He also discovered the combination which nitrous gas
forms suddenly with oxygen ; diminishing the volume of both in
proportion to that combination ; and he thus invented the method
of eudiometry or the ascertainment of the relative purity of different
kinds of atmospheric air.
In considering the great merits of Priestly as an experimentalist,
it must not be forgotten that he had almost to create the apparatus
by which his processes were to be performed. He for the most part
had to construct his instruments with his own hands, or to make
unskilful workmen form them under his own immediate direction.
His apparatus, however, and his contrivances for collecting, keep-
ing, transferring gaseous bodies, and for exposing substances to
their action, were simple and effectual, and they continue to be still
used by chemical philosophers without any material improvement.
Although Priestly was the first to discover oxygen, and thus give
the basis of the true theory of combustion, he clung all his life with
a wonderful pertinacity to the Phlogistic Theory,f and nothing in
after life would make him give it up. In 1773 Priestly accepted an
invitation from Lord Shelbourne (afterwards first Marquis of Lans-
downe), to fill the place of librarian and philosophic companion,
with a salary of 250Z., reducible to 150Z. for life should he quit the
employment ; 40Z. a-year was also allowed him for the expense of
* Discovered at the same time by Dr. Rutherford of Edinburgh.
f The Phlogistic Theory explained the phenomena of combustion by suppos-
ing the existence of a hypothetical substance termed Phlogiston, the union of
which with bodies made them combustible, and the disengagement of which was
the occasion of combustion.
160 PRIESTLY.
apparatus and experiments, and homes were provided for his family
in the neighbourhood both of Lord Shelbourne's town and country
residence. Priestly remained with the Earl of Shelbourne for six or
seven years, at the end of which period, in 1780, he settled at Bir-
mingham and became minister of a dissenting body there. While
residing at Birmingham he engaged fiercely in polemical writings
and discussions, particularly with Gibbon and Bishop Horseley. He
also displayed a warm interest in the cause of America at the time
of the quarrel with the mother-country, and likewise took an active
and not very temperate part in the controversy to which the French
Revolution gave rise; and, having published a 'Reply' to Burke's
famous pamphlet, he was in 1791 made a citizen of the French Re-
public. This gave considerable offence to the inhabitants of Bir-
mingham, an ironical and somewhat bitter pamphlet against the
high church party still further excited their feelings against him ;
and a dinner which was given on the 14th of July, to celebrate
the anniversary of the attack upon the Bastile, became the signal
for a general riot. The tavern where the party were assembled was
attacked, and, although Dr. Priestly was not present, his house and
chapel "were immediately afterwards assailed, he and his family
escaped, but his house, library, and manuscripts were burnt. Al-
though his losses were made up to him partially by an action at law
and partially by a subscription among his friends, Priestly felt that
he could no longer live at Birmingham, he therefore removed to
London and succeeded his friend Dr. Price as principal of the Hack-
ney Academy. He, however, still found himself highly unpopular
and shunned even by his former associates in silence. This deter-
mined Priestly to leave England, and in the spring of 1794 he with-
drew with his family to America and settled at Northumberland, in
Pensylvania, where he purchased 300 acres of land. Here he re-
mained the rest of his life, occupied in cultivating his laud, in occa-
sional preaching, and in scientific studies. He continued writing
and publishing until his death, in February 1804, in the 72nd year
of his age. He expired very quietly, and so easily that having put
his hand to his face those who were sitting close to him did not
immediately perceive his death. Brougham's Lives of Philosophers.
London and Glasgow, 1855. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Eighth
Edition.
MEMOIRS OF
THE DISTINGUISHED MEN OF SCIENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN,
LIVING A.D., 1807-8.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS ON THE FIRST EDITION.
ONCE A WEEK.
Accompanying the picture, &c., there is a volume by Mr. W. Walker,
junior, giving a brief memoir of the salient points of each individual
history. This is well executed, and forms a useful book of reference for
those who would know more than the picture can tell.
ENGINEER.
Messrs. Walker's great historical engraving of the *' Distinguished Men
of Science," noticed some weeks ago in these columns, is accompanied by
a well written and handsomely printed octavo volume of 228 pages, con-
taining condensed biographical sketches of the fifty-one subjects of the
picture itself. The book appears to have been first undertaken with the
view of furnishing a mere outline of the life and achievements of these
eminent men, but the inevitable delay attending the production of a large
engraving, and the gradual accumulation of personal and historical details,
at last led Mr. Walker, Jun., to revise and considerably extend the scope
of his work, which now forms a very complete and desirable compendium
of long-neglected, and, popularly speaking, almost inaccessible biography,
of interest and value as well to those who cannot possess themselves of
the picture as to the subscribers to that work. The whole is preceded
by an introduction, not wanting in suggestive matter, from the pen of
Mr. Robert Hunt, F.R.S There is probably no work, certainly
none so well within the reach of the general public, which gives anything
like as full and yet concise an account of the great men of science who
lived and flourished half a century ago. The arrangement of the book is
such as to facilitate the readiest reference to any part, and, while the
matter is abundant, the style is clear and pleasing. We believe the book
will be in large request.
i
MECHANICS' MAGAZINE.
In our notice last week of Mr. Walker's engraving of the distinguished
men of science, we were only able to make a passing mention of the book
of memoirs which accompanies it. As, however, this book is to be ob-
tained separately, and has evidently been written with care, we will now
speak further as to its deserts. In the preface the writer claims the merit
only of a compiler, with one or two exceptions, and he expresses a hope
that he may have performed his task with clearness and brevity, not
neglecting, at the same time, to present his facts in a readable form. The
combination of these three qualities is not often to be met with in a series
of short biographies, and we are, therefore, glad to be able to say that Mr.
W. Walker has, in a great measure, succeeded in accomplishing this. We
would particularly call attention to the notices of Cavendish, Samuel
Crompton, Dr. Jenner, Count Rumford, and Dr. Thomas Young, as in-
stances of the successful manner in which good sketches of character have
been interwoven with plain records of the facts occurring in the lives of
these eminent men. The memoir of James Watt is also well put together,
and it must have cost the writer considerable labour to compress into the
space of six pages so clear an account of the numerous works of this great
philosopher and engineer.
The biographies which claim particular notice, from containing original
information, are those of Tennant, Maudslay, and Trevi thick. The life
of Charles Tennant, the founder of the celebrated chemical works at St.
Rollox, Glasgow, gives to the public for the first time a sketch of the
career of one whose inborn energy of character and clear intellect (to use
the author's words), placed him among the foremost of those men who,
by uniting science to manufactures, have entitled their occupations to be
classed among the ranks of the liberal professions.
But the memoir the perusal of which will afford the greatest interest to
engineers is that of Trevithick. Without pretending to anything like a
life worthy of the genius of this extraordinary man, it is, notwithstanding,
the most complete biographical notice which has yet been published of
him. We trust the book may be extensively read, as it affords interesting
information, in an easily accessible shape, of men, the memory of whose
deeds is too liable to pass away.
ENGRAVING OF
THE DISTINGUISHED MEN OF SCIENCE OF GKEAT BRITAIN,
LIVING A.D., 1807-8.
THIS Great Historical Engraving represents, assembled at the Royal
Institution, authentic Portraits of the following illustrious men : WATT,
RENNIE, TELFORD, MYLNE, JESSOP, CHAPMAN, MURDOCH, the first to intro-
duce gas into practical use ; RUMFORD, HUDDART, BOULTON, BRUNEL,
WATSON, BENTHAM, MAUDSLAY, DALTON, CAVENDISH, SIR HUMPHRY DAVY,
WOLLASTON, HATCHET, HENRY, ALLEN, HOWARD, SMITH, the father of
English Geology ; CROMPTON, inventor of the Spinning Mule : CARTWRIGHT,
TENNANT, RONALDS, the first to successfully pass an electric telegraph
message through a long distance ; CHARLES EARL STANHOPE, TREVITHICK,
NASMYTH, MILLER of Dalswinton, and SYMINGTON, the inventors and con-
structors of the first practical Steam Boat ; PROFESSOR THOMSON, of Glas-
gow; TROUG-HTON, DONKJN, CONGREVE, HERSCHEL, MASKELYNE, BAILY,
FRODSHAM, LESLIE, PLAYFAIR, RUTHERFORD, DOLLOND, BROWN, the bota-
nist; GILBERT and BANKS, the Presidents of the Royal Society at that
epoch of time ; CAPTAIN KATER, celebrated for his pendulum experiments ;
DR. THOMAS YOUNG, and JENKER the benefactor of mankind.
Engraved in the best style of Stipple and Mezzotinto by WM. WALKER
and GEORGE ZOBEL. From an original drawing in Chiaroscuro. Designed
by GILBERT ; drawn by J. F. SKILL and W. WALKER.
PUBLISHED BY W. WALKER & SON, 64, MARGARET STREET,
CAVENDISH SQUARE, LONDON, W.
Size of the Engraving, without Margin, Forty-one by Twenty and a half Inches.
Plain Impressions, 5 : 5.
Proofs, with Title and Autographs, 8:8.
Artist Proof, with or without Autographs, 10 : 10.
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.
An Engraving before us comprises the portraits of 50 distinguished
Men of Science of Great Britain who were living in 1807-8, and who are
here represented as assembled in the Upper Library of the Royal Institu-
tion .... we can easily conceive, as the preface to an accompanying
volume of biographies informs us, that the collection and combination of
these portraits occupied five years, for some of them, at this distance of
time, must have been discoverable with very great difficulty Thus we
have among them portraits of some of the inventors of whom we know
very little in proportion to their acknowledged capacities, such for ex-
ample as Trevithick the friend of Robert Stephenson, and Murdock the
Achates of James Watt and introducer of gas .... there can be little
doubt that the 50 physiognomies are derived from authentic originals in
every case, great diligence having been employed in searching for such in
the hands of their representatives .... as we said, this engraving must
not be regarded only as a work of art, but as a collection of portraits of
special interest, some of which are not attainable in any other form ;
while, as a whole, they are an appropriate monument of our greatest
scientific epoch.
