James Gordon MacGregor, FRS

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

LLD (31 March 1852 in Halifax, Canada – 21 May 1913 in

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

) was a Canadian

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

. He was described as "brilliant, energetic, nervous, impatient", and not suffering fools gladly.

Life

MacGregor was born in Halifax in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

on 31 March 1852, the son of Rev Peter Gordon MacGregor. He was educated there at the Free Church Academy in Halifax going on to study at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

, where he graduated with an MA. He left

to pursue postgraduate studies at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He returned to Nova Scotia to lecture in physics for one academic year (1876/1877) at his alma mater,

. In the summer of 1877 he relocated to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

to serve as science master at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

in Bristol. In 1879 he returned once again to Dalhousie University as a professor of physics, a role he remained in for 21 years. While in Canada he retained links to Britain, because in 1880 he was elected an ordinary fellow (rather than a foreign or honorary fellow) of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were

Peter Guthrie Tait Peter Guthrie Tait FRSE (28 April 1831 – 4 July 1901) was a Scottish mathematical physicist and early pioneer in thermodynamics. He is best known for the mathematical physics textbook '' Treatise on Natural Philosophy'', which he co-wrote wi ...

Alexander Crum Brown Alexander Crum Brown FRSE FRS (26 March 1838 – 28 October 1922) was a Scottish organic chemist. Alexander Crum Brown Road in Edinburgh's King's Buildings complex is named after him. Early life and education Crum Brown was born at 4 Bellev ...

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Keepe ...

and

Edmund Albert Letts Professor Edmund Albert Letts FRSE FCS FIC (27 August 1852 – 19 February 1918) was a 19th-century English chemist. He was a pioneer of analytical chemistry. The Letts Nitrile Synthesis is named after him. He spent much time analysing the content ...

. In 1900 he was also elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of London The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

. In 1901 he returned to Britain when he succeeded to Peter Guthrie Tait's chair of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. The invitation was impossible to resist: "salary better, equipment good, pension laid on". He died at his home, 24 Dalrymple CrescentEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1911-12 in Edinburgh on 21 May 1913. He is buried in Morningside Cemetery in south Edinburgh. The grave lies in one of the southern rows.

Publications

*''An Elementary Treatise on Kinematics and Dynamics'' (1887)

Family

In 1888 he married Marion Miller Taylor. When she died in 1938 she was buried with him. Their son,

Archibald Gordon MacGregor Dr Archibald Gordon MacGregor MC FRSE FGS (1894-19 December 1986) was a 20th century geologist of Scots descent. He was Assistant Director of the British Geological Survey. Friends knew him as Archie MacGregor. Life He was born in Halifax, Nova ...

(1894-1986) was also a noted geologist.

References

Academics of the University of Edinburgh Canadian physicists 1913 deaths 1852 births Fellows of the Royal Society Canadian Fellows of the Royal Society {{Physicist-stub