Alexander Wilson (171416 October 1786) was a Scottish surgeon, type-founder, astronomer, mathematician and meteorologist. He was the first scientist to use kites in meteorological investigations. In 1784, his son

Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor and director. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty'' (2000–2001) and ''Oklahoma ...

succeeded him as Regius Professor of Practical Astronomy at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Early life

Wilson was born in St Andrews, Fife, the son of Patrick Wilson, the

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

. Alexander was educated at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

, graduating in 1733, aged 18, with an MA. He was first apprenticed to a physician in St Andrews where he became skilled in constructing mercury

thermometer A thermometer is a device that measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a mercury-in-glass thermometer ...

s in glass. In 1737, he left for London to make his fortune, He found work as assistant to a French surgeon-

apothecary ''Apothecary'' () is a mostly archaic term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses '' materia medica'' (medicine) to physicians, surgeons, and patients. The modern chemist (British English) or pharmacist (British and North Amer ...

, which included caring for his patients. During this time he was introduced to Lord Isla who like Wilson was interested in astronomy, and Wilson constructed instruments for Isla during 1738. After visiting a

type foundry A type foundry is a company that designs or distributes typefaces. Before digital typography, type foundries manufactured and sold metal and wood typefaces for hand typesetting, and matrices for line-casting machines like the Linotype and M ...

with a friend in London, he had an idea for making better

typeface A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font. There are thousands o ...

s. He and his friend John Baine returned to St Andrews in 1739, where they started a type foundry business in 1742.

University of Glasgow

The company moved to

Camlachie Camlachie ( gd, Camadh Làthaich) is an area of the city of Glasgow in Scotland, located in the East End of the city, between Dennistoun to the north, and Bridgeton to the south. Formerly a weaving village on the Camlachie Burn, it then develop ...

, near

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

in 1744. In 1748 he was appointed type-founder to the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. In the following year the partnership with Baine was dissolved. Later his sons became partners. He supplied types to the

Foulis press Robert Foulis (20 April 1707 in Glasgow – 2 June 1776 in Edinburgh) was a Scottish printer and publisher. Biography Robert Foulis was born the son of a maltman. He was apprenticed to a barber, but was encouraged to become a publisher by F ...

making possible beautiful and artistic publications. Among modern typefaces, Fontana,

Scotch Roman Scotch Roman is a class of typefaces popular in the early nineteenth century, particularly in the United States and to a lesser extent the United Kingdom. These typefaces were modeled on a design known as Pica No. 2 from the Edinburgh foundry of ...

, and Wilson Greek are based on types cut by Wilson. In 1749 Wilson made the first recorded use of

kite A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the fac ...

s in

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

with his lodger, a 23-year-old University of Glasgow student

Thomas Melvill Thomas Melvill(e) (1726 – December 1753) was a Scottish natural philosopher, who was active in the fields of spectroscopy and astronomy. Biography The son of Helen Whytt and the Rev Andrew Melville, minister of Monimail (d. 29 July 1 ...

. They measured air temperature at various levels above the ground simultaneously with a train of kites. Melvill went on to discover

sodium light A sodium-vapor lamp is a gas-discharge lamp that uses sodium in an excited state to produce light at a characteristic wavelength near 589 nm. Two varieties of such lamps exist: low pressure and high pressure. Low-pressure sodium lamps ar ...

. Wilson was the inventor of hydrostatic bubbles, a form of hydrometer, in 1757. With the help of his friend Lord Isla, now the 3rd Duke of Argyle, Wilson was appointed in 1760 to the new chair of practical astronomy at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, which had recently built the

Macfarlane Observatory The Macfarlane Observatory was established at the University of Glasgow in 1757. It was the first purpose-built university observatory in Britain. History The Observatory was named after Alexander MacFarlane, a merchant and slave-owner in Kin ...

. Wilson primarily made contributions to astronomy and meteorology, and posited that "what hinders the fixed stars from falling upon one another", the question that Newton had posed in his ''Opticks'' (1704), was that the entire universe rotated around its centre. Wilson noted that sunspots viewed near the edge of the Sun's visible disk appear depressed below the solar surface, a phenomenon referred to as the Wilson effect. When the

Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters {{Infobox organization , name = The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters , full_name = , native_name = Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab , native_name_lang = , logo = Royal ...

announced a prize to be awarded for the best essay on the nature of solar spots, Wilson submitted an entry. On 18 February 1772 the Academy presented Wilson with a gold medal for his work on sunspots. The crater Wilson on the Moon is named for him,

Ralph Elmer Wilson Ralph Elmer Wilson (April 14, 1886 – March 25, 1960) was an American astronomer. Wilson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Herbert Couper Wilson and Mary B. Nichols. He earned his B.A. from Carleton College and entered the Universi ...

and CTR Wilson. He, and his second son

, were two of the founding members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE). Patrick wrote a biographical article of his father which was published both in the ''Transactions of the RSE'' and ''Edinburgh Journal of Science''. In 1783 he was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He died in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 16 October 1786.

References

* Royal Society of Edinburg
Retrieved 10 Mar 2009
* Williamson, Peter & Woodby, John, 'Scottish Book Trade Index (SBTI)', National Library of Scotland

* Smith, George Fairfull, "Robert & Andrew Foulis, the Foulis Press, and Their Legacy"

* Stronach, George, rev. Hutchins, Roger, "Wilson, Alexander (1714–1786)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2004
Retrieved 19 Dec 2008
* Wilson, Alexander (1774) "Observations on Solar Spots", ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London'' 64, part I. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Alexander 1714 births 1786 deaths People from St Andrews 18th-century British astronomers 18th-century Scottish mathematicians 18th-century Scottish scientists 18th-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of Glasgow Founder Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Members of the Philosophical Society of Edinburgh Scottish pharmacists British typographers and type designers Scottish astronomers 18th-century Scottish businesspeople Scottish designers Scottish inventors Scottish surgeons Scottish meteorologists British scientific instrument makers