DAILT TELEGRAPH.
We may fairly commence the following remarks with unqualified praise
of a work of art, which is intended to honour the distinguished men of
science who were living in Great Britain early in the present century, and
who, with one surviving exception, having passed into a deathless fame,
are yet remembered by philosophers equally great, who were their con-
temporaries. Mr. Wm. Walker, with the assistance of Mr. Zobel, has
produced a really great historical engraving from a design by Mr. Gilbert,
representing an assemblage of fifty eminent chemists, engineers, astro-
nomers, naturalists, electricians and mechanical inventors, grouped in the
library of the Royal Institution. The scene is thoroughly appropriate, for
these men were living in the years 1807-8, while the Royal Institution
itself dates from 1800, having been founded to promote the application of
science to practical uses. The period marked by the pictorial gathering in
question, belonged to an era as complete and brilliant as any that British
science has yet passed through. A glance round the circle of intensely
thoughtful faces composing this great portrait group will revive many a page
of instructive and ennobling history. We see in the centre, seated round a
table, James Watt, Sir Isambard Brunei, John Dalton, &c Such
men were our fathers patient, indomitable, calmly and wisely bold,
modestly self-reliant; ever watching* ever toiling, ever adding to the store
of knowlege that was to benefit not them alone but the great human race.
Such men are their sons who carry on the appointed work of improvement
and civilization. To such men do we point as examples for our children.
Their sterling qualities may be best summed up in the words of Lord
Jeffrey, written of that same John Playfair to whom we have already
referred. Their's was the understanding " at once penetrating and vigi-
lant, but more distinguished, perhaps, for the caution and sureness of its
march than for the brilliancy or rapidity of its movements : and guided
and adorned through all its progress by the most genuine enthusiasm
for all that is grand, and the justest taste for all that is beautiful."
ATHENAEUM.
Messrs. Walker and Son have published a large engraving of fifty-one
distinguished men of science, alive in 1807-8, grouped together in the
library of the Eoyal Institution. This engraving, which is a beautiful
production, is described as designed by Gilbert, &c It is accom-
panied by a book, the frontispiece of which is a reducod copy of the
engraving, for reference, &c.
ONCE A WEEK.
An earnest artist named William Walker, not being wholly absorbed
in the pursuit of gain, but working with enthusiasm on his own percep-
tions of what is great in humanity and fitting in a nation, has for many
years devoted himself to the task of gathering and grouping together the
great men who were living in the early part of the present century
This is of a verity a picture of great men men whose instinct it was to
work for the world and fight against misery : some of them wealthy and
some of them poor; with visions perchance of wealth to come, but still
working for the world's welfare as the only path through which to ensure
their own, the race of path-finders who are ever setting copies for the
English nation to work by, and thus gain more results by the development
of national energy. Accompanying the picture, which contains upwards
of fifty portraits, some full figures, and some more or less hidden, but all
admirably grouped, there is a volume, by Mr. Walker's son, giving a brief
memoir of the salient points of each individual history ; this also is well
executed, and it forms a useful book of reference for those who would
know more than the picture can tell Grateful are we to men like
Mr. Walker, who has thus gathered together in groups the world's workers,
with their images and superscriptions, that men may know their bene-
factors, and render to their memory that justice which was too rarely
accorded to their lives. So, all honour to the work of both the father and
the son, the picture and the book, in teaching the men of the present what
they owe to men of the past.
MECHANICS' MAGAZINE.
Perhaps no cla^s of men have deserved more of their country and of
mankind than the great inventors and discoverers in astronomy, chemistry,
engineering and other departments of science ; yet very little is known of
many of them in proportion to the acknowledged good which has resulted
from their labours. We possess works of art commemorating the achieve-
ments of heroes in the field, and of statesmen in parliament, but until now
no work of any magnitude has ever been executed in honour of men whose
doings have laid the foundation of our commercial prosperity. We are,
however, able to state that this can no longer be said, as Mr. Walker, of
64, Margaret-street, Cavendish-square, has, after an extended period of
labour, produced an engraving which must remain an enduring record of
our greatest era in science the early part of the present century. At
that epoch of time, steam, under the hands of Watt, Symington, and Tre-
vithick, was commencing its marvellous career ; astronomy and chemistry
began to reveal their long-hidden secrets; while the discovery of vaccina-
tion, by Jenner, had already rescued thousands from death to enjoy the
blessings left as a legacy by many a silent worker in science
We may fairly state that we have never seen so large a body of men
arranged in a group, where it is necessary that all should, in a measure,
present their faces turned towards the spectator, so free from that stiffness
which is the general fault of works of this class. For this, great praise is
due to John Gilbert, by whom the original picture (drawn by J. F. Skill
and W. Walker) was designed. The engraving has been executed by
W. Walker and George Zobel; while in order to render the work complete,
a series of memoirs have been drawn up by Mr. W. Walker, Jun., and
furnished with a short introduction by Mr. Eobert Hunt, F.R.S., keeper
of the Mining Records. We can only now say of the book, that while
many of the memoirs are necessarily brief, one, that of Trevithick, con-
tains the most information yet published regarding that eminent engineer.
