James Thomson's octant, Hunterian Museum, Glasgow

The Thomson family grave and memorial, Glasgow Necropolis

James Thomson (13 November 1786 – 12 January 1849) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

, notable for his role in the formation of the

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of th ...

school 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 , ...

. He was the father of the engineer and physicist James Thomson and the physicist

Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, (26 June 182417 December 1907) was a British mathematician, mathematical physicist and engineer born in Belfast. Professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Glasgow for 53 years, he did important ...

Life

Born into an Ulster-Scots family on 13 November 1786, he was the fourth son of Agnes Nesbit and James Thomson, a small farmer, at Annaghmore, near Ballynahinch, County Down (the house was later called Spamount), in

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

. His early education was from his father. At the age of 11 or 12 he had found out for himself the art of dialling. His father sent him to a school at Ballykine, near Ballynahinch, kept by Samuel Edgar, father of John Edgar. Here Thomson soon rose to be an assistant. Wishing to become a minister of the presbyterian church, in 1810 he entered the University of Glasgow, where he studied for several sessions, supporting himself by teaching in the Ballykine school during the summer. He graduated MA in 1812, and in 1814 he was appointed headmaster of the school of arithmetic, bookkeeping, and geography in the newly established Academical Institution, Belfast; and in 1815 he was professor of mathematics in its collegiate department. Here he proved himself as a teacher. In 1829 the honorary degree of LLD was conferred upon him by 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 , ...

, where in 1832 he was appointed professor of mathematics. He held this post till his death on 12 January 1849. He is buried with his family on the northern slopes of the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

to the east of the main bridge entrance. The grave is notable due to the modern memorial to

at its side.

Works

He was the author of the schoolbooks that passed through many editions: * ‘Arithmetic,’ Belfast, 1819; 72nd ed. London, 1880. * ‘Trigonometry, Plane and Spherical,’ Belfast, 1820; 4th ed. London, 1844. * ‘Introduction to Modern Geography,’ Belfast, 1827. * ‘The Phenomena of the Heavens,’ Belfast, 1827. * ‘The Differential and Integral Calculus,’ 1831; 2nd ed. London, 1848. * ‘Euclid,’ 1834. * ‘Atlas of Modern Geography.’ * ‘Algebra,’ 1844. A paper ‘Recollections of the Battle of Ballynahinch, by an Eye-witness,’ which appeared in the ''Belfast Magazine'' for February 1825, was from his pen.

Artistic Recognition

He was portrayed by John Graham Gilbert RSA.Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition of Portraits in the New Galleries of Art in Corporation Buildings

Family

In 1817 Thomson married Margaret Gardiner (d.1830), eldest daughter of William Gardiner of Glasgow. They had four sons and three daughters, including

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

(1822–1892) and

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, afterwards Lord Kelvin (1824–1907), the two elder sons.

References

External links

James Thomson
at University of Glasgow * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, James Irish mathematicians Irish Presbyterians People from County Down Ulster Scots people 1849 deaths 1786 births William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin