James Thomson (13 November 1786 – 12 January 1849) was a British Irish

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

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

Lord Kelvin William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin (26 June 182417 December 1907), was a British mathematician, Mathematical physics, mathematical physicist and engineer. Born in Belfast, he was the Professor of Natural Philosophy (Glasgow), professor of Natur ...

Life

Born into an Ulster-Scots family on 13 November 1786, Thomson was the fourth son of Agnes Nesbit and James Thomson, a small farmer, at Annaghmore, near Ballynahinch,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

(the house was later called Spamount), in

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

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

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

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

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

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

is at its side.

Family

In 1817 Thomson married Margaret Gardiner (d.1830), eldest daughter of William Gardiner of Glasgow. They had four sons and three daughters, including James (1822–1892) and

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, afterwards Lord Kelvin (1824–1907), the two elder sons. He was portrayed by John Graham-Gilbert.Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition of Portraits in the New Galleries of Art in Corporation Buildings

Works

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

References

External links

James Thomson
at University of Glasgow * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, James 19th-century Irish mathematicians Irish Presbyterians Scientists from County Down Ulster Scots people 1849 deaths 1786 births William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin People from Ballynahinch, County Down Alumni of the University of Glasgow