BUILDING NEWS.
We are glad to be able to inform our readers, that a large engraving
has just been completed by Mr. Walker, of 64-, Margaret- street, Cavendish-
square, in honour of the men of science who have done so much towards
the establishment of our present commercial prosperity. This work, which
may well be called historical, represents fifty-one illustrious men, living
in the early part of the present century, assembled in the Upper Library
of the Royal Institution. The picture is divided into three groups, and
comprises authentic portraits of our greatest inventors and discoverers in
astronomy, chemistry, engineering machinery, and other departments of
science The grouping of so large a number of figures must have
been a difficult task ; this has, however, been successfully accomplished
by John Gilbert, the designer of the original picture, who, by a skilful
combination of various attitudes, has given both grace and ease to the
figures represented. The engraving has been executed by William Walker
and George Zobel, and the greatest care seems to have been taken to
secure faithful and authentic likenesses. The work is rendered complete
by a series of well-written memoirs, compiled to accompany the engrav-
ing. This book is also published separately, and we should think there
would be many who would buy the memoirs although unable to purchase
the engraving.
W. DAYY & SON, PRINTERS, 8 GILBERT STREET, VT.
LIST OF BOOKS
PUBLISHED BY
E. & F. N. SPON,
16, BUCKLEKSBUBY, LONDON.
ABCHITECTUEAL SUBVEYOBS HAND BOOK.
A Hand-book for Architectural Surveyors, and
others engaged in Building, by J. T. Hurst, C.E.,
royal 32mo, roan, 4s. 6d.
BIET (W. E.)
The Manifestation and Operation of Volcanic
Forces in modifying the Moon's surface, by W.
E. Birt, F.B.A.S., 12mo, sewed 6d.
BEEWING.
Instructions for making Ale or Beer in all temper-
atures, especially adapted for Tropical Climates,
by John Beadel, on a sheet, 6d.
CHALMEES TABGET (The).
England's Danger, The Admiralty Policy of
Naval Construction, by James Chalmers, 8vo,
sewed, 2s.
CHANNEL EAILWAY (The).
Connecting England and France, by James Chal-
mers, plates, royal 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
COTTAGES.-
Designs for Schools, Cottages, and Parsonage
Houses for Eural Districts, by H. Weaver, fol.,
half-bound, 7s. 6d.
CHOCOLATE AIsD COCOA.
Cocoa ; its growth and Culture, Manufacture,
and Modes of Preparation for the Table, Illus-
trated with engravings, accompanied by easy
methods of analysis, whereby its purity may be
ascertained, by Charles Hewett, post 8vo, price Is.
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BV
COFFEE AND CHICORY.
. Coffee and Chicory : their culture, chemical
composition, preparation for market, and con-
sumption, with simple tests for detecting
adulteration and practical hints for the producer
and consumer, by P. L. Simmons, F.S.S., Author
of " The Commercial Products of the Vegetable
Kingdom," " Dictionary of Trade Products, &c.
&c. &c ,post Svo, sewed, Is.
COTTON CULTIVATION.
Cotton Cultivation in its various details, the
Barrage of Great Rivers, and Instructions for
Irrigating, Embanking, Draining, and Tilling
Land in Tropical and other Countries posessing
high thermometric temperatures, especially
adapted to the improvements of the cultural
soils of India, by Joseph Gribbs, Member Insti-
tute Civil Engineers, with 5 plates, crown 8vo,
cloth, 7s. fid.
COTTON SUPPLY.
Considerations relative to Cotton Supply, as it
was, as it is, and as it might be, by Joseph Gribbs,
Member Institute Civil Engineers, Svo, sewed, Is.
EARTHWORK TABLES.
A general sheet Table for facilitating the Calcu-
lation of Earthworks for Railways, Canals, &c.,
by F. Bash worth, M.A., on a large sheet, 6d.
EARTHWORK TABLES.
A general Table for facilitating the Calculation
of Earthworks for Railways, Canals, &c., with a
Table of Proportional Parts, by Francis Bash-
forth, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College, Cam-
bridge, in Svo, cloth, with mahogany slide, 4s.
"This little volume should become the hand-book of every person
whose duties require even occasional calculations of this nature ; were
it only that it is more extensively applicable than any other in exist-
ence, we could cordially recommend it to our readers, but when they
learn that the usu of it involves only half the labour of all other Tables
constituted for the same purpose, we offer the stro'ijrest of all recom-
mendations, tbnt fo'inded on the value of time." Mudianics* Magazine.
ELECTRICITY.
A Treatise on the Principles r f Electrical Accu-
mulation and Conduction, by F. C. Webb, Asso-
ciate Institute Civil Engineers, part I, crown Svo,
cloth, 3s. 6d.
