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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  wTell  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 

*  Mechanics1  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  Transactions1  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}rs,  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 

TOMSTGC" 


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26Mar>64MP 


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LD  21-100m-6,'56 
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General  Library     . 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 


YB  17698