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James Clerk Maxwell: The Scot Who Unified Light and Electricity
Scottish physicist, born in Edinburgh on 13 June 1831
James Clerk Maxwell was born in Edinburgh on 13 June 1831 and showed his brilliance early, publishing a mathematics paper at just 14. He studied at Edinburgh and Cambridge.
In the 1860s he published his theory of electromagnetism, now known as Maxwell's equations. He also produced pioneering work on colour vision, Saturn's rings and the kinetic theory of gases.
In 1871 he became the first Cavendish Professor of Physics at Cambridge and founded the Cavendish Laboratory. He died of cancer in 1879, aged just 48.
Career highlights
- 1831Born in Edinburgh
- 1846First scientific paper: written at 14
- 1856Professor at Aberdeen: at Marischal College
- 1859Saturn's rings: shows they must be made of many small particles
- 1860King's College London: becomes professor of natural philosophy
- 1865Electromagnetic theory: predicts electromagnetic waves
- 1871Cavendish Professor: founds the Cavendish Laboratory
- 1879Dies in Cambridge: aged 48
Did you know?His prediction of electromagnetic waves was confirmed by Heinrich Hertz in the late 1880s, almost a decade after Maxwell's death.