E. & F. N. SPON, 16, BUCKLERSBURY, LONDON.
ELECTEICITY.
Scientific Researches, experimental and theo-
rectical in Electricity, Magnetism, Galvanism,
Electro-Magnetism, and Electro- Chemistry, illus-
trated with engravings, by William Sturgeon,
royal 4to, cloth, 21s.
ELECTEO-METALLIJEGY.
Contributions towards a History of Electro-
Metallurgy, establishing the Origin of the Art,
by Henry Dircks, crown 8vo, cloth, 4s.
ENGIN BEES' POCKET BOOK
A Pocket Book of useful Formulae and Memo
randa for Civil and Mechanical Engineers, by
Guildford L. Molesworth, Member Institute Civil
Engineers, Chief Eesident Engineer Ceylon Hail-
way, sixth edition, with a supplement, royal
32mo, roan, 4s. 6d. ; the supplement can be had
separate, price 3d.
" Mr. Molesworth has done the profession a considerable and lasting-
benefit by publishing his very excellent Pocket-Book of Engineering
Formula;. What strikes us first, is, the very convenient size and form
of the book adopted by the author, and next in glancing over its con-
tents \ve are pleased to find many really useful things not found else-
where in any Engineering Pocket-Book. Mr. Molesworth's treatment
of Hydraulics and Hydro- Dynamics, and Motive Power, generally, is
excellent. To the latter branch of his subject, Mr, Molesworth ha*
evidently devoted considerable attention, and his collection of formula?
will be found most useful. But to stop to detail everything that is
good and useful in this book would be nearly equal to re-printing a
list cf its contents." Artizan, April, 1863.
ENGINEERS' PEICE BOOK.
Appleby's Illustrated Hand-book and Prices cur-
rent of Machinery and Iron Work, with various
useful Tables of Eeference, compiled for the use
of Engineers, Contractors, Builders, British and
Foreign Merchants, &c., 8vo, cloth, 2s. 6d.
FEENCH CATHEDEALS.
French Cathedrals, by B. Winkles, from drawings
taken on the spot, by E. Garland, Architect, with
an historical and descriptive account, 50 plates,
4to, cloth, 18s.
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY
GLACIERS.
Expeditions on the Glaziers, including an ascent
of Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, Col du Geant, and
Mont Buet, by a Private of the 38th Artists, and
Member of the Alpine Club, post 8vo, sewed, 2s.
GOLD-BEARING STRATA.
On the Gold-bearing Strata of Merionethshire,
by T. A. Readwin, F.G.S., 8vo, sewed, 6d.
HEAT.
An enquir}*- into the Nature of Heat, and into its
Mode of Action in the Phsenomena of Cumbustion,
Vaporisation, &c., by Zerah Colburn, 8vo. boards,
2s.
HYDRAULICS.
Tredgold's Tracts on Hydraulics, containing
Smeaton's experimental Papers on the Power of
Water and Wind to turn Mills, &c., &c., Yenturi's
Experiments on the Motion of Fluids, and Dr.
Young's Summary of Practical Hydraulics,
plates, royal 8vo, boards, reduced to 6s.
IRON BRIDGES.-
Diagrams to facilitate the Calculation of Iron
Bridges, by Francis Campin, C.E., folded in 4to,
wrapper, 2s. 6d.
IRON BRIDGES.
A practical Treatise on Cast and Wrought Iron
Bridges and Girders as applied to Railway Struc-
tures and to Buildings generally, with numerous
examples drawn to a large scale, selected from
the Public Works of the most eminent Engineers,
with 58 full-page plates, by William Humber,
Associate Institute Civil Engineers, and Member
of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, im-
perial 4to, half bound in Morocco, 1 16s.
"Mr. Humber's admirable work on Iron Bridges." The Times.
IRON (APPLICATION OF).
Two Lectures on Iron, and its application to the
manufacture of Steam Engines, Millwork, and
Machinery, by William Fairbairn, C.E., F.R.S.,
demy 8vo, sewed, Is.
LIST or BOOKS PUBLISHED BY
JONATHAN HULLS.
A description and draught of a new invented
Machine for canning Vessels or Ships out of or
into any Harbour, Port, or River, against Wind
and Tide, or in a calm, by Jonathan Hulls, 1737,
reprint in fac -simile, 12nio, half morocco, reduced
to 2s. sewed Is.
LIFE CONTINGENCIES.
A brief View of 'the Works of the earlier eminent
writers on the doctrine of Life Contingencies, by
Thomas Carr, 8vo, sewed, Is.
LOCKS AND SAFES.
A Treatise on Fire and Thief-proof Depositories
and Locks and Keys, by George Price, in one
large vol. (916 pages), with numerous wood-
engravings, 8vo, cloth, gilt, 5s.
LOCKS AND SAFES.
