James William MacGauley (c.1806–1867) was an Irish Catholic priest, physicist, and inventor.

Life

MacGauley was born around 1806 into a Catholic family at

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum. History In t ...

, Dublin, where his father Benjamin was a carpenter. After school in Dublin, he went to

St Patrick's College, Maynooth St Patrick's Pontifical University, Maynooth ( ga, Coláiste Naoimh Phádraig, Maigh Nuad), is the "National Seminary for Ireland" (a Roman Catholic college), and a pontifical university, located in the town of Maynooth, from Dublin, Ireland. ...

to train for the priesthood, where the physicist

Nicholas Callan Father Nicholas Joseph Callan (22 December 1799 – 10 January 1864) was an Irish priest and scientist from Darver, County Louth, Ireland. He was Professor of Natural Philosophy in Maynooth College in County Kildare from 1834, and is best known ...

gave him scientific interests. He was a priest at St. Mary's Church, Dublin He then served as professor of natural philosophy to the Board of National Education in Ireland, from 1836 to 1856. As part of his work, he ran a laboratory in

Marlborough Street, Dublin Marlborough Street is a street in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. Naming The street was named Great Marlborough Street after the 1st Duke of Marlborough, known for his victory at the Battle of Blenheim during the 18th century. In the late ...

, in the Board's headquarters. MacGauley emigrated to Canada about 1856, and was there to around 1865, when he settled in England. He became a member of the council of the Inventors' Institute (of London), and took an active part in the executive committee of that body, and was one of the editors as well as a contributor to their organ, the ''Scientific Review''. At the time of his death, on 25 October 1867, he was also managing director to the Inventors' Patentright Association.

Works

In 1837 MacGaulay worked on an electric interrupter related to that of

Charles Grafton Page Charles Grafton Page (January 25, 1812 May 5, 1868) was an American scientist who developed several electrical devices for which he obtained United States patents. He was also a physician, patent examiner, and college professor of chemistry. L ...

. It was in a line of development of the induction coil that began with Nicholas Callan, and was taken up by

Golding Bird Golding Bird (9 December 1814 – 27 October 1854) was a British medical doctor and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He became a great authority on kidney diseases and published a comprehensive paper on urinary deposits in ...

, William Neeves and Ernst Neeff by 1840. MacGaulay's trembler interrupter became standard in the

electric bell An electric bell is a mechanical or electronic bell that functions by means of an electromagnet. When an electric current is applied, it produces a repetitive buzzing, clanging or ringing sound. Electromechanical bells have been widely used at r ...

. MacGauley's major published works were: * ''Lectures on Natural Philosophy'', Dublin, 1840; 3rd edit. 1851. * ''The Elements of Architecture'', Dublin, 1846. * ''A Key to the Treatise on Arithmetic . . . used in the Irish National Schools'', Dublin, 1852. * ''A Treatise on Algebra'', Dublin, 1854. He also wrote papers on "Natural Philosophy and Chemistry", which appeared in the ''Reports of the British Association'', the ''

Philosophical Magazine The ''Philosophical Magazine'' is one of the oldest scientific journals published in English. It was established by Alexander Tilloch in 1798;John Burnett"Tilloch, Alexander (1759–1825)" Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford Univer ...

'', the ''Chemical News'', and the ''Scientific Review'', between 1835 and 1867.

Family

MacGaulay left the priesthood around 1856, and on 30 March 1857 married Julia Frances Cahill (daughter of Patrick Cahill) in Boston, Massachusetts. The marriage certificate lists him as aged 48, which implies he was born in 1807 or 1808.Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910
database, FamilySearch They had four children.

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:MacGauley, James William Year of birth missing 1867 deaths 19th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish physicists Irish inventors 1800s births Scientists from County Dublin Alumni of St Patrick's College, Maynooth Christian clergy from County Dublin 19th-century inventors