A Treatise on Gunpowder-proof Locks, Gun-
powder-proof Lock Chambers, Drill-proof Safes,
Burglars' methods of opening Iron Safes, and
the various methods adopted to prevent them ;
why one maker's safes are better than another's ;
the Burnley Test, its history and results, by
George Price, author of "A Treatise on Fire and
Thief-proof Depositories and Locks and Keys,"
demy 8vo, cloth, with 46 wood engravings, Is.
MARINE STEAM ENGINE.
A Catechism of the Marine Steam Engine, for
the use of youn^ Naval Officers and others, bv
Thomas Miller, Captain R.N., F.R.G.S., F.S.A.,
12 mo, cloth, 2s.
MECHANICAL DRAWING.
An elemeutary Treatise on Orthographic Projec-
tion, beinga new method of teaching the Science
of Mechanical and Engineering Drawing, in-
tended for the instruction of Engineers, Architects,
Builders, Smiths, Masons, and Bricklayers, and
for the use of Schools, with numerous illustrations
on wood and steel, by William Binns, Associate In-
stitute Civil Engineers, late Master of the Mechani-
E. & F. N. SPON, 16, BUCKLERSBURY, LONDON.
calDrawing Class at theDep artment of Science and
Art, and at the School of Aim es, formerly Professor
of Applied Mechanics at the College for Civil
Engineers, &c., third edition, 8vo, cloth, 9s. Mr.
Binns' system of Mechanica 1 Drawing is in suc-
cessful operation in all the Art Schools of the
United Kingdom.
"Mr. Binns has treated his subject in a practical and masterly
manner, avoiding theoretical disquisitions on the art, and giving direct
and applicable examples, advancing progressively from the correct
orthographic projection of the most simple to the most complex forms,
thus clearing away the mist from the mind of the student, and leading
him gradually to a correct and thorough appreciation of what he has
undertaken, and to that which it is his desire to attain." The Artizan.
MEMOIRS OF SCIENTIFIC MEN.
Memoirs of the Distinguished Men of Science of
Great Britain, living A.D. 1 807-8, by H. Walker
jun., with an Introduction by Robert Hunt, F.R.S.,
second edition, revised and enlarged, post 8vo,
cloth, 4s. 6d.
MINING.-
A Practical Treatise on Mine Engineering, by
G. C. Greewell, 61 plates, royal 4to, half bound,
2 15s.
MINING.
Records of Mining and Metallurgy, or Facts and
Memoranda for the use of the Mine Agent and
Smelter, by J. Arthur Phillips and John Dar-
lington, in crown 8vo, cloth, illustrated by wood
engravings by F. Delamotte, reduced to 4s., in
boards, 3s.
MINING.-
A Treatise on the Ventilation of Coal Mines, to-
gether with a Narrative of Scenes and Incidents
in the Life of a Working Miner, by Robert Scott,
8vo, sewed, Is.
OBLIQUE BRIDGES.
A practical Treatise on the Construction of Oblique
Bridges with spiral and with equilibrated c mrses,
with 12 plates, containing 100 figures, by Francis
Bashforth, M.A., Fellow of St. John's College,
Cambridge, 8vo, cloth, 6s.
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED 1*1
OPTICAL ILLUSIONS.
The Ghost as produced in the Spectre Drama,
popularly illu^tr iting the marvellous optical
illusions, obtained by the appiratus called the
Dirksian Phantasmagoria, by Henry Diroks, C.E.,
crown 8vo, cloth, 2s.
OENAMENT.-
The book of Ornaments of every style, applicable
to Art and Industry, for the use of Lithographers ,
Engravers, Silversmiths, Decorators, and other
Art Workmen, by Jos. Scheidel, 5 numbers at
Is. 6d. each.
OENAMENT.-
Gleanings from Ornamental Art of every style,
drawn from examples in the British, South
Kensington, Indian, Crystal Palace, and other
Museums, the Exhibitions of 1851 and 1862, and
the best English and Foreign Works, in a series
of 100 plates containing many hundred examples,
by E. Newberry, 4to, cloth, 30s.
PEEPETUAL MOTION.
Perpetuum Mobile, or Search for Self-motive
power during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries,
illustrated from various authentic sources in
papers, essays, letters, paragraphs, and numerous
patent specifications, with an introductory essay
by Henry Dircks, C.E., with numerous engravings
of machines, crown 8vo, cloth, 10s. 6d.
"A curious and interesting work. Mr. Dircks' chief purpose was
to collect together all the materials requisite to form a record of what
has been done, or attempted, rather in this curious branch of quasi
science, and most instructive in one seme it is. Mr. Dircks' volume
is well worth looking into ; it contains a vast deal of entertaining
matter." Builder.
EAILWAYS.
Eailway Practice, a collection of working plans
and practieal details of construction in the Public
Works of the most celebrated Engineers, com-
prising Eoads, Tramroads and Eail ways, Bridges,
Aqueducts, Viaducts, Wharfs, Warehouses, Eoofs
and Sheds, Canals, Locks, Sluices, and the various
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY
Piers and Jetties. Tunnels, Cuttings, and Embank-
ments, Works connected with the Drainage of
Marshes, Marine Sands, and the Irrigation of
Land, "Water Works, Gas-works, Water-wheels,
Mills, Engines, &c., by 8. C. Brees, C.E. Text
in 4to, with 279 plates in folio, together 2 vols.
half-bound morocco, 3 10s.
EAILWAY MASONRY.
The Guide to Railway Masonry, containing a
complete Treatise on the Oblique Arch, by Peter
Nicholson, third edition, revised by E. Cowen,
C.E., with 42 plates, 8vo, cloth, 9s. *
EOPEMAKING.
A Treatise on Ropemaking as practised in public
and private Eope-yards, with a description of the
manufacture, rules, tables of weights, &c., adapted
to the Trade, Shipping, Mining, Railways,
Builders, &c., by R. Chapman, formerly foreman
to Messrs. Huddart and Co., Limehouse, and late
Master Eope Maker of H.M. Dockyard, Deptford,
18mo, cloth, 2s.
SCEEW CUTTING.
Screw Cutting Tables for the use of Mechanical
Engineers, showing the proper arrangement of
Wheels for cutting the threads of screws of any
required pitch, with a Table for making the Uni-
versal Gas Pipe Threads and Taps, by W. A.
Martin, Engineer, royal 8vo, oblong, cloth, Is.,
sewed, 6d.
SCEEW PROPELLER.
The Screw Propeller, what it is, and what, it
ought to be, by E. Griffith, 8vo, sewed, 6d.
SEWING MACHINE.
The Sewing Machine : its History, Construction,
and Application, translated from the German oi
Dr. Herzberg, by Upfield Green, illustrated by 7
large lithographic plates, royal 8vo, ornamental
boards, 7s. 6d.
SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS.
Transactions of the Society of Engineers, 1860
to 18R2, plates, 12mo, sewed, 7s. 6d. The volume
for 1863, just ready, cloth.
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY
STEAM BOILERS.
The Modern Practice of Boiler Engineering, con-
taining observation on the Constructions of Steam
Boilers, and remarks upon Furnaces, used for
Smoke Prevention, with a chapter on Explosions,
by Robert Armstrong. C.E., revised with the
addition of Notes and an Introduction by John
Bourne, Esq., with engravings, fcap. 8vo, cloth, 2s.
"The collected experience of a practical Engineer, who, for thirty
years of his life has directed his attention to the construction of Steam-
Boilers and Furnaces, i> a valuable addition to the stock of Engineering
knowledge, and it will be generally more appreciated because it is
condensed within so small a volume as the one before us." Civil
Engineer and Architects' Journal.
STEAM BOILERS.
Steam Boiler Explosions, by Zerah Colburn,
8vo, sewed, Is.
STEAM ENGINE.
Practical illustrations of Land and Marine
Engines, shewing in detail all the modern im-
provements of High and Low Pressure, Surface
Condensation, and Super-heating, together with
Land and Marine Boilers, by N. P. Burgh,
Engineer, 20 plates in double elephant, folio,
cloth, with text. 2 2s.
STEAM ENGINE.
Rules for Designing, Constructing and Erecting
Land and Marine Engines and Boilers, by N. P.
Burgh, Engineer, Royal 32mo, roan, 4s. 6d.
STEAM ENGINE.-
The Steam Engine, for Practical Men, containing
a theoretical investigation of the various rules
given in the work, and several useful Tables, bj~
James, Hann, A.I.C.E., and Placido and Justo
Gener, Civil Engineers, 8vo, cloth, 9s.
"To the practical and scientific Engineer, and to the Assistant
Engineer, who aspires to pass his examination for chief with credit^ to
himself, and the Service, we can cordially recommend the work.'
The Nautical Standard.
F. N. SPON, 16, BUCKLESBUIIY, LCXDOX.
STEAM NAVIGATION.
High-speed Steam Navigation and Steamship
Perfection Can perfection be defined in the form
of a Steamship, a Propeller, or any other
mechanical contrivance ? a proposition for the
solution of the Scientific World, and for the
consideration of the British Admiralty, by Eobert
Armstrong, of Poplar, 8vo, sewed, Is.
SUGAR "kACHINERY.
A Treatise on Sugar Machinery, by N. P. Burgh.
Engineer, with 16 plates drawn to a large scale,
royal 4to, cloth, 30s.
SURVEYING.
An Introduction to the present practice of Sur-
veying and Levelling, being a plain explanation
of the Subject and of the instruments employed,
illustrated with suitable plans, sections, and
diagrams, also with engravings of the Field In-
struments, by S. C. Brees, C.E., 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d.
SURVEYING.
A practical Treatise on the science of Land and
Engineering Surveying, Levelling, estimating
quantities, &c., with a general description of the
several Instruments required for Surveying.
Levelling, Plotting, &c., and Illustrations and
Tables, by H. S. Merrett, royal 8vo, cloth, 16s.
TRADE OF NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE.
History of the Trade and Manufactures of the
Tyne, Wear, and Tees, comprising the papery
prepared under the auspices of a Committee of
Local Industry, and other documents of a similar
character, read at the second meeting in New-
castle-on-Tyne of the British Association for the
advancement of Science, revised and corrected by
the writers, second edition, 8vo, boards, 3s. 6d.
TURBINE.
A practical Treatise on the construction of the
Turbine or Horizontal Water-wheel, with seven
plates specially designed for the use of operative
Mechanics, by William Cullen, Millwright and
Engineer, 4to, sewed, 6s.
LIST OF BOOKS PUBLISHED BY
TUKNING.
Turners' and Fitters' Pocket-book for calculating
the change wheels for screws on a Turning Lathe,
and for a Wheel -cutting Machine, by J. La Nicca,
18mo, sewed, 6d.
TURNING. -
The practice of Hnnd -turning in "Wood, Ivory,
Shell, &c., with Instructions for turning such
works in Metal, ns ma y be required in the practice
of Turning in Wood. Ivory, <Jcc.; also, an Appen-
dix on Ornamental Turning, by Francis Canapin,
with wood engravings, crown 8vo, cloth, 6s.
WAGE TABLE.-
Delany and Okes' Wage Table for Engineers,
Shipbuilders, Contractors, Builders, &c., from
one-quarter of an hour, in regular progression to
nine and three-quarter hours, from one day to
ten da} r s, at one shilling to eight shillings per
day, on one sheet, Is.
In 2 vols.j royal 8ro, half morocco, neat, price 3 3s.
APPLETON'S
DICTIONARY OF MACHINES,
MECHANICS' ENGINE-WORK, AND ENGINEERING,
WITH 4000 ENGKAVINGS ON WOOD, AND
MANY STEEL PLATES.
LONDON: E. & F. N. SPON, 1C, BUCKLEESBURY.
Royal 4to, cloth, Illustrated by 84 Plates of Furnaces and Machinery,
price 3 lOs.j
THE IRON MANUFACTURE OF
GREAT BRITAIN.
THEORETICALLY AND PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED;
Including Descriptive Details of the Ores, Fuels, ami Fluxes, employed ;
the Preliminary Operation of Calcina'ion ; the Blast, Refining 'and
Puddling Furnaces ; Engines and Machinery ; and the various Pro-
cesses in Union, &c.
By WILLIAM TEHRAN, C.E.,
Formerlv Engineer at Hi" P>wla'sTrnn Work*, i n'Vrdip lafo Sir Johi Guest, Bart,
subsequently at the Ilirwain and Forest Works, under Mr. L'rawshay.
SECOND EDITION.
Revised from the Manuscript of the late Mr. TV. Truran,
By J. ARTHUR PHILLIPS,
Author of " A Manual of Metallurgy," ' Records of Mining," &c, ;
AND
W. H. DORM AN, C. E.
OPINION'S OF THE PRESS.
"The book treats of every detail connected with the arrangement, erection, and practical
management of Iron Works, in the most minute and careful manner ; and the various ores
and the materials employed in reducing the ores, and in producing the m;tal in its various
stages up to the finished metal in the fjrm of Riih, Merchant Bars, Rods, Hoops, and
Plates are most thoroughly and scientifically dealt with, and in the most intelligible
manner brought before the reader." Artix,an, October, 1862.
" The most complete and practical treatise upon the Metallurgy of iron to be found
in the English language." Colliery Guardian, November 29, J85l.
" Mr. Truran's work is really the only one deserving the name of a treatise upon, and
text-book of the Iron Manufacture of thi Kingdom. It gives a most comprehensive and
minute exposition of present practice, if the term may be applied to Iron Manufacture as
distinguished from strictly professional subjects. The Author does not go out of his way to
theorise how Iron should or may be made, but he dcscr.bes how it is made in all the Iron
Districts of the Kingdom." Engineer, December 26, 1861.
" It has seldom fallen to our lot to introduce to the notice of the scientific public, a more
valuable work than this. It is evidently the result of long, car^fal, and practical observation,
and it forms at once a gloriou> moiumrit tD the memory of its author, and an excellent
guide to those who are directly and hd.rectly intercst.d in the great subject of which it
treats." Mechanics' 1 Magaxine, Sept. 26, l85z.
" To the valuable character of Mr. Truran's work, we fully referred upon the publication
of the first edition, and we cannot say more in praise of th; very handsome volume before
us, than that whatever information was wanted in the former his now been carefully
supplied, and that the whole work appears to have been subjected to an amount of careful
revision which has rendered it as near as may be perfect, and consequently gives it a just
claim to the highest position as a standard work upon the Metallurgy of the Metal of which
it treats. Scientific knowledge and practical experience have been brought to bear in its
production, and all the valuable elements of each have been most judiciously combined."
Miring Journal, September 20, 1862.
London : E. and F. N. SFON, 16, Bucklersbury.
14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
LOAN DEPT.
Renewed books ate subject to immedia
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26Mar>64MP
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LD 21-100m-6,'56
(B9311slO)476
General Library .
University of California
Berkeley
YB